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SAT Score Calculators and Charts SAT Prep Books Barron's SAT 2400: Aiming for the Perfect Score Kaplan SAT 2012: Strategies, Practice, and Review McGraw-Hill's 12 SAT Practice Tests The Official Study Guide for All SAT Subject Tests Tutor Ted's SAT Solutions Manual Vocabulary Cartoons: SAT Word Power
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SAT Score PercentilesSpend any time researching SAT scores and you'll frequently hear the word "percentiles." SAT scores are given along with a percentile score. What does this word mean?
Here's a look at SAT scores and the equivalent percentile rank. These numbers change every year, since SAT scores change from year to year. The most recent test data is from 2010. Critical Reading800=99th% Mathematics800=99th% Writing800=99th% These numbers tell us a lot more about the skills of the average SAT test-taker than it may seem at first. Notice how much higher you need to score on the mathematics portion of the test to earn a high percentile rank compared to the writing or critical reading portion. That means that the average SAT test-taker scores highest on the math portion. It also means that critical reading scores are slightly better than writing scores--notice that a score of 700 on the writing portion gives you a better score than 96% of test-takers, while the same score in reading makes you better than just 95% of SAT testers. It's also interesting that there's a huge drop-off in percentile rank around the 600 score for each test part. If you score 600 on each part of the SAT, you'll end up with a score of 1800, not a bad score but not a good score either. If you score a 700 on each part, you'll end up with a cumulative score of 2,100, good enough to get you in most Ivy League colleges or MIT. The difference between an okay score and a score good enough to go to the top end universities in America is a very thin margin, about 14% going by percentile rank. More about SAT Percentile RanksLooking at the 2009 SAT test, we can learn a little about the relative difficulty of each test. For starters, we know that the writing section of the test is the "toughest" ranked by score. Because the writing portion of the SAT test is an open-ended essay, it can't really be compared to the other two sections. The writing section is also pretty new, having been introduced in 2006. SAT prep courses have had less time to study the writing portion and to train students how to do well. For all of those reasons, it appears to be "harder" to get a high percentile rank on writing than either of the other portions of the SAT. If you earn a 700 on the writing section (the kind of grade necessary to impress Ivy League and top-ranked private schools) you'll have earned a higher grade than 96% of all SAT test-takers. That means you've scored better than 2,230,000+ people who took the SAT test the same year as you. You might assume that the mathematics portion of the SAT would be the toughest section--many people have a tough time with math. The difference between math and critical reading is that mathematics has a definitive set of formulas and answers, whereas some sections of critical reading are more open to interpretation. It is easier to train mathematics than it is to learn reading and writing skills by rote. All told, earning a composite SAT score of 2,100 would put you in the 94th% of all SAT takers. 2,100 is an important goal, as it virtually guarantees you meet the minimums at most upper-echelon colleges across the country. 2,100 composite would meet the requirements at MIT, Harvard, Yale, and many other prestigious schools and universities. When student's SAT scores arrive, either in the mail or by phone, they're often confused by the percentile rank. That's partly because students are used to a 100 point scale and partly because percentiles are not a big part of American math education. The 50th% rank score for composite SATs is 1509, that's the average score for all SAT test-takers. Unfortunately, a score of 1509 wouldn't meet the minimum SAT requirements for most state schools, not to mention prestigious private schools or academies. It is important that students understand that when it comes to the SAT, average just won't cut the mustard. |
The proper term for a percentile score is percentile rank,
because a percentile gives the rank for a specific score. The
percentile rank is the percentage of scores that are equal or
lower than the score. Here's an example: a test score at the
75th percentile is better than 75% of the other scores people
made on that test. Some people look at the percentile rank score
and try to form a correlation with a standard 0-100 point scale.
Earning a 75th percentile rank on the SAT is not necessarily the
same as earning a 75 on a test--a 75 is a middle C, while a 75th
percentile rank on the SAT means your score is better than 3/4
of SAT test takers.