Is 1300 a Good PSAT Score? (2026)

What a 1300 means for National Merit, where it ranks in 10th and 11th grade, and the SAT score it points to.

Yes. A 1300 is an excellent PSAT score. For a junior it is the 91st percentile among 11th-grade test takers, and for a sophomore it is the 97th percentile among 10th-grade test takers, on College Board's current tables. Only a few percent of sophomores score this high.

It is also the score where National Merit stops being far away and starts being close. Close is not the same as qualifying, though: no 1300 reached last year's Commended line, whatever the split between your two sections, and the best one missed by 2 index points. Fall 2026 PSAT/NMSQT scores reach students on October 22, November 5, or November 12, depending on when your school sent in its tests (College Board score release dates). Here is the arithmetic, and what to do with it.

What a 1300 PSAT Means for National Merit

National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) does not look at your 1300. It looks at your Selection Index, which it calculates by doubling the Reading and Writing section score, adding the Math section score, and dividing the total by 10, as explained in NMSC's Guide to the National Merit Scholarship Program. The index runs from 48 to 228.

Because Reading and Writing counts twice, two students with the same 1300 can have very different indexes. For the class of 2027 (juniors who took the October 2025 test), NMSC set the national Commended Student line at 208. Here is every kind of 1300 against it:

So a 1300 produces an index somewhere between 184 and 206. Section scores top out at 760, which is why the range stops there: a perfect Reading and Writing score leaves only 540 for Math. The lowest total that can reach 208 at all is 1320 (760 plus 560).

Semifinalist lines are higher still, because NMSC sets them state by state. For the class of 2027 they ran from 208, where a few states' lines matched the national Commended line, up to 223, according to NMSC's Guide, which publishes each state's line. Every one of them is above 206. Of the 1,254,659 students who entered that year's program, 16,230 became Semifinalists and 38,488 were named Commended Students.

Two cautions. First, these are last year's lines. The cutoffs for this fall's test, which decides the class of 2028, won't be announced until September 2027, and NMSC notes that qualifying scores vary "from one state to another and from year to year." Second, the gaps above are small in test terms. A 650 and 650 student needs 13 more index points, and the cheapest way to get them is Reading and Writing: 720 and 650 (a 1370) is a 209. Math alone cannot close it, because 650 and 760 is only a 206. Our guide to Commended Students explains what that recognition brings, and NMSQT qualifying scores covers how the state lines work.

What Percentile Is a 1300 PSAT Score?

College Board's PSAT/NMSQT percentile tables (checked October 2026) rank each total two ways. User percentiles compare you with students who took the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 in the past three school years. Nationally representative percentiles estimate where you stand among all U.S. students in your grade.

What the 1300 row says:

• A junior is ahead of about 9 in 10 junior test takers (91st user percentile) and at the 96th percentile against all U.S. 11th graders.
• A sophomore is at the 97th percentile on both measures. That puts a 10th grader with a 1300 in roughly the top 3 percent.
• The percentile scale is getting crowded. For juniors, the 100 points from 1300 to 1400 are worth only 5 percentile points (91st to 96th). Up here, percentiles stop being a useful goal, and the Selection Index and the SAT ranges at your colleges take over.

The percentile on your own report is an All Tester Percentile for your grade, built from a slightly different group, so it can differ slightly from these. The full chart is in our PSAT percentiles guide, and the tier below this one is is 1200 a good PSAT score.

Why the Split Behind Your 1300 Matters

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). Every possible 1300 clears all four, because the lowest section score a 1300 can contain is 540. The interesting question is which section to push next:

Two things stand out. Among juniors, the same number ranks a little lower in Reading and Writing than in Math: a 650 is the 88th percentile in the first and the 91st in the second. Yet NMSC counts that Reading and Writing 650 twice. If National Merit is a live goal (it can be for a sophomore at this score), the verbal side is where 10 points buy 2 index points instead of 1.

If National Merit isn't your goal, ignore the index and work on whichever section ranks lower. For a 600 and 700 junior that is clearly Reading and Writing (78th against 95th); for a 700 and 600 junior it is Math (84th against 96th). For how this score compares across every tier, see what is a good PSAT score.

What a 1300 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" had they taken it that same day. The same reading applies to the total, so a 1300 PSAT means about a 1300 SAT on the day you tested, before another month of school or practice.

A 1300 SAT is the 91st nationally representative percentile and the 85th percentile among SAT takers on College Board's SAT percentile tables. The next rungs look like this:

We won't promise how many points you will add, since that depends on your classes and your practice. Pick the target from the middle-50% SAT ranges at the colleges you care about. Our page on what a 1300 SAT means for colleges shows where the score fits today, and the PSAT to SAT conversion guide explains how the two tests line up.

What to Do Next With a 1300

If you are a junior: your National Merit result is decided by this test alone, so there is nothing to retake for it. What is left is the SAT. The remaining dates on College Board's SAT dates and deadlines page are November 7 (register by October 23), December 5 (register by November 20), March 6 (register by February 19), May 1 (register by April 16), and June 5 (register by May 21). A plan that fits a 1300:

1. Take your first SAT in March or earlier. March 6 leaves May and June open for a second sitting. If you have been preparing this fall, December 5 still works.
2. Read your misses, not your score. At 1300 most of the remaining errors cluster in a few skills. Your PSAT report breaks each section into four content domains, which is a good first map.
3. Practice for the harder second module. The test adapts by section, and a strong first module leads to a harder second one. Full-length Bluebook practice tests are the closest rehearsal.

If you are a sophomore: this is the most important score on the page, because the October 2027 PSAT/NMSQT is the one that counts for you. Students on the usual four-year path must take it in their third year to enter the competition. A 1300 now, with a year of school ahead, puts Commended within reach, and Semifinalist too in states whose lines sit near the bottom of last year's range. Make Reading and Writing the priority, since it is doubled, keep Math moving with your coursework, and check your progress with a Bluebook practice test next summer. Your class's cutoffs won't be known until fall 2028, so aim for a cushion above last year's lines, not the lines themselves. When this fall's scores arrive, here is how to find your Selection Index on the report.

Frequently Asked Questions About a 1300 PSAT Score

Is 1300 a good PSAT score?

Yes, it is excellent. A 1300 is the 91st percentile among 11th-grade test takers and the 97th among 10th-grade test takers on College Board's user tables, and it clears every grade-level benchmark whatever the split.

What Selection Index does a 1300 PSAT give?

Between 184 and 206, depending on the split. A balanced 650 and 650 gives 195. The highest, 206, needs a perfect 760 in Reading and Writing with 540 in Math.

Can a 1300 PSAT make you a Commended Student?

Not on last year's line. The class of 2027 Commended cutoff was 208, and no 1300 reaches it. The lowest total that can is 1320, and only with a 760 in Reading and Writing.

Is a 1300 PSAT good for a sophomore?

Very. It is the 97th percentile for 10th graders on both of College Board's tables. It also leaves a sophomore within reach of National Merit on the junior-year test, which is the one NMSC uses for students on a four-year path.

What SAT score does a 1300 PSAT predict?

About a 1300, because the two tests share a score scale. That is the 91st nationally representative percentile on the SAT. Your SAT result will also reflect whatever you learn between the two tests.

A 1300 is close to the top, and the last stretch is mostly about the specific question types you still miss. The PSAT/NMSQT measures the same skills as the SAT, and Larry Learns has 25,000+ SAT and ACT practice questions on web, iPhone, and Android, with 3 free quizzes a day. Start a free practice quiz, or create a free account to track your progress toward the SAT.