Colorado PSAT and SAT

Attention Parents

Parents can access their student's PSAT and SAT results in May.

Note: Student CollegeBoard accounts are used to access PSAT and SAT results.

All spring 2025 data files and reports became available to districts and schools in the summer. Districts and schools may use aggregated and individual student level results internally for informational and planning purposes as soon as they are received.

Students and Families

Student Guides

Coming Winter 2026

PSAT 8/9 Student Guide
PSAT 8/9 Student Guide Spanish
PSAT 10 Student Guide
PSAT 10 Student Guide Spanish
SAT Student Guide
SAT Student Guide Spanish

The Colorado PSAT & SAT School Day Tests

Colorado has given a college entrance exam each spring to all 11th graders enrolled in public schools since 2001. In 2015 the Colorado legislature passed House Bill 15-1323, requiring the state to competitively bid for a new 10th grade exam that is aligned to both the Colorado Academic Standards and an 11th grade college entrance exam. The selection committee chose the PSAT for 10th graders and the SAT for the 11th grade college entrance exam because of their alignment to the high school Colorado Academic Standards and because the College Board’s reports and free test preparation services could be used by all students. For 2018, the PSAT 8/9 was added for students in grade 9. In Spring 2023, CDE underwent a procurement process and the digital SAT suite was selected for administration starting in Spring 2024.

PSAT

The PSAT tests the same skills and knowledge as the SAT in a way that makes sense for 9th and 10th-graders. It builds on the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) tests in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The PSAT also aligns with Colorado Academic Standards (CAS) and with the SAT that students will take in 11th grade.

The PSAT focuses on the knowledge, skills, and understandings that research has identified as most important for college and career readiness and success. In addition to helping students practice for the SAT, it can identify student’s potential for success in advanced course work. It provides more data than ever before about academic strengths and weaknesses as well as access to millions of dollars in potential scholarships.

Ninth graders attending public schools in Colorado began taking the PSAT 8/9 in the spring of 2018. Tenth graders began taking PSAT 10 in the spring 2016 and public school 11th graders began taking the SAT in spring of 2017.

SAT

The SAT is closely aligned to challenging classroom work of Colorado schools and focuses on the key skills and concepts that evidence shows matter most for college and career readiness, including:

Mathematical concepts, skills, and practices important for success in career training programs.
Reading, comprehending, and writing high-quality essays supported by evidence.

The SAT also serves as an admission test and is accepted by every college in the United States. At the time of testing, students can send their scores to up to four colleges for free.

All students who are enrolled in 11th grade at a Colorado public high school are eligible to take the SAT.

SAT with optional Essay Update for Spring 2026

Education Accountability System bill 25-1278 (https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1278) modifies the statewide education accountability system. It eliminates paper-pencil format for state assessments (except for accommodations) and the optional writing portion of the SAT.

More About PSAT and SAT

PSAT and SAT Reading and Writing Test

The reading component is comprised of 54 questions and takes 64 minutes.
All Reading and Writing Test questions are four-option multiple choice and based on short reading passages.
Informational graphics, such as tables, bar graphs and line graphs, accompany some passages - but no math is required.
The Reading Test is focused on widely used words and phrases found in texts across many different subjects.

PSAT and SAT Math Test

The math component is comprised of 44 questions and takes 70 minutes.
Most math questions will be multiple choice but some - called student produced responses - will ask students to come up with the answer rather than select the answer.
The Math Test allows the use of a calculator on all questions. Students may continue to use their own approved calculator on test day or take advantage of the graphing and scientific calculators built directly into the test platform.
The math section will cover three different sections, including problem solving and data analysis, algebra, and advanced math.

Highlights of Digital Testing

Digital test times will be shorter than the paper version. The standard test will take around 2 hours, rather than 3.
The reading passages are shorter with fewer questions per passage.
The math section will include a built-in calculator function, which students can choose to use if they don’t want to bring their own from home.
Full-length practice tests for the digital version of the test will be available through the College Board website or Khan Academy.
Additional information on the digital SAT and PSAT Tests

Parent Guides

Practice Resources

Accommodations

The College Board provides two types of accommodations for the SAT Suite of Assessments. College Board Approved Accommodations and State-allowed Accommodations.

College Board Approved Accommodations are designed for students with documented disabilities and must be approved in advance by College Board. Students who are approved for College Board accommodations will receive college-reportable scores. Once approved for accommodations, with limited exceptions, a student remains approved for all College Board tests.

SAAs are state-specific accommodations defined by the state that require a request to be submitted and are automatically approved. Schools and students will receive scores for students testing with SAAs and those scores are used for accountability participation. However, the scores are not college or scholarship-reportable. These accommodations apply to state testing only and are requested for each state administration. Refer to information available through your state as to how these scores are used for accountability.

All requests for accommodations are submitted by the designated SSD coordinator in the College Board online system, called SSD Online. The below links provide additional information regarding the accommodations request process and SSD Online.

English Language Learner Supports

Student Score Reports

PSAT and SAT student score reports are typically available in early June by logging into the College Board’s student Score Reporting Portal. To access the Score Reporting Portal, create a College Board student account, or if you already have one, just sign in.

Online student score reports give students an understanding beyond the numbers and provide a detailed breakdown of their performance. Score reports provide:

Performance summaries for each section of the test
Insight into strengths and weaknesses with results grouped by content area, skillset, and level of difficulty
Percentiles to see how student results compare with those of other students like them

PSAT
SAT

PSAT

SAT

SAT Performance Levels and Cut Scores

Performance Level Descriptors

Policy level descriptors are general statements across grades and content areas indicating the expected level of achievement or rigor for each level. For PSAT/SAT, Colorado adopted four levels of achievement named consistently with the Colorado Measures of Academic Success but with text specific to high school. They address both academic expectations, as well as provide practical implications for future coursework.

Level 4 - Exceeded Expectations

Level 3* - Met Expectations

Level 2 - Approached Expectations

Level 1 - Did Not Yet Meet Expectations

Students performing at this level may minimally approach the academic expectations for the knowledge, skills and practices known to be most relevant for success in college and careers contained in the assessed high school Colorado Academic Standards.
With significant additional coursework, students may engage successfully in entry-level, credit-bearing courses.

Threshold Descriptors (TDs)

During the March 2020 State Board meeting, the State Board of Education approved the cut-scores and Threshold Descriptors (TDs) for the Colorado SAT. The TDs for Math and English Language Arts and Literacy represents a composite of student performance at one (or more) of several score bands on the 11th grade English and Math Tests. The framework is correlated with empirically derived test benchmarks for college and career readiness and success as well as Colorado’s academic standards.

Performance Level Cut Scores

Students taking SAT assessments receive an overall scale score. During the standard setting process, educators used scale scores to set cuts for each performance level based on the specific content that students should be able to engage with at each performance level.

Educators from around the state participated in the process to determine the cut-scores. The presentation that provides a more detailed explanation can be found here.

Relevant Websites

Contact

Student Data Privacy and Security Documents

Additional PSAT & SAT Documents and Resources