The PSAT/NMSQT, in the spring
Reading and Writing (54 questions, 64 minutes) and Math (44 questions, 70 minutes), on a computer or tablet in the Bluebook app. Scores run from 320 to 1520, on the same scale as the PSAT/NMSQT.
Test guide · PSAT 10
The PSAT 10, in the spring of 10th grade.
Given at school in the spring of 10th grade and scored from 320 to 1520.
The PSAT 10 has the same content and format as the PSAT/NMSQT, about six months earlier. It shows which skills need work before the PSAT/NMSQT in the fall of 11th grade, the test students usually use to enter National Merit, if they meet NMSC’s entry requirements.
Preparing for a different test? See which test fits. This guide is from Flashy, free PSAT and SAT practice that adapts to each student. Test facts checked against College Board and NMSC sources on October 11, 2026.
What is on the PSAT 10.
A step up from the PSAT 8/9
The Math section adds trigonometry with right triangles, and rational and radical equations. Circle questions still wait for the SAT. Source: College Board framework.
Harder reading allowed
Reading and Writing passages can come from any complexity level, including the 12th-grade to early-college passages the PSAT 8/9 leaves out.
Schools give the PSAT 10 in a spring testing window and sign students up themselves. Ask a counselor whether your school offers it.
Where the points are.
How the scored questions on the PSAT 10 split across content areas. Algebra and Advanced Math are about two-thirds of scored Math questions, so they deserve the most Math practice. The four Reading and Writing areas are close to even, so none can be skipped.
| Content area | Share | Scored questions |
|---|---|---|
| Information and Ideas | about 26% | 12–14 |
| Craft and Structure | about 28% | 13–15 |
| Expression of Ideas | about 20% | 8–12 |
| Standard English Conventions | about 26% | 11–15 |
| Content area | Share | Scored questions |
|---|---|---|
| Algebra | about 35% | 13–15 |
| Advanced Math | about 32.5% | 12–14 |
| Problem-Solving and Data Analysis | about 20% | 7–9 |
| Geometry and Trigonometry | about 12.5% | 4–6 |
Source: College Board, Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite. Each section also has a few unscored questions.
A year in two tests.
- 1Spring of 10th grade: PSAT 10
A full practice run under real conditions. Note the weakest skills.
- 2Summer: steady practice
A few minutes most days, aimed at those skills.
- 3October of 11th grade: PSAT/NMSQT
Same content and format. Students usually enter National Merit through this test, if they meet NMSC’s entry requirements.
How to prepare.
The PSAT 10 is itself good preparation for the PSAT/NMSQT: the score report shows which skills to work on before October of 11th grade.
- 1Get to know the test
Take a free, full-length official practice PSAT 10 in the College Board’s Bluebook app, the same app used on test day.
- 2Find the weak skills
Use the practice score report to see which Reading and Writing and Math skills need the most work.
- 3Practice and review those skills
Work on those skills a little at a time, and read the explanation for every question your student misses.
- 4Check with another practice test
A second full-length official practice test shows what has improved and what still needs work.
These steps follow the College Board’s official practice page.
How Flashy practices it.
In Flashy, PSAT 10 and PSAT/NMSQT students practice with the same questions, because the two tests are the same. That practice includes the trigonometry and the harder reading the PSAT 8/9 leaves out.
Questions parents ask.
Is the PSAT 10 the same as the PSAT/NMSQT?
Yes, the College Board says the two tests are identical. The PSAT 10 is given to 10th graders in the spring; the PSAT/NMSQT is given in October, mostly to 11th graders. Only the PSAT/NMSQT counts for National Merit.
What is new compared with the PSAT 8/9?
In Math: trigonometry with right triangles, and rational and radical equations. In Reading and Writing: passages can come from the most complex band, written at a 12th-grade to early-college level.
What should my student do after the PSAT 10?
Look at which skills were weakest and practice those over the summer, a little at a time. The PSAT/NMSQT in October of 11th grade is the next test, and it is the one National Merit uses.
Is Flashy’s progress a PSAT 10 score?
No. Progress in Flashy is an estimate from practice, never an official score.
What your student does in Flashy.
- 1Practices a few minutes a day
PSAT or SAT questions matched to their test. Difficulty adapts over time to their answers, skill by skill. You choose 5 to 120 minutes a day.
- 2Sees how to solve each one
A step-by-step explanation follows every question, so a mistake turns into something they understand.
- 3Studies with Spark when stuck
Spark, Flashy’s AI learning companion, goes over a question they missed or marked, explains an idea they never learned, or teaches a short lesson built from their gaps.
For example, after a missed question
Your student opens the question with Spark. Spark asks what they tried, then talks through where it went wrong, one step at a time. Then Spark gives them one more question like it, and they solve that one on their own.
What it costs
- Free: every feature, plus 30 minutes a month to Study with Spark.
- Plus, $69 a month per student: 4 hours a month to Study with Spark.
- Pro, $149 a month per student: 12 hours a month to Study with Spark.
Working through a missed question with Spark uses the plan’s monthly time to Study with Spark. Practice and step-by-step explanations stay open after it runs out, and the time refills the next month.
No credit card needed to start. See full pricing.
A sample Flashy question · Math · Linear functions
A monthly phone plan is modeled by a linear function D(g), where D(g) is the total monthly bill, in dollars, when the customer uses g gigabytes of data. A customer who uses 4 GB pays $52, and a customer who uses 9 GB pays $77. Which of the following defines D?
- D(g) = 5g + 52
- D(g) = 5g + 32
- D(g) = 25g + 32
- D(g) = 5g − 32
Answer: B
Step-by-step explanation
The slope is a = (77 − 52)/(9 − 4) = 25/5 = 5 dollars per GB. Using D(4) = 52: 52 = 5(4) + b, so b = 52 − 20 = 32. Therefore D(g) = 5g + 32.
Choice B is correct.
Choice A is incorrect — (D(g) = 5g + 52) uses the y-coordinate of the first data point as the y-intercept; the student wrote b = 52 because D(4) = 52, without subtracting 5 × 4 from it.
Choice C is incorrect — (D(g) = 25g + 32) reads the rise D(9) − D(4) = 25 as the slope without dividing by the run; the student computed the difference of the dollar amounts but forgot to divide by the difference of the GB inputs.
Choice D is incorrect — (D(g) = 5g − 32) flips the sign of the y-intercept; the student computed 52 − 5(4) = 32 but wrote the result with the wrong sign in the function rule.
Sources
The test facts on this page come from these official pages, checked October 11, 2026. They back the facts about the tests, not Flashy’s own claims. Dates and rules change, so check the source before you plan around them.
- College Board: How is the PSAT/NMSQT different from the PSAT 10 and PSAT 8/9?
- College Board: How the PSAT 10 is structured
- College Board: The PSAT 10 Math section
- College Board: Assessment Framework for the Digital SAT Suite (what each test covers)
- College Board: What do my SAT Suite scores mean?
- College Board: SAT Suite test dates and deadlines
- College Board: Official SAT Suite practice, including Bluebook practice tests
- National Merit Scholarship Corporation: Entry requirements
PSAT and SAT are College Board trademarks. Flashy is independent and not endorsed by the College Board.
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