How is the SAT scored?
The final SAT score is the score totaled from the three sections of the SAT. • the Math section • the Critical Reading section • the Writing section Depending on a student’s performance, a score between 200 and 800 points per section is possible. Therefore, the best a student can score on the SAT is a 2400. As a rule of thumb, a student will • earn approximately 10 points per correct answer – a student must answer at least one question correctly in a section to receive a score greater than 200 • lose between 2.5 and 5 points per incorrect answer – a student who makes an ‘un-educated’ guess may be losing valuable points. • neither earn nor lose points per unanswered question – a student who omits all answers in a section will not receive a score greater than 200. Differing slightly is the way the writing section is scored. This section includes the persuasive essay question, and multiple choice questions. The multiple choice questions are scored in the 20-80 point range, similar to the
First, a raw score for each section is calculated. The raw score consists of one point for each correct answer minus one-fourth point for each incorrect multiple choice answer. The raw scores are then converted into scaled scores from 200-800, one score for each of the three sections, which together form a combined score on a 600 – 2400 scale. The writing section scaled score is the combination of the multiple choice subscore and the essay subscore. The multiple choice subscore counts for approximately twice as much as the essay subscore.
