How to Read SAT Exam Scores
During your junior and senior years of high school, the College Board SAT exams can be a huge part of your life. Colleges and universities use these scores to compare students and to filter the huge pools of applications they get every year. Getting a good score on the SAT exams can make the difference between attending your first choice school and your second or third choice. Understanding the SAT score report is simple, once you understand the parts that comprise it.
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Instructions
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Calculate your composite score. Add up the three sub-scores, Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing. Each of these is a scaled score between 200 and 800, so the lowest possible composite score is 600 points and the highest possible composite is 2400, a perfect score.
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Look at the score for each of the three sections. The average scaled score for each of these three parts, Critical Reading, Writing and Mathematics, is close to 500, but varies slightly with each test date. According to FairTest, The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, in 2010, the average SAT sub-test scores were 501 in Reading, 510 in Math and 492 in Writing. Compare these scores to the score requirements of the colleges you are interested in.
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Examine the sub-score breakdown for the Writing section. It is made up of two parts. The multiple choice questions have a scaled score between 20 and 80 and make up about 70 percent of the Writing score. The essay has a score between 2 and 12 and makes up the other 30 percent of the Writing score.
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Look at the score range provided for each of the sub-tests. Because your SAT score will vary somewhat from test to test, depending on many factors, the score range estimates the lowest and highest SAT scores you would be likely to get if you took it multiple times. This information is shared with colleges, as well.
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Look at your percentile score for each sub-test. This number compares your performance to other students who took the SAT on the same date. A score in the 50th percentile means that 50 percent of students received the same or a lower score than you.
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Tips & Warnings
The College Board, which administers and scores the SAT, allows you to choose the SAT test dates for which you want schools to see your scores.
Some colleges do not require SAT scores for admissions. Consult college websites or your school's guidance office for information on schools' testing requirements.
Your SAT scores will be available between two to three weeks after the test. Consider college admissions deadlines when you are choosing which date to take the SAT.
References
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