Students register for the exam through high schools which are members of the College Board. The test is composed of four sections: two Math Sections, Critical Reading, and Writing Skills, and takes two hours and ten minutes to complete.

Originally, each of the three sections was scored on a scale of 20 to 80 points, adding up to a maximum composite score of 240 points. This paralleled the SAT, which is graded on a scale of 200 to 800 for each section (the narrower range is to distinguish from which test a score comes and to denote less accuracy). However, unlike the old (2005) SAT, the old PSAT did not include higher-level mathematics (e.g., concepts from Algebra II) or an essay in its writing section (which was added to the SAT in 2005). The PSAT changed its format and content in Fall 2015, to reflect the new SAT. The Reading and Writing Sections are combined into one section score, and the Math portion now includes a section in which usage of calculators is prohibited. The scores for each section range from 160 to 760, adding up to a maximum score of 1520. Yet the National Merit Scholarship Corporation takes each section score, scored on a scale of 8 to 38, sums it and then doubles that sum to devise the Selection Index, ranging from 48 to 228.

The test is mostly multiple-choice, but there are four grid-in math questions at the end of each math section that require takers to enter their responses on a grid.

Levels of recognition[edit]