For most of its long and illustrious history, the SAT has been scored on a 400-1600 scale. The decade from 2005-2015 represented a departure from the norm, but now that the familiar 1600 scale has returned, we should examine what has changed.
The current SAT includes four test sections with varying numbers of questions per section. Test takers receive a raw score for each section based entirely on the number of questions answered correctly. Then, raw scores are used to produce scaled scores.
Based on their raw scores on the Reading and Writing and Language sections, test takers receive scaled scores of 10-40 for each section. These scaled scores are added, then the sum is multiplied by 10 to produce the 200–800 Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Section score.
The raw scores for the Math – No Calculator and Math – Calculator sections are added, then scaled to produce the 200–800 Math score.
The 200–800 Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Section and 200–800 Math scores are added to produce the 400–1600 Total score. The SAT score report also lists test scores of 10-40 for Math, Reading, and Writing and Language (important) and subscores and cross-test scores (unimportant).
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
College Board page on SAT Scores
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