Are you taking the SAT® exam soon and not sure how you might do? Then you’re at the right place! With this interactive SAT® score calculator, you can predict how your raw score translates to your SAT® score to answer the common question, “Is my SAT® score good enough?”
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How do you calculate SAT® scores?
When the SAT® revamped in March of 2016, scores became easier to calculate. The test went back to being scored out of a total possible 1600 points.
When calculating your SAT® score, there are a few key components:
First, there is your reading test raw score. This raw score is equivalent to the number of SAT® Reading questions you get correct on the test (there are 52 in total). From your raw score, a Reading Test Score is calculated between 10-40.
Next, there is your writing and language test raw score. This is equal to the number of questions you get right out of the 44 questions in this section. From your raw score, a Writing and Language Test Score is calculated between 10-40.
Adding your Reading Test Score and Writing and Language Test Score becomes your Reading and Writing Test Score (which ranges from 20-80). This number is multiplied by 10 to get your Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Section Score (between 200-800).
Finally, there is your math score. For this section, you add the raw score (the number of correct answers) from both the no calculator and calculator sections to get your math section raw score. This is then converted using a scoring chart to output your Math Section Score (between 200-800).
This means your total SAT® score can range from 400-1600.
What’s the difference between SAT® raw scores and SAT® scale scores? How are they calculated?
As noted in the prior question, SAT® raw scores are equivalent to the number of correct answers you got in a section. The SAT® does not have a guessing penalty and only cares about the total number of correct answers.
SAT® scale scores are how your raw scores translate when converted to section scores — these are between 200-800 for the two sections (Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math), to give you a total SAT® score between 400-1600.
What is a good SAT® score? Decent score? Bad score?
A good SAT® score really depends on the student and their aspirations. For example, if you’re applying to Harvard and have a 1200 SAT® score, it’s unlikely you’ll get in since Harvard’s average score is typically over 1500. That being said, if you’re applying to Michigan State University with that same score, that would be competitive for your college application.
Generally, in our opinion, anything that falls into the top 30% of graduating high school students should be considered a good SAT® score. When you review the 2019 SAT® score trends, you see the nationally representative sample average SAT® score is 1120. The 70th percentile SAT® test taker is 1170.
The former number compares how students did on the SAT® to an overall sample of all students grades 11-12, regardless of whether or not they took the SAT®. The latter number applies the actual scores of students in the past three graduating classes to the latest SAT®.
A decent SAT® score would probably be something around the 50th percentile. Using the nationally representative sample, you’d find this to be a 1010. Looking at just SAT® test takers, the 50th percentile SAT® score would be between a 1050 and 1060.
A bad SAT® score is quite subjective, but if you were looking at it from a percentiles standpoint, it could be any score below the 25th percentile. Looking at the nationally representative sample, this is between 870 and 880. For just SAT® test takers, it’d be a 910.
Is 1600 a good SAT® score?
Yes! A 1600 is not just a good SAT® score, it’s a perfect SAT® score. Just like the ACT®, depending on the particular test, there is sometimes leeway on how to get a perfect SAT® score. In other words, there are edge cases where you may be able to get one Reading question wrong and still get an 800 for your Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Section Score.
How hard is it to get a 1400 on the SAT®?
It can be pretty tough to score a 1400 on the SAT®. Scoring a 1400 means you’re in the 97th percentile for the nationally representative sample and the 94th percentile among SAT® test takers.
Furthermore, if you were to assume you wanted to score a 700 in both sections and you play around with the score calculator above, you’d see that to score a 700 in math, you can only miss around eight questions on average.
Then, to score a 700 in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, you’d only be able to miss around eight questions in SAT® Reading and five questions in SAT® Writing.
Is 1200 a good SAT® score?
A 1200 is a good SAT® score. When you review the 2019 SAT® score trends, you’d see that a 1200 equates to the 81st percentile for the nationally representative sample, and 74th percentile for SAT® test takers. This means scoring a 1200 on the SAT® puts you in the top quartile of high school students taking the test.
What is the average SAT® score?
The average SAT® score is typically between 1010 and 1060. This is pulled from the SAT® score trend data in which the 50th percentile for the nationally representative sample was a 1010, and among SAT® test takers, the 50th percentile fell between a 1050 and 1060.
Why is the SAT® exam curved?
The SAT® exam itself is not curved relative to test takers. That being said, the College Board does put each test through a process referred to as equating. This process ensures no student receives an advantage or disadvantage from taking a particular for on the SAT® on a particular day.
In other words, it ensures a test score of 500 equals a test score 500 on an SAT® from another day.
The equating process is also why you’ll notice that when you use our SAT® score calculator, there are sometimes variances in how you might have scored on one practice test versus another. There can be cases for instance where getting a perfect score in Math was necessary for an 800, while you could get one question wrong in another.
Since the last SAT® change in March 2016, the SAT® has remained consistent in terms of how raw scores translate to scale scores.
How do I read my SAT® Score Report?
The College Board provides a helpful short video on how to understand your SAT® score report here.
The first step is navigating to studentscores.collegeboard.org.
Upon logging in, you’ll see your total SAT® score, which combines your Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Section and Math Section score.
In your SAT® Score Report, you’ll also find specifics on your test scores (number correct and incorrect in each section), cross-test scores (how you analyze texts and solve problems that are interdisciplinary with Science and History) and subscores (how you performed on specific key concepts).
These sections will be color coded so you know exactly where you need to improve.
If you took the essay, you’ll see how you did on reading, writing, and analysis.
If you prefer not watching a video on this, you can review the College Board’s PDF resource on reading SAT® Score Reports here.
Why should I use this SAT® score calculator?
Albert’s SAT® score calculator uses official practice test curves from the College Board. This means our calculations are accurate and up-to-date to the practice materials shared from the test maker.
If you’re ever in doubt and would like to confirm the score conversion charts for yourself, you can review the official resources here.
We made this SAT® score calculator because we saw that everyone else simply replicated the tables when creating what they called a “calculator”. Interactive score calculators with sliders are a way more visual and fun way to motivate yourself to preparing for your SAT®. They help you actually play with levers on what sections you could see the biggest boost in your score from to get your desired SAT® score.
How do you figure out your SAT® superscore?
To figure out your SAT® superscore, you’ll need to first compile all of the test days you took the SAT®. Next, look for your highest scores for SAT® Evidence-Based Reading and SAT® Math.
So for example, if you got a 700 on one SAT® Math test, and a 750 on another, you’d choose the 750.
Finally, total your highest scores — this is your SAT® superscore.
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