Getting a good score on the SAT is a critical component for high school students applying to colleges and universities, especially in the USA. Understanding how the SAT is scored and how scores are calculated is essential to devising a winning test-taking strategy. In this blog post, we will demystify the scoring process by providing an in-depth overview of how SAT scores are calculated, what raw scores are, and how they are converted into final scores.
In this blog:
- When Do Sat Results Come Out
- SAT Results Date
- Calculating SAT Score
- How Do You Get Your SAT Results/ SAT Scores
- Understanding SAT Percentiles or SAT Marks
- How Schools May Use SAT Score Reports
- Percentile for Total Scores: Breaking Down Good SAT Scores
- Bottom Line
From raw scores to final results, the process of calculating SAT scores can be complex and confusing for many test-takers. Whether you are a first-time test-taker or a seasoned pro, this guide will help you understand the scoring process and give you the tools you need to succeed on the SAT.
When Do Sat Results Come Out
Your SAT results will be available to you online within a couple of days after the test day.
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SAT Results Date
Below is the SAT results date for students taking the SAT after March 2023:
SAT Score Release Schedule
Test Date | Score Release Date |
Mar 11, 2023 | Mar 24, 2023 |
May 6, 2023 | May 19, 2023 |
June 3, 2023 | June 16, 2023 |
Below is the SAT results date for students taking the SAT in school on a weekday:
SAT Score Release Schedule: Weekday Tests
Test Date | Most Scores Available |
Mar 1, 2023 | Mar 23, 2023 |
Mar 22, 2023 | Apr 14, 2023 |
Apr 12, 2023 | May 3, 2023 |
Apr 25, 2023 | May 18, 2023 |
You can also visit College Board’s official website to see updated SAT score release dates.
Calculating SAT Score
Students receive a score for each section of the SAT, and these scores are added together to create a total score. To calculate the section scores, look at how many questions the student answered correctly in each section. There are no penalties for incorrect answers or unanswered questions. Then convert the raw section scores to scaled scores between 200 and 800. The scaled scores are the scores that appear on score reports. This adjustment process ensures that scores are consistent across different test versions, even if the difficulty level varies slightly.
How Do You Get Your SAT Results/ SAT Scores
Students can access their SAT scores by checking them online through their College Board account on its official website.
How Schools May Use SAT Score Reports
The student score report provides a clear summary of a student’s academic progress and offers suggestions on how to improve their readiness for college and career. Teachers can help students understand their scores’ meaning by reviewing the report with them. The report includes an indicator that shows whether the student has met the college readiness benchmark. If a student has met this benchmark, they are on track to be prepared for college after graduating high school. If a student falls short of the benchmark for a section of the test, their teacher can create a plan to help them improve their skills in that area. The score report also highlights the student’s strengths, which can boost their confidence and help them identify subjects in which they are capable of handling more advanced coursework.
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Understanding SAT Percentiles or SAT Marks
A student’s percentile rank is a measure of how their SAT score compares to those of other students. It represents the percentage of students whose score is equal to or lower than the student’s score. For instance, a student with a 75th percentile rank means that 75% of the comparison group achieved scores at or below that student’s score. In other words, the student performed better than 75% of the total test-takers.
This blog provides two types of percentile ranks for both total and section scores, which compare student scores to two different reference populations. The first type is Nationally Representative Sample Percentiles, which are based on a research study of U.S. students in grades 11 and 12 and are weighted to represent all students in those grades, regardless of whether they typically take the SAT.
The second type is SAT User Percentiles, which are based on the actual scores of students in the past three graduating classes who took the current SAT during high school.
Percentile for Total Scores: Breaking Down Good SAT Scores
Total Score |
Nationally Representative Sample |
SAT User | ||
1600- 1520 | 99+ | 99+- 99 | ||
1510 – 1450 | 99 | 98 -96 | ||
1440 – 1420 | 98 | 95-94 | ||
1410 – 1390 | 97 | 93-92 | ||
1380 – 1370 | 96 | 92-91 | ||
1360 | 95 | 90 | ||
1350-1340 | 94 | 90-89 | 99 | |
1330 – 1320 | 93 | 88-87 | 99 | |
1310 | 92 | 87 | 98 | |
1300 | 99 | 86 | 98 | |
1290 | 90 | 85 | 98 |
Bottom Line
A good SAT score can land you admission at your dream college abroad, get you into your preferred program, win you scholarships, and, most importantly, give you an edge over other applicants in the vast pool of undergrad applications. And we at Jamboree, are helping students ace the SAT exam for the last 30 years. With the highest SAT scores in the industry, our students have won admissions to top U.S. universities, including Yale, Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, and many more. Sign up for a free SAT demo class and experience Jamboree’s expert SAT training.