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Educators - Information & Tools For Teachers, Counselors, Higher Education Faculty and Administrators Home > Data, Reports & Research > PSAT/NMSQT® Data & Reports > College-Bound Juniors & Sophomores 2008

College-Bound Juniors & Sophomores 2008

PSAT/NMSQT 2008 State Summary Reports

In the fall of 2008, students took the PSAT/NMSQT to help determine their level of readiness for college. The PSAT/NMSQT 2008 State Summary Reports summarize the characteristics, scores, and educational plans of the Class of 2010 and Class of 2011. Refer to your School (or System) Summary Reports to compare your local data with the national- and state-level data on these reports:

Highlights of 2008 Junior Data

  • 1,588,688 juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT.
  • 53.5% of juniors who took the PSAT/NMSQT were female; 46.5% were male.
  • Of those indicating racial/ethnic background, 40.6% of juniors indicated a category other than "white," an increase from 39% in 2007.
  • Junior average scores for 2008 (with comparison to 2007 data):
    • Critical Reading: 46.7 (no change)
    • Math: 48.8 (0.6 increase)
    • Writing Skills: 45.8 (0.1 increase)
  • College majors of interest to the Class of 2010 include: health professions and sciences, 19.4%; business management, 9.5%; visual and performing arts, 9.5%; engineering, 8.4%; education, 4.5%; biological sciences, 4.3%; and psychology, 4.1%. The strongest interest among males was engineering (15.6%); females' most frequently indicated interest was health professions and sciences (26.2%). 11.7% were undecided about a college major.

Highlights of 2008 Sophomore Data

  • 1,521,122 sophomores took the PSAT/NMSQT.
  • 52.1% of sophomores who took the PSAT/NMSQT were female; 47.9% were male.
  • Of those noting racial/ethnic background, 50% of sophomores indicated a category other than "white," an increase from 49% in 2007.
  • Sophomore average scores for 2008 (with comparison to 2007 data):
    • Critical Reading: 41.6 (0.2 decrease)
    • Math: 44 (0.9 increase)
    • Writing Skills: 41 (0.2 decrease)
  • College majors of interest to the Class of 2011 include: health professions and sciences, 18%; visual and performing arts, 10.8%; engineering, 8.1%; business management, 7.5%; biological professions and sciences, 4.4%; and education, 3.6%. The strongest interest among males was engineering (15.2%); females' most frequently indicated interest was health professions and sciences (25.1%). About 14% were undecided about a college major.

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