The following is compliments of Megan Dorsey, whose posts I follow:
Example from a concerned parent: Can you tell me what Ryan’s score is based on the following:
- Reading 560
- Math 710
- Writing 660
- (Mulitple Choice 67)
- (Essay 8)
I’ve been told you don’t count writing, I’m confused.
I received this email last week and realized how confusing #SATscoreReports can be. It is not as simple as looking at one score and
comparing it to the national average or the average scores at a
particular college. Let’s take a look at what SAT scores mean.
Average SAT Scores
It helps to know that each portion of the SAT is designed to yield a
bell curve distribution of grades with a majority of students in the
middle and few on the highest and lowest ends. Most students will score
between 400 and 600 per section and the national average is right around
500.
So all of Ryan’s scores are above the national average. But he
probably wants to compare his results to the average scores at the
colleges on his list. If Ryan is interested in attending Wake Forest
University, he would find the middle half of accepted students scored
between 620 and 700 in SAT reading and 630 and 710 in math. So his math
score is close to the top 25% of admitted students and his reading
score is below what 75% of admitted students scored. These results
alone don’t tell us if Ryan will or won’t be admitted to Wake Forest.
But they do provide some important information and hopefully some
motivation for Ryan to study more vocabulary and work to improve his
reading scores.
SAT Writing (And All the Sub-Scores)
Writing was added to the SAT in March of 2005. Some colleges use
writing for admissions; others don’t. Some schools use the writing
score itself and others will look at the actual essay from the SAT. I
wish I could offer a solid guideline to follow for whether SAT writing
“counts”, but you will have to research this on a school by school and
program by program basis.
So what about the three different writing scores? What do those
mean? The “official” score is the one between 200 and 800, in Ryan’s
case a 660. The other scores are sub-scores indicating performance on
the multiple choice and essay components. I can honestly say I don’t
know any college or scholarship program that utilizes sub-scores.
Here’s how writing sub-scores can help. A multiple choice of 67 is
generally equal to a 670. In Ryan’s case his actual writing score was a
660, meaning he was very close to his multiple-choice scores, so his
essay didn’t change his results. Someone with a multiple choice score
of a 67 and an overall score of 590 would have an essay score that
lowered his overall results. I use sub-scores to see if there is a
particular aspect of the writing section a student needs to develop.
1600 or 2400 Scale
Many colleges and scholarship programs still use the old 1600 point
scale where only SAT reading and math count. (1600 is a perfect score
of 800 on both.) Other schools are using all three sections where the
maximum score is 2400. Ryan has a 1270 out of 1600 and a 1930 out of
2400.
You need to know how scores are calculated for each application you
intend to submit. If the scholarship program asks for students to have a
minimum of 1300 on the SAT, you can assume it is on the 1600 scale
because the national average would be 1500 out of 2400 and a scholarship
program wouldn’t set a standard below the average. In Ryan’s case, he
is close to the 1300 requirement with a 1270, but still needs 30 more
points. (More motivation to study and retake the test.)
Using the SAT Score Report
The scores provided by the College Board should be seen as a
breakdown of all the components you need. The challenge is determining
what pieces you need to add together for each college, scholarship,
honors program, and special opportunity to which your student may
apply. If after doing a little reading and research, you still can’t
understand what scores a particular institution will use, feel free to
pick up the phone and ask.
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Hope this helps some of my blog followers and any juniors and seniors getting your scores and wondering, "Am I getting in to the college of my choice with these scores?"
Your Fave Christian Tutor in the Upstate of SC,
Dr. Linda B. Greer
