What Math Skills Are Tested on the PSAT/NMSQT?

Short Answer

The PSAT/NMSQT Math section covers four main areas:

• Algebra
• Advanced Math
• Problem-Solving and Data Analysis
• Geometry and Trigonometry

In practical terms, that means students can see everything from linear equations and functions to percentages, data, quadratics, geometry, and right-triangle trigonometry.

But I wouldn't use this list as a study checklist. Your student may already be very comfortable with some of these topics and need much more practice with others.

Algebra

This is the math most parents will immediately recognize: linear equations, inequalities, functions, slope, and systems of equations.

The questions aren't necessarily presented as "solve this equation." A student might be given a graph and asked about its slope, have to write an equation from a situation, or decide which equation represents the information in a problem.

That's an important difference when preparing for the test. A student can know how to solve a linear equation and still have trouble recognizing how to set one up from a word problem.

Knowing the algebra and recognizing when to use it are not always the same thing.

Advanced Math

Advanced Math includes nonlinear equations, expressions, and functions. This is where students can encounter quadratics, exponentials, polynomials, radicals, rational expressions, and other nonlinear relationships.

The name can make this category sound worse than it is.

A student who is already comfortable with nonlinear equations and functions may know much of this material. The PSAT/NMSQT is asking them to use it in different ways: rewrite an expression, solve a quadratic, interpret a function, or recognize that one form of an expression is more useful than another.

This is one area where I'd pay attention to how a student gets stuck. If they don't know how to factor, that's a math gap. If they know how to factor but don't recognize that factoring would make the problem much easier, that's a different problem.

Problem-Solving and Data Analysis

This category includes ratios, rates, percentages, units, data, statistics, and probability.

A lot of this math is familiar. The difficulty can be figuring out what the question wants you to do with it.

A percentage problem, for example, may not be hard because calculating a percentage is difficult. The student may lose the point because they used the wrong starting value. A graph question may depend more on reading the graph correctly than on doing a complicated calculation.

Sometimes the hardest part is deciding what the numbers in the question actually mean.

That's worth watching when you look at your student's mistakes. Don't assume every wrong answer means they don't know the underlying math.

Geometry and Trigonometry

The PSAT/NMSQT also includes geometry and right-triangle trigonometry.

Students should be comfortable with areas and volumes, lines and angles, triangles, the Pythagorean theorem, and trigonometric relationships in right triangles.

This is one difference parents should be aware of if their child previously took the PSAT 8/9: the PSAT/NMSQT includes trigonometry.

Again, I wouldn't respond by pulling out an entire geometry textbook. Look at what your student is actually missing. If the problem is right-triangle trigonometry, that's what needs attention—not six weeks of geometry review.

So What Should My Student Actually Practice?

This is the part I think matters most.

Seeing the complete list of PSAT/NMSQT Math topics can make preparation look like a much bigger job than it needs to be.

If your student is already comfortable with linear equations, there isn't much value in spending a week practicing linear equations simply because they're on the test. If percentages or quadratic functions repeatedly cause trouble, that's probably a better place to spend the time.

Start with some PSAT/NMSQT-style questions or a baseline assessment and look at the mistakes.

• Is there a topic the student simply doesn't understand yet?
• Do they understand the math but have trouble recognizing what the problem is asking?
• Are they accurate but slow?
• Do the same types of mistakes keep coming back?

Those answers are more useful than a long list of everything that could appear on the test.

The goal is to find the areas that need work, not to review everything equally.

That's the same idea we use in Adaptive Study Tools PSAT/NMSQT Math Prep: start by finding the gaps, then focus practice where it's needed. But the approach works whether your student is using an app, a workbook, a tutor, or practice questions from school.

What If the PSAT/NMSQT Is Only a Few Weeks Away?

Then I'd be even more selective.

There usually isn't a good reason to start at page one of a prep book and try to finish the whole thing before test day.

Work on the areas causing repeated mistakes. Once those improve, check them again later and move to the next problem area. At the same time, keep practicing familiar material so answering becomes quicker and more automatic.

A student who already knows most of the math may need more practice with recognition, accuracy, and speed than with learning new material.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the PSAT/NMSQT include trigonometry?

Yes. Right-triangle trigonometry is included in PSAT/NMSQT Math. Students may need to work with trigonometric relationships in right triangles.

Does my student need to review every PSAT/NMSQT Math topic?

Your student should be familiar with the areas the test covers, but that doesn't mean every topic needs the same amount of preparation. Spend more time on areas where mistakes, uncertainty, or slow problem solving keep showing up.

Is PSAT/NMSQT Math the same as PSAT 8/9 Math?

No. There is considerable overlap, but the Math content is not identical. One important difference is that the PSAT/NMSQT includes right-triangle trigonometry.

Bottom Line

The PSAT/NMSQT Math section covers Algebra, Advanced Math, Problem-Solving and Data Analysis, and Geometry and Trigonometry.

Your student should be familiar with all four areas, but that doesn't mean they need to spend the same amount of time studying each one.

Find out where the mistakes are happening first. Then spend the preparation time there.

Source: College Board, PSAT/NMSQT Math content specifications.