How is the SAT Scored?

You're probably reading this because of a few reasons: you either finished taking the SAT or you're thinking of taking the SAT and looking up how your performance is evaluated. If you're here because of the former, huge congratulations! You just powered through one of the most popular standardized exams in high school. If you're here because of the latter, I applaud your initiative to do some background research and look for ways to maximize your score. I wish you the best of luck!

🔨 Decrypting the Score Report

Before we even get to the nitty-gritty, let's first look at a sample SAT Student Score Report you'll be able to access a month (more or less) after you've taken the SAT (via this website).

It may look overwhelming at first but at a closer look, the score report goes from most relevant information (top) to least (bottom). Time to break it down further! 

💯 Breaking Down Your SAT Score

Your Total Score ranges from 400 to 1600. This section also shows the percentiles you place in, which compares you to the typical U.S. student ("Nationally Representative Sample Percentile") and the typical SAT taker ("SAT User Percentile").

Section Scores range from 200 to 800. You get two scores here—one from the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) part of the exam (first two parts) and one from the Math part of the exam (last two parts, including non-calculator and calculator). Add the two scores and you should get your total SAT score! 

Test Scores range from 10 to 40, and they correspond to the three tests you took: Reading, Writing and Language, and Math. This section plays a huge role in the calculations that'll give you your final scores.

Cross-Test Scores range from 10 to 40. According to College Board, they "show how well you analyze texts and solve problems related to science, history, and social studies." In other words, they reflect how well you read, interpret, and mathematically analyze problems in History/Social Studies and Science contexts. For the most part, this is miscellaneous, but this can also help you a LOT when zeroing in on specific aspects to improve on as you study for the SAT.

Subscores range from 1 to 15. This is the more straightforward sibling of the Cross-Test Scores section. Each subscore corresponds to one or more parts of the SAT:

• • "Command of Evidence" (Reading, Writing) ⇒ passage development, connecting evidence to inferences or infographics to information
• • "Words in Context" (Reading, Writing) ⇒ diction, identifying the meaning of a word
• • "Expression of Ideas" (Writing) ⇒ changing sentences to be more concise
• • "Standard English Conventions" (Writing) ⇒ grammar, syntax, punctuation, structure
• • "Heart of Algebra" (Math) ⇒ linear equations and inequalities, word problems, functions
• • "Problem Solving and Data Analysis" (Math) ⇒ statistics (interpreting graphs, scatterplots, and tables), rates, percentages, etc.
• • "Passport to Advanced Math" (Math) ⇒ quadratics, exponential equations, polynomials, geometry, etc. Again, don't panic if all of these subsections seem too much to handle all at once. We also have articles tackling every part of the SAT from Reading to Writing to Math!

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📱Calculating Your SAT Score

Now, you might be wondering: "So how did we get from all the small numbers between 10 and 40 to… 400 to 1600?" Let's take a look again at the example above and focus on the test scores.

To calculate your Total Score:

1. Add the Reading and Writing and Language test scores.(37 + 36) = 73
2. Multiply that sum by 10. That'll be your EBRW Section Score!73 x 10 = 730
3. Multiply the Math score by 20. That'll be your Math Section Score!39.0 x 20 = 780
4. Add the EBRW Section Score and Math Section Score. That'll be your Total SAT Score!730 + 780 = 1510. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Here's a better question, though: "How did we get the Test Scores in the first place?" Dun dun dunnn…

📈 The SAT "Curve" (not really...)

You know how sometimes your unit tests, midterms, and/or final exams in your middle and high school classes are "curved" or based on student performance as a whole on that day? Well, the SAT uses a quite similar process called equating, which you can read more about here! Here's an overview of the process:

"Equating makes sure that a score for a test taken on one date is equivalent to a score from another date. It is standard practice for assessments like the SAT®. The College Board uses this process because it’s important that the score a student receives on the SAT means the same regardless of when the student took the test. This ensures that there’s no advantage to taking the SAT during one administration versus another. A score of 540, for instance, on the Math section of one day’s test means the same thing as a 540 on a test taken on a different day—even though the questions are different. It’s important to note that this can mean that in some cases a single incorrect answer on one SAT could equal two or three incorrect answers on the SAT taken on a different day, or vice versa" (College Board). In other words, the scoring scale from the January 2021, May 2022, and June 2023 administrations are all different. Based on recent trends, exams with "easier" Math or EBRW sections have harsher "curves" (again, not an actual curve), as you lose more points every time you get a question wrong (denoted colloquially as "-1," "-2," etc). 

**🚧 Keep in mind that since the SAT does not actually have a curve, other students' performance will not affect your score. **

Wait, Why Does This Matter?

• ❗Finding trends in your SAT scores will help make exam prep much more efficient if you're considering a retake! If you got a significantly lower score in Math than EBRW, then you should spend more time working with word problems, graphs, algebra, and related areas to score higher points in that section. Your subscores also do you a huuuuge favor by telling you which specific aspects of Math or EBRW you might want to focus on. Remember, more points = ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• 📞Once you're a senior in high school, colleges ask for your Total Score and/or Section Scores either by sending your scores to them via College Board or by reporting them on the Common App and/or the individual college application portal. Keep your score report handy in case they also ask for Test Scores, Cross-Test Scores, and/or Subscores!
• 😉Being aware of how the SAT is scored also puts your goals into perspective. Did you perform better in or enjoy doing one section more than another? That might be an indicator of a hobby you haven't picked up or guide you toward a possible career path! If you're shooting for a certain score range (1300s, 1400s, 1500s, etc.) before you submit your college and scholarship applications, your score report will offer insight on where you're at right now and how close you are to reaching that threshold.

🎭 Closing Remarks

I want to wrap this overview up by dropping a timeless meme a Redditor (u/Relevant-Ad-1193) posted on the SAT subreddit while waiting for their score on the SAT:

THAT'S RIGHT. Just because you got a score that doesn't line up with your expectations doesn't mean that you're not prepared for the real world out there or you're not capable of doing complex tasks and projects ten years from now! Remember that the score you get comes only from a three-hour-long session under intense pressure and time constraints. It does not take into consideration any of the other highly beneficial skills you may have, and will develop. 

With that in mind, be sure to get well-rested the night before, don't skip breakfast on exam morning, and stay hydrated! As Dr. Benjamin Spock said, "Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do." Best of luck! 🍀