2002 Archived PSAT/NMSQT Data
In the fall of 2002, students took the PSAT/NMSQT to help determine their level of readiness for college. The PSAT/NMSQT 2002 State Summary Reports summarize the characteristics, scores, and educational plans of the Class of 2004 and Class of 2005. Refer to your School (or System) Summary Reports to compare your local data with the state-level data on these reports:
Download state-level PSAT/NMSQT 2002 Summary Reports for College-Bound Juniors.
Download state-level PSAT/NMSQT 2002 Summary Reports for College-Bound Sophomores.
In the 2002 academic year, the PSAT/NMSQT gave 2.5 million students, in more than 22,000 schools, comprehensive overviews of their skills in verbal reasoning, math reasoning, and writing—three academic areas important for college-level work. Each student received Score Report Plus, which provides thorough, personalized feedback on student performance and identifies specific skills that need attention, along with suggestions for improvement. This individualized feedback can help improve student performance in the classroom, on the SAT®, and later in college-level work.
Highlights of 2002 Junior Data
- Males comprised 45.0% of junior test participants (up 0.4% from the prior year).
- Of those noting racial/ethnic background, 30.6% of juniors indicated a category other than "white," an increase from 29.4% in 2001.
- Junior average scores for 2002 (with comparison to 2001 data):
- Verbal: 48.0 (0.3 decrease)
- Math: 49.2 (0.2 increase)
- Writing Skills: 48.8 (0.1 decrease)
- College majors of interest to the Class of 2004 include: health sciences and services, 16.2%; social/behavioral sciences and history, 10.0%; business and management, 9.4%; the arts, 8.9%; engineering, 8.2%; and education, 5.2%. The strongest interest among males was engineering (16.0%); females' most frequently indicated interest was health sciences and services (21.8%). About 13% were undecided about a college major.
Highlights of 2002 Sophomore Data
- 54.4% of sophomores who took the PSAT/NMSQT were female.
- Of those noting racial/ethnic background, 37.2% of sophomores indicated a category other than "white."
- Sophomore average scores for 2002 (with comparison to 2001 data):
- Verbal: 44.4 (0.7 decrease)
- Math: 45.5 (no change)
- Writing Skills: 45.9 (0.3 decrease)
- Careers of interest to the Class of 2005 include: health services/medical professions, 17.3%; the arts, 9.7%; social sciences/related professions, 9.3%. Approximately 16.5% indicated they were undecided about a career.
- For those males who indicated a preference, the most frequent career choice was engineering (10.8%), followed by health services/medical professions (9.8%) and computer/information sciences (8.9%). Approximately 18% of males were undecided about a career.
- The top career interests for females were health services/medical professions (23.4%), social sciences/related professions (12.1%), and the arts (10.7%). Some 15 percent of females indicated they were undecided about a career.