How is the SAT Reasoning Test scored?

Scoring the SAT Reasoning Test is a two-step process. First, a raw score is calculated: one point is added for each multiple-choice question answered correctly. Omitted questions receive no points. For multiple-choice questions answered incorrectly, 1/4 point is subtracted. No points are subtracted for incorrect answers to the SAT math questions requiring student-produced responses. Questions in the SAT equating section do not count toward the score. Then, the total points answered wrong are subtracted from the number answered correctly. If the resulting score is a fraction, it is rounded to the nearest whole number-1/2 or more is rounded up; less than 1/2 is rounded down.Next, the raw score is converted to the College Board 200-to-800 scaled score by a statistical process called equating.

How is the Essay Scored?

Essays are evaluated holistically. Each essay is read for the total impression it creates, rather than for its individual aspects. Even with some errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar, students can still get a top score on the essay. Handwriting does not count against students, but essay readers must be able to read handwriting in order to score student essays, so students should try to write legibly.

Essay scorers are experienced and highly trained high school and college teachers. Each essay is scored by two people who don't know each other's score. They also don't know the student's identity or school. Each reader will give the essay a score from 1 to 6 (6 is the highest score).

Essays that are not on the topic given will receive a score of 0. The two scores are added together to form a raw score of 2-12. If the two readers' scores differ by more than one point, the essay will be read and scored by a third, director-level scorer.

How are the SAT Subject Tests scored?

It's a two-step process. First, a raw score is calculated: one point is added for each multiple-choice question answered correctly (all SAT Subject Tests contain only multiple-choice questions). Omitted questions receive no points. A fraction of a point is subtracted for questions answered incorrectly: 1/4 point is subtracted for five-choice questions, 1/3 point is subtracted for four-choice questions, and 1/2 point is subtracted for three-choice questions. Then, the total points answered incorrectly are subtracted from the number answered correctly. If the resulting score is a fraction, it is rounded to the nearest whole number-1/2 or more is rounded up; less than 1/2 is rounded down.

Next, the raw score is converted to the College Board 200-to-800 scaled score by a statistical process called equating. Equating adjusts for slight differences in difficulty between test editions and ensures that a student's score does not depend on the specific test edition he or she took and that a student's score does not depend on how well others did on the same edition of the test.
The scaled score is reported to colleges. Total test scores for all Subject Tests except the ELPTT (English Language Proficiency Test, which was last administered in January 2005) are reported on the College Board 200-to-800 scale.

How are the Subject Test Subscores Computed?

Subject Test subscores are used to compute the total score, but their individual contributions (or weights) are not all the same. For the Writing Test (which was last administered in January 2005), the multiple-choice subscore counted twice as much as the essay. For the French, German, and Spanish Tests with Listening, the reading subscore counts twice as much as the listening subscore. Subscores for the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean tests are weighted equally. Subscores on the ELPT (which was last administered in January 2005) were also weighted equally.

How was the Writing Subject Test Scored?

The final Subject Test in Writing was administered in January 2005. The SAT Reasoning Test now contains a writing section, so all students will be evaluated on writing skills when they take the SAT.

The Subject Test in Writing Test contained a 20-minute writing sample that was scored independently by two readers on a six-point scale. The writing sample score was the sum of the first reader's and second reader's score. If the readers' scores differed by more than two points, a third reader was asked to score the writing sample independently to help determine the writing sample score. The resulting writing sample score was added with the score on the multiple-choice questions to get the total score. The total score was reported on the 200-to-800 scale. The multiple-choice score counted approximately twice as much as the writing sample score.

Multiple-choice and writing sample subscores were reported for the Writing Test. Subscores were reported on the 20-to-80 scale. The total score was not an average of the subscores. Subscores reflected the student's ability to recognize faults in usage and structure and to express ideas clearly.

Can SAT Verbal and Math scores be compared?

Because the average score for both critical reading (or verbal from previous SATs) and math is about 500, you can make comparisons between the two (remember, though, since no scaled score is completely accurate, a student may score slightly higher in one area but still be equal in both skills). There must be at least a 60-point difference between a student's verbal and math scores to consider one score better than the other. There is no average yet for the writing section, so these scores cannot be compared to others as yet.

Why is a score range provided?

Scores are approximations rather than precise measures of skill. The score range around the score presents a better picture of a student's performance. It provides an estimate of how a student's scores might vary if he or she were tested many times. About two-thirds of the time, the score would fall in a range about 30 to 40 points above or below a student's true ability.

How can students decide if they should take the SAT again?

Many students take the SAT for the first time in the spring of their junior year, and then again in the fall of their senior year.

Overall, 55% of juniors taking the test improved their scores as seniors, 35% had score drops, 10% had no change. The higher a student's scores as a junior, the more likely his or her subsequent scores will drop. The lower the initial scores, the more likely the scores will go up. On average, juniors repeating the SAT as seniors improved their verbal/critical reading scores by about 12 points and their math scores by about 13 points. About 1 in 25 gained 100 or more points on verbal/critical reading or math, and about 1 in 90 lost 100 or more points.

The score report contains score change information specific to the student, based on score change results of other students with the same score. For the new SAT, score change information will be based on the previous SAT (which is comparable for math and critical reading) until percentile data becomes available on the new test after the class of 2006 graduates.

Will a student's score change if they take an SAT Subject Test again?

Subject Tests measure knowledge of a particular subject. If a student continues to study the subject and takes the test again, the student's score should reflect his or her increased knowledge. If a student takes the test again without any additional preparation, the student's score may be higher or lower than it was on the previous test.

How did a student perform on each section of the SAT Reasoning Test?

Knowing how a student performed on each section can help to identify skill strengths and weaknesses. To consider one score better than another, there must be a difference of 60 points between the critical reading and math scores, 80 points between the critical reading and writing scores, and 80 points between the math and writing scores.

Additional points to note:

How did a student do on each type of Subject Test in Writing Question?

If a student took the Writing Test (last administered in January 2005), the score report includes a special section that displays, for each question type, the number of questions answered right, wrong, and omitted. It also displays total number of questions, the raw score, and the estimated percentile for college-bound seniors based on the specific edition of the Writing Test taken.

The percentile for the writing sample is not reported. Look at the writing subscore range to find out how well a student did on the writing sample.

What Does the SAT Look Like?

The SAT has eight types of questions in sections on critical reading, writing, and math.  Table 1.1 gives an overview of each section.  The table also shows the type of questions, the total number of questions in each section, and the time allotted for each section.  You have 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete the sat.

The SAT also includes a variable section in critical reading, writing, or math for which 25 minutes is allotted.  The variable section is used to help make sure that your scores are comparable to scores on other editions of the sat. This variable section will not count toward your final score.  Still, because you won’t know which section is the variable, you need to do your best on the entire test.

Sections of the SAT	Type of questions	No. of Questions	Time allotted
Critical Reading	Sentence completion Passage based reading Total Critical reading questions	19 48 67	70 minutes (two 25-minute test sections and one 20-minute test section)
Writing	Identifying sentence errors Improving sentences Improving paragraphs Essay Writing Total writing questions	18 25 6 1 essay 49 + Essay	25 minutes 70 minutes (two 25-minute test sections and one 10-minute test section)
Math	Multiple-choice Student-produced response (grid-ins) Total math questions	44 10 54	70 minutes (two 25-minute test sections and one 20-minute test section)

*(raw score range for writing sample is 2-12) Note:

The raw-score information received in this section of the score report is based on the specific edition of the Writing Test taken. It cannot be compared with raw-score information from different editions of the test or different question types.

How can a student use the score report for college planning?

This section displays a student's responses to the SAT Questionnaire next to corresponding information supplied by the colleges to which the student sent scores. Each score report contains four designated colleges. If more than four colleges are designated, another report containing the additional schools is provided.

Students can use the college profiles to consider how closely the type, size, location, and diversity of students reflect their own personal preferences. Profiles are also helpful in identifying similarities between the student's high school GPA and years of study in particular subjects and those that are required by the colleges. A student can find out if he or she is taking the appropriate courses, and if his or her scores are within the ranges provided for enrolled freshman.

It's important to note that colleges accept students with a wide range of test scores. Many accepted students score higher-and many lower-than the published average scores. If the middle 50 percent of the freshmen at a college had SAT math scores between 500 and 560, then one in four students had a score below 500, and another one in four had a score above 560. Colleges look at a variety of factors when choosing their students, and students should look more factors in choosing a college than just the test scores of the freshman class.

If a student selected Score Choice (not available after June 2002), this section will contain a Score Choice Release Form. A student can use this form to release any or all of the student's Subject Test scores onto his or her permanent score record and also send these released scores to colleges or scholarship programs.

How do students cancel their scores?

SAT Reasoning Test:

Students must cancel all scores for that test day--meaning, a student must cancel critical reading, writing, and math sections. After the test, students should ask the test supervisor for a Request to Cancel Test Scores Form, complete it immediately and return it to the test supervisor before leaving the room.

SAT Subject Tests:

Students must cancel scores from ALL of the Subject Tests taken on that date. If all responses to an individual Subject Test are erased, it will be considered a cancellation request, and scores from all tests taken on that day will be canceled. If a student is taking the Math Level 1 or Math Level 2 and the calculator malfunctions, those scores can be canceled, but the student can still have the other Subject Tests scored. Students taking a listening test in November whose CD player malfunctions can cancel these scores, but still have the other Subject Tests scored.

Canceling Scores After Test Day

Cancellation requests after the test day must be received by the Wednesday following the test date. Requests must be received in writing and include:

Where to send the Cancellation Request

Students should label their inquiry "Attention: SAT Score Cancellation" and send it by one of the following:
Fax: (609) 771-7681

Overnight delivery (U.S. only) U.S. Postal Service Express Mail:
SAT Score Cancellation
PO Box 6228
Princeton, NJ 08541-6228
Other overnight mail or courier service (U.S. or international):
SAT Score Cancellation
225 Phillips Boulevard
Ewing, NJ 08618 U.S.A