Understanding Your SAT Scores
®
How Are SAT Program Tests Scored?
Understanding the SAT
Calculating the Raw Score for the SAT®
SAT Skills Insight™
Each correct answer: add (+) 1 point
Each omitted question: no points subtracted.
SAT® Skills Insight™ is a free online tool that helps you
understand the skills tested on the SAT and what it takes
to improve those skills. Skills Insight also provides you with
suggestions for improvement, and sample SAT questions and
answers to help you do better in the classroom, on the test,
and in college. SAT Skills Insight is available at
www.collegeboard.com/satskillsinsight.
Writing Subscores
My SAT Online Score Report
Multiple-choice writing raw scores are converted to scaled
subscores on a 20- to 80-point scale. The essay subscore
ranges from 2 to 12. (Essays that are not written on the essay
assignment or are considered illegible after several attempts
at reading receive a score of 0.) The multiple-choice raw
score contributes approximately 70 percent, and the essay
score contributes approximately 30 percent toward your total
writing score, which is reported on the 200- to 800-point
scale.
My SAT Online Score Report gives you personalized,
practical information about your SAT results, including
how you performed on each section of the test and how
your score compares to those of students in your school,
your state and the nation. The report also allows you to
access and print your essay to share with your teachers or
counselor.
Each wrong answer:
• for a multiple-choice question: subtract (–) 1/4 point
• for a student-produced response question, no points
subtracted
Calculating the SAT Score of 200 to 800
Your raw score is converted to a score on a scale of 200
to 800 by a statistical process called equating. Equating
ensures that the different forms of the test or the ability level
of the students with whom you have tested do not affect
your score. Equating makes it possible to compare scores
received from different editions of the test across different
administrations.
Calculating the Raw Scores for the
SAT Subject Tests™
Each correct answer: add (+) 1 point
Each wrong answer:
• for a 5-choice question, subtract (–) 1/4 point
• for a 4-choice question, subtract (–) 1/3 point
• for a 3-choice question, subtract (–) 1/2 point
Each omitted question: no points subtracted.
SAT Subject Tests Subscores
Subscores are reported on a 20- to 80-point scale. For the
French, German and Spanish with Listening tests, the
reading subscore counts twice as much as the listening
subscore. For the Chinese, Japanese and Korean with
Listening tests, subscores are weighted equally.
Percentiles and Average Scores
The percentiles and means shown on your report are based
on the most recent scores earned by students in the 2008
graduating class who took the tests at any time during high
school. Each percentile shows what percentage of students
earned a lower score than the one given. Go to
www.collegeboard.com/satpercentiles for more
information.
Link to your report at www.collegeboard.com/satscores.
Score Choice™
If you so choose, you can send the scores you feel best
demonstrate your abilities—at no additional cost. Score
Choice™ allows you to select which scores to send each
college by test date for the SAT and by individual test taken
for SAT Subject Tests™. You can choose scores from one,
several or all SAT test dates in your record.
Score Choice is optional. If you decide not to use it, we
will send all of your scores to the institutions you select to
receive your scores.
The College Board has worked with colleges and universities
to make it easier for you to know which scores you should
send to each institution. Take a look at the score-sending
screens at www.collegeboard.com/satscores.
Thinking about Retaking the SAT?
Taking the SAT again might be to your advantage. On
average, students who take the SAT a second time increase
their combined critical reading, mathematics and writing
scores by approximately 40 points.
Sign up to retake the SAT at
www.collegeboard.com/satretest.
Score Reporting Services
Additional Score Reports
Your score report has already been sent to the institutions
you specified. You can send score reports to additional
programs and colleges by ordering the reports online at
www.collegeboard.com/satscores. Make your request at
least five weeks before the date you want your report to
arrive. Remember that once you have ordered a score report,
it cannot be canceled.
Requests for Score Verification
The multiple-choice sections of all SAT Program tests are
machine scanned. The scanning process is subject to careful
and systematic quality control to ensure accuracy. If your
marks conform to the published guidelines for marking
the answer sheet, the scanning and scoring processes,
combined with the quality control procedures, are designed
to produce an accurate score.
To review the scores actually sent to each recipient, go to
your online account at
www.collegeboard.com/satscores.
For the essay, our normal scoring process includes an
independent scoring of each essay by two qualified readers.
If the two readers’ scores differ by more than one point,
a scoring director will score the essay. This automatic
validation ensures the accuracy of the essay scoring process.
Additional score reports cost $9.50 per score recipient.
Rush reporting is available for an additional fee of $27.
Before ordering rush reporting, you should verify that each
institution accepts rush reporting and that it is necessary to
meet deadlines.
If you receive a score that is very different from what you
expected, you can request multiple-choice hand score
verification or essay score verification, or both, up to five
months after the test date by calling Customer Service at
866-756-7346 (dial 212-713-7789 from outside the U.S.).
Student Answer Services
The charge for either hand scoring or essay score
verification is $50 ($100 for both). Here is what will happen:
The Question-and-Answer Service gives you a chance
to review a copy of the SAT you took, including all test
questions, as well as a record of your answers, the correct
answers, scoring instructions, and information about
the types of questions and the level of difficulty of each
question. QAS costs $18. It is available for the following
dates only:
❏ Oct. 4, 2008
❏ Jan. 24, 2009
❏ May 2 or 3, 2009
❏ May 2-5, 2009 (SSD testing)
Note: QAS is not available for makeup testing.
The Student Answer Service identifies areas for
improvement by providing a computer-generated report
that shows the difficulty of each SAT question and whether
your answer was correct, incorrect or omitted, as well as the
question type or content type for each section. SAS costs $12
and is available for all other test dates not listed for QAS.
Ordering Score Reporting Services
If we find:
We will:
Fee
refunded?
No changes to your score
• Notify you.
No
You made an obvious error
in marking your answer
sheet (such as marking
your answers in the wrong
section)
• Notify you.
No
You failed to follow
instructions for marking
multiple-choice answers
(such as using slashes
instead of filling in circles)
• Notify you.
A score change caused
by an irregularity in our
scanning and/or scoring
processes
• Notify you.
Go online to learn more about ordering more score reports,
the QAS or the SAS. Additional score reports can be ordered
at any time after scores have been released. QAS and SAS
must be ordered within five months after your test date.
• Notify your score
recipients of your
corrected score.
• Your score will NOT
change.
• Notify your score
recipients of your
corrected score.
• If you need to order QAS, SAS or additional score reports
by paper, go to
www.collegeboard.com/sat-sending-scores to
download and print forms for mailing.
• You can request a free paper copy of your most recent
essay. We will send a copy of your essay within four
weeks after we receive your request. Send a written
request stating your full name, complete street
address, registration number (located on the front of
your score report), date of birth and test date to:
The College Board
P.O. Box 234112
New York, NY 10023
© 2008 The College Board. All rights reserved. College Board, SAT and the acorn logo are registered
trademarks of the College Board. achieve more, inspiring minds, SAT Subject Tests and Skills Insight are
trademarks owned by the College Board. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.com.
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750549
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