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BACK
The SAT Scoring Scale
Each
administered SAT contains approximately 170 questions (plus
the Essay), and each SAT section score is based on the total
number of questions a test taker correctly answers, a total
known as the section raw score. After arriving at the raw
score, a unique Conversion Table is used for each section
of the SAT to convert the raw score into a scaled SAT score.
Currently, all three sections of the SAT are scored on the
200 to 800 scale, with 200 being the lowest possible score
and 800 being the highest possible score.
Because
the Conversion Tables used for each test are slightly different,
many students ask, “What does it take to get a good
score?” The answer to this question varies depending
on the type of college you want to attend, but you do not
need to answer every question correctly to do well on the
test. Consider the following raw score conversions from the
practice test you will take today:
| |
Raw
Score |
| Scaled
Score |
Math
(out
of 54) |
Critical
Reading
(out
of 67) |
Writing*
(out
of 49) |
800 |
54 |
67 |
49 |
750 |
51 |
63 |
44 |
700 |
48 |
59 |
38 |
650 |
43 |
53 |
32 |
600 |
38 |
46 |
26 |
550 |
31 |
37 |
19 |
500 |
25 |
29 |
14 |
*Assumes
an overall Essay score of 5 out of 6.
You
can also use the Conversion Tables that accompany each test
to help determine the performance level required in each individual
section to achieve a particular score. For example, to achieve
a 600 in the Math section of this test you must achieve a
raw score of at least 38.
While
examining the SAT scale it is important not to lose sight
of what the scores actually represent. The 200 to 800 test
scale contains 61 different possible scores. Each score places
a student in a certain relative position compared to other
test takers. These relative positions are represented through
a percentile that correlates to each score. The percentile
indicates where the test taker falls in the overall pool of
test takers for that year. For example, a score of 1800 represents
the 81st percentile, meaning a student with a score of 1800
scored better than 81 percent of the people who took the SAT
that year. The percentile is critical since it is a true indicator
of your positioning relative to other test takers, and thus
college applicants. Click on the following link to view general
percentiles for your total score and each subject area score:
SAT
Individual Percentile Table and SAT Composite Percentile Table
Using data from all seven tests in a given year provides
College Board with a stable and accurate percentile for each
score. Otherwise percentiles could vary significantly from
test to test as different groups of test takers performed
better or worse. Historical analysis shows that percentiles
do change from year to year, but only by minute amounts. Since
percentiles are not calculated on a per test basis, each test
taker does not compete against the other students taking the
same SAT. Instead, each test taker competes against the students
from the entire year. In fact, because of question pre-testing
through the use of experimental sections, the conversion chart
for each SAT is supposedly set before the test is administered.
Only minor adjustments are then made to normalize the test.
The normalization yields a rough bell curve. The number of
test takers in the 200s and 700s is very low, and most test
takers are bunched in the middle, comprising the "top"
of the bell. In fact, approximately 40% of all test takers
score between 1350 and 1680 inclusive, and about 70% of all
test takers score between 1200 and 1850 inclusive. To learn
more about the SAT scoring scale, visit the counselor's web
page of the College Board (http://www.collegeboard.com/prof/counselors/tests/sat/scores/data_tables.html).
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