The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test PSAT/NMSQT is designed and managed by the students so that they can compete successfully for national scholarships. It is also a preparatory exam for sitting for the SAT exam. The examination is usually administered in October and it is available to all high school junior students.

The time frame for taking the exam is 2 hours and 10 minutes and it covers five different charters: one Writing Skills section, two Critical Reading sections, and two Math sections.

The Writing Skills section consists of questions relating to sentence error identification, paragraph improvement, and sentence improvement. The section aims to test the student’s ability to find errors in the English structure and usage, use Standard English in writing, and select effective revisions in paragraphs and sentences. The time allocated to this section is 30 minutes.

The Critical Reasoning sections cover such areas as sentence completions, questions from extensive reading passages, and questions from short passages. These sections aim to test the student’s capacity to read, comprehend, and understand words as used in the context. You are expected to complete each section within 25 minutes.

The Math sections consist of grid-in and multiple-choice questions that evaluate the student’s mathematical reasoning capability. The time-limit for this charter is 25 minutes.