Is 1250 a Good PSAT Score? (2026)

Where a 1250 ranks in 10th and 11th grade, why no 1250 reaches the National Merit line, and the SAT score it points to.

Yes. A 1250 is an excellent PSAT score in either grade. On College Board's published PSAT/NMSQT percentile tables, a 1250 is the 87th percentile among 11th-grade test takers and the 95th percentile among 10th-grade test takers. Against all U.S. students in the grade, tested or not, it is the 94th percentile for juniors and the 95th for sophomores. It is 250 points above the average 11th grader and 333 points above the average 10th grader who took the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 in the 2025-26 school year, whose mean totals were 1000 and 917 (College Board 2026 SAT Suite Annual Report).

What a 1250 almost certainly will not do is qualify for National Merit. Every possible 1250 falls short of last year's Commended line, by 7 index points at best, and this year's line is not published until spring. Fall 2026 PSAT/NMSQT scores reach students on October 22, November 5 or November 12, depending on when the school submitted its tests (College Board score release dates). If yours arrives this week or next, here is how to read it.

What Percentile Is a 1250 PSAT Score?

Your own score report prints an All Tester Percentile. College Board's Fall 2026 Understanding Scores guide says it is based on the past three cohorts of students who took the PSAT/NMSQT in 10th or 11th grade anywhere in the world, and that each student gets the percentile for their own grade. College Board does not publish that All Tester table as a full chart, so the numbers on this page come from the table it does publish: the PSAT/NMSQT nationally representative and user percentiles (checked November 2, 2026). The PSAT 10 page carries the identical table, so these figures apply to either test.

• User percentiles rank you against students who took the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 in the past three school years.
• Nationally representative percentiles estimate your rank among all U.S. students in your grade, including those who never take the test.

Reading the 1250 row:

• A junior is ahead of about 87 in 100 junior test takers and ahead of about 94 in 100 U.S. 11th graders overall. The gap between the two numbers comes from the comparison group: at this level, the students who take the test outscore the grade as a whole.
• A sophomore is in the top 5 percent on both measures. The same 1250 ranks 8 user percentile points higher in 10th grade than in 11th.
• Ten points change little. For juniors, 1240 is the 86th user percentile and 1260 the 88th. Your report also shows a score range built from the test's measurement error, so treat 1250 as a neighborhood, not a point.
• Rank is getting expensive. For juniors, the 50 points from 1200 to 1250 add 5 percentile points, and the next 50 to 1300 add 4.

The percentile on your own report may not match this table exactly, because it is built on a different group of test takers. If your 1250 came from the PSAT 8/9 instead (a different test with a 240 to 1440 scale), College Board's PSAT 8/9 table puts it at the 97th user percentile for 9th graders. The full chart for every score is in our PSAT percentiles guide, and the neighboring tiers are is 1200 a good PSAT score and is 1300 a good PSAT score.

Is a 1250 Enough for National Merit?

No, whatever the split. National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) does not use your total. It uses the Selection Index: double your Reading and Writing score, add your Math score, and divide by 10. Because Reading and Writing counts twice, two students with the same 1250 can have quite different indexes.

NMSC's Guide to the National Merit Scholarship Program lists the national Commended Student line for the 2027 program at 208. Here is every kind of 1250 against it:

Section scores top out at 760, so a 1250 can contain no section below 490, and its index lands between 174 and 201. The lowest total that can reach 208 at all is 1320 (760 plus 560). Semifinalist lines are set state by state, at or above the Commended line: in the same Guide they run from 208 to 223. Commended and Semifinalist together make up about 50,000 of the roughly 1.2 million students who enter each year (NMSC, Steps in the Competition).

For a junior, this year's result is settled by this test, so there is nothing to retake for National Merit. For a sophomore, a 1250 is a real starting point. Students on the usual four-year path enter the competition with the PSAT/NMSQT they take as juniors, which for you is next fall's test. From a balanced 630 and 620 you need 20 more index points, and the route matters:

• Reading and Writing alone can do it. A 730 with the same 620 in Math is exactly 208 (a 1350 total).
• Math alone cannot. A 630 with a perfect 760 in Math is only 202.
• A mix works too. A 700 and 680 (a 1380) is also 208.

Lines change a little every year, and your class's will not be known until 2028, so aim for a cushion above 208, not the number itself. Our guides to Commended Students and NMSQT qualifying scores explain how the levels work.

Section Scores Behind a 1250

College Board's grade-level benchmarks are 460 in Reading and Writing and 510 in Math for 11th grade, and 430 and 480 for 10th grade (Fall 2026 PSAT/NMSQT Understanding Scores guide). Students who meet them are considered on track to be college ready. In 2025-26, 41 percent of 11th graders met both, so a 1250 is well clear of where most students stand. Nearly every 1250 clears all four benchmarks. The one exception is a very verbal split: a 760 or 750 in Reading and Writing leaves 490 or 500 in Math, under the junior Math benchmark of 510.

Two things stand out. First, a lopsided 1250 hides a section that is merely good: a junior with 570 in Reading and Writing is at the 70th percentile there, against the 94th in Math. That lower section is where the next 50 to 100 points are cheapest. Second, among juniors the same number ranks lower in Reading and Writing than in Math (a 630 is the 84th percentile in the first, a 620 the 87th in the second), yet NMSC counts Reading and Writing twice. If National Merit is still a live goal, that is the section to push. If it is not, push whichever section ranks lower.

What a 1250 PSAT Predicts for the SAT

The PSAT/NMSQT and the SAT share one score scale. College Board's Understanding Scores guide says a student with a 500 in PSAT Math "would be expected to also get a 500 on the SAT" if they had taken it on the same day. So a 1250 PSAT means about a 1250 SAT on the day you tested, before any further classes or practice.

That is a strong SAT score. On College Board's SAT percentile tables, a 1250 is the 86th nationally representative percentile and the 80th user percentile, and it is 205 points above the class of 2026 national average of 1045. We will not promise a number of points you will gain, since that depends on your coursework and practice. Here are the next rungs:

Set the real target from the middle-50% SAT ranges at the colleges on your list. Our page on what a 1250 SAT score means for colleges shows where the score fits today, and the PSAT to SAT score conversion guide explains how the two tests line up.

What to Do Next With a 1250

If you are a junior: plan a first SAT for winter or spring. The test dates and deadlines are from College Board's SAT dates and deadlines page and the score dates from its score release dates page; our SAT test dates guide covers the full calendar.

1. Pick March 6 as the default first sitting. It leaves May 1 and June 5 for a second try before senior year. December 5 only makes sense if you have already been preparing this fall.
2. Start with your lower section. In a 680 and 570 split, the 570 side has more room and usually cheaper points.
3. Sort your misses. At 1250 you know most of the content. Mark each miss as did not know it, misread it, or ran short on time; each has a different fix.
4. Practice the harder second module. The digital SAT adapts by section, so a strong first module leads to a harder second one. Full-length practice tests in Bluebook are the closest rehearsal.

If you are a sophomore: decide now whether National Merit is a goal. If it is, next fall's PSAT/NMSQT is the test that counts, Reading and Writing is the section that moves the index fastest, and a Bluebook practice test over the summer tells you where you stand. If it is not, keep your math sequence strong, read demanding material, and plan your first SAT for the spring of junior year.

Frequently Asked Questions About a 1250 PSAT Score

Is 1250 a good PSAT score?

Yes, it is excellent. A 1250 is the 87th percentile among 11th-grade test takers and the 95th among 10th-grade test takers on College Board's user tables, and the 94th and 95th percentiles against all U.S. students in those grades.

What percentile is a 1250 PSAT for a junior?

The 87th user percentile and the 94th nationally representative percentile. The All Tester Percentile on your own report is built on a different group of test takers, so it may not match these figures exactly.

Can a 1250 PSAT make you a Commended Student?

Almost certainly not. The 2027 program's Commended line was a Selection Index of 208, and a 1250 produces an index between 174 and 201. The best possible 1250, a 760 in Reading and Writing with a 490 in Math, misses that line by 7, and the line for this year's juniors is not published until spring.

Is a 1250 PSAT good for a sophomore?

Very. It is the 95th percentile for 10th graders on both of College Board's tables. It also leaves National Merit within reach on next fall's PSAT/NMSQT, mainly through gains in Reading and Writing.

What SAT score does a 1250 PSAT predict?

About a 1250, because the two tests share a score scale. That is the 86th nationally representative percentile on the SAT. Your actual SAT score will also reflect what you learn between the two tests.

Do colleges see my 1250 PSAT score?

No. College Board's help center says "No, colleges won't receive your child's actual test scores." What colleges see later are the SAT or ACT scores you choose to send.

A 1250 puts you near the top, and the next gains come from the specific question types you still miss. The PSAT/NMSQT measures the same skills as the SAT, and Larry Learns has 30,000+ SAT and ACT practice questions on web, iPhone and Android, with 3 free quizzes a day and a score estimate that tracks your progress. Start a free practice quiz, or create a free account to follow your score toward the SAT.