How to Calculate Your SAT Scores

Many U.S. colleges and universities use SAT scores to help make admission decisions. According to the College Board, more than 1.9 million high school students in the class of 2023 took the SAT at least once.

In 2024, the SAT transitioned to a digital format. The new digital exam takes less time to administer, has adaptive modules, and uses a sophisticated scoring algorithm that is very different from the approaches of other tests.

You would need specialized knowledge in statistics to completely understand how the SAT is scored, but you can still improve your score by following the advice here.

The new digital SAT has thrown out the bubble sheets and moved the entire test online. The new exam is also shorter, lasting approximately 2 hours and 14 minutes instead of three hours, and uses an adaptive design to select the questions students will have to answer.

On the test, you’ll work through four sections — two on reading and writing and two on math. The first reading and writing section and the first math section are the same for everyone in terms of difficulty.

But the second section of each subject is adaptive. If you do well in section one, you get the harder version of section two — which is much tougher but allows you to get a high score. If you don’t do well in section one, you’ll get the easier version of section two, which is less challenging but prevents you from getting a high score.

If your goal is to achieve a high score, it’s essential that you do well in section one of each subject and advance to the harder section two (instead of the easier section two).

On the current official practice tests released by the College Board, if you get down to the easier section two, it will be virtually impossible to score higher than 600 on that part of the test, even if you do well.

On the other hand, if you get sent to the harder section two, you’ll be able to reach the top scores. Even if you miss a lot of questions in the harder section, your score might still be considered above average. On the current official practice tests, you can miss half of the questions in the harder section and still score above 600 on that part of the test.

So don’t panic if you have a rough time in section two. You can still do well, and you’ll likely score better than if you are sent to the easier section two.

SAT questions are not weighted equally. Two people who get the same number of questions correct can have very different scores.

Sometimes, that happens because one student gets to the harder section two, and the other gets sent down to the easier section, but variability also shows up within each section.

Some students have missed only six math questions and scored 680, a drop of 120 from the perfect score. Others have missed four questions and still scored 790, just 10 points from perfection.

How can this be? Understanding exactly how this works requires a background in statistics, but here are the basics:

Unfortunately, you don’t get to choose which questions you’ll see, and sometimes, you’ll get unlucky and miss a question you should have gotten right. But you can also get lucky and get some hard questions right that you just guessed on.

The College Board recommends answering all questions, even if it is just a guess, versus leaving a question blank, as there is no penalty for guessing.

As a result, SAT scores can vary from test to test, sometimes radically. So don’t panic if you get a bad practice score or even a bad score on the real test. You might do better if you just take it again.

The SAT is still scored out of 1600 and students are permitted the use of a calculator for the entirety of the math portion. You can bring your own or use the built-in calculator in the testing application, which is a real advantage if you know how and when to use it.

When you receive your score report, you’ll also find insights on growing careers in your area and which careers may be a match for your skills.

There is no set number of questions you can miss on the new SAT and still get a top score because the questions aren’t weighted equally.

It’s also important to note that the College Board has indicated that each student will receive a unique version of the test. In practice, many students will see many of the same questions on a given day, but some variation is likely.

This means you won’t know how much you have to gain or lose from getting a question correct. But if you’re looking for a general rule, missing questions on the official practice tests costs you 10-20 points per question missed. There are exceptions. Harder tests are more forgiving, allowing you to miss more and still get a good score.