SAT Curve Is It Real

SAT Curve Is It Real SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Many high school tests are curved, but what about the SAT? Is the SAT curved? Canwhen or whom you take the exam with affect your final SAT score? In this article, we'll answer all ofyour questions about the SAT curve. First, we'llclosely examine whether there actually is an SAT curve and discusshow the SAT is scored. We'll then look at SAT curve trendsand give you tips on how you canuse SAT curves to your advantage. Is the SAT Curved? Contrary to what you may believe, there is no SAT curve. This means your SAT score willnever be affected by how other test takers perform on thetest. So even if everyone you took the SAT with were to performpoorly on it, the College Board would not raise everyone's SAT scores to account forthe surplusof low test scores. In other words,you will never receive an SAT score higher than what you actually earned on the test, regardless of whom you took the test with. But if the SAT isn't curved relative to other test takers, how does its scoring system work? Is an 800 in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) on one SAT the same as a perfect EBRW score on another? Or is it more difficult to score highlyon certain test dates? To account for slight differences in difficulty among SATs, the College Board uses a system known asequating. This processensures that SAT scores areconsistent across tests and will always indicate the same level of ability no matter when youtake the SAT.Soa 650 Math score on one SAT will always correspondto a 650 Math score on another SAT- even if one test contains easier Math questions. Inthe College Board's words: â€Å"This [equating] process ensures that no student receives an advantage or disadvantage from taking a particular form of the test on a particular day;* a score of 400 on one test form is equivalent to a score of 400 on another test form.† *Emphasis mine. Through this equating process, or "SAT curves," the College Board can account for slight variations in difficulty among SATs to give test takers on different test datesthe same opportunityto achievetheir goal scores. As a result, there is no single besttime to take the SAT. Regardless of how easy or difficult a test may be,all SATs are equated so that getting a certainscaled score will always require the same amount of effort and level of ability. So how is the SAT scored? Andhow is it equated? Read on to find out. How Do SAT Curves Work? Before we get into the SAT equating process, let's do aquick recap of the scoring system. Both theEBRW and Math scores use scales of 200-800andcombine to give youa composite score range of 400-1600. But you likely know therearen't 1,600 total questions on the SAT. So then how are these scaled scores calculated? On the SAT (excluding the Essay), you earn one point for every question you answer correctly. (You do not lose any points for incorrect or blank answers.) All of your correct answers combine to give you araw score for each section. If you were to correctly answer 45 out of 58 Math questions, your raw Math score would equal 45. This raw score is subsequently converted into a Math section score (i.e., your final scaled score). But the process is a little more complicated for the Reading and Writing sections. Like the Math section, your Reading and Writing performancesare assigned raw scores based on the number of questions you answered correctly. Theseraw scores are then converted into test scoreson a scale of 10-40. Finally, the test scores are added together and multiplied by 10 to give you an EBRW score (on a scale of 200-800- the same as it is for Math). But here's the caveat: raw scores on one SAT willnotnecessarily convert into the same scaled scores on another. Why is there this discrepancy? Each SAT varies slightly in content and difficulty, and so to account for these variations, the College Board translates raw scores into scaled scoresusing individualequating formulas for each test. This essentially meansyou'll never be able to know before you take the SAT how a raw score will convert into a scaled score. That said,by looking at ascore conversion table from an official SAT practice test, we can get a rough idea as to how the equating process works for each SAT. These conversion tables- which differ slightly with each test due to differences in equating formulas- show us how raw scores convert into scaled scores for different sections of the test. The two tables below are based on the score conversion tables forPractice Test #6and Practice Test #7(both of which are copies ofreal SATs!). SAT Practice Test #6 Raw Score Conversion Chart Raw Score Math Section Score Reading Test Score Writing and Language Test Score 0 200 10 10 1 200 10 10 2 210 10 10 3 230 10 11 4 250 11 11 5 260 12 12 6 280 13 13 7 290 14 14 8 310 15 15 9 320 15 16 10 330 16 16 11 340 17 17 12 350 17 18 13 360 18 18 14 380 18 19 15 390 19 20 16 400 19 20 17 410 20 21 18 420 20 22 19 430 21 23 20 440 21 23 21 450 22 24 22 460 22 25 23 470 23 25 24 490 23 26 25 500 24 27 26 510 24 27 27 510 25 28 28 520 25 28 29 530 26 29 30 530 26 30 31 540 27 30 32 550 27 31 33 560 28 31 34 570 28 32 35 580 29 33 36 590 29 34 37 590 30 34 38 600 30 35 39 610 31 36 40 620 31 36 41 630 32 38 42 640 33 39 43 650 33 39 44 660 34 40 45 670 35 46 670 36 47 680 37 48 690 37 49 700 38 50 710 39 51 720 40 52 730 40 53 740 54 760 55 770 56 780 57 790 58 800 Source: Scoring Your SAT Practice Test #6 Overwhelmed by all of the numbers? Time for kitty therapy. SAT Practice Test #7 Raw Score Conversion Chart Raw Score Math Section Score Reading Test Score Writing and Language Test Score 0 200 10 10 1 200 10 10 2 210 10 10 3 230 10 10 4 250 11 11 5 260 12 12 6 280 13 12 7 290 14 13 8 310 15 14 9 320 15 15 10 330 16 15 11 350 17 16 12 360 17 17 13 370 18 18 14 380 18 18 15 390 19 19 16 400 20 19 17 420 20 20 18 430 21 21 19 430 21 22 20 440 22 22 21 450 22 23 22 460 23 24 23 470 23 25 24 480 24 25 25 490 24 26 26 500 25 26 27 510 25 27 28 510 26 28 29 520 26 29 30 530 27 29 31 530 27 30 32 540 28 31 33 550 28 31 34 550 29 32 35 560 29 32 36 570 30 33 37 580 30 34 38 590 31 34 39 590 31 35 40 600 32 36 41 610 32 36 42 620 33 37 43 630 34 39 44 640 35 40 45 650 35 46 660 36 47 670 37 48 680 37 49 680 38 50 690 39 51 700 39 52 720 40 53 730 54 740 55 760 56 770 57 790 58 800 Source: Scoring Your SAT Practice Test #7 Just byglancing at these charts, you can probablytell there are several minor differences in how the raw scores for Math, Reading, and Writing convert into scaled or test scores. For Math, a raw score of 40 would net you 620 on Test #6 but only 600 on Test #7! This hints thatthe Math section on Test #7 is a little easier than thaton Test #6. How can we tell? OnTest #7, you must answer more questions correctly (and obtain a higher raw score of 42) to get a scaled score of 620. The trends are similar for Reading.You could get a perfect 40 on Reading on Test #6, even if you were to miss a question (and earna raw score of 51). On Test #7, however, missing just one question reduces your Reading test score to 39. Once again, we can see a minute difference in difficulty: the Reading section on Test #6 is slightly more difficult than that on Test #7, and has thus been equated so that even if you were to miss aquestion you willstill get a perfect score. You'll find similar differences among the Writing scores, too.A raw score of 42 will nab you a near-perfect test score of 39 on Test #6 but a noticeably lower 37 on Test #7. Ultimately, through these tables, we can confirm thatraw SAT scoresdo not consistently convert into the same scaled scores for each test. So while you can't know for sure how many questions you'll need to answer correctly on the SAT in order to get the scaled scores you want, you can use the tables above to give yourself an ideaas to how your raw scores may translate into scaled scores on test day. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! How Has the SAT Curve Changed Over Time? Because the new SAThasn’t been around that long,we can't determine yet how much the SAT curves have changed with each testing year. That being said, we can look at some of the officialscore range tables for previous testing years (for the old, pre-2016 SAT) to get a feel for how the new SAT might experience similar trends. Score range tables show us how raw scores convert into scaled scores for entiretesting years. For this analysis, we'll be looking at a10-year difference using the 2005-06and 2015-16raw score to scaled score range tables. 2005-06 SAT Score Range Table Raw Score Critical Reading Raw Score Mathematics Raw Score Writing (Multiple Choice) 67 800 65 790-800 60 710-740 55 660-680 54 800 50 620-640 50 710-750 49 800 45 580-600 45 650-690 45 700-770 40 550-570 40 610-640 40 630-670 35 520-530 35 570-600 35 570-610 30 490-500 30 530-550 30 520-560 25 460-470 25 490-510 25 480-510 20 420-440 20 450-470 20 440-470 15 390-410 15 410-430 15 400-430 10 350-380 10 370-390 10 350-380 5 290-330 5 310-340 5 300-330 0 200-270 0 210-260 0 210-260 -5 200 -5 200 -5 200 Source: SAT Raw Score to Scaled Score Ranges 2005-06 2015-16 SAT Score Range Table Raw Score Critical Reading Raw Score Mathematics Raw Score Writing (Multiple Choice) 67 800 65 790-800 60 710-740 55 650-680 54 800 50 610-630 50 700-730 49 800 45 570-590 45 650-670 45 690-720 40 540-560 40 600-620 40 620-650 35 510-520 35 560-570 35 560-600 30 480-490 30 520-530 30 510-550 25 450-460 25 480-490 25 470-500 20 420-430 20 440-460 20 420-460 15 380-400 15 400-420 15 380-410 10 340-360 10 350-380 10 340-370 5 290-320 5 300-330 5 280-320 0 200-240 0 220-260 0 200-240 -5 200 -5 200 -5 200 Source: SAT Raw Score to Scaled Score Range 2015-16 Before we analyzeeach SAT curve chart, keep in mind that these tables are for the old SAT; therefore,the Reading and Writing scores are not combined for an overallEBRW score asthey are currently. In addition, unlike the new SAT, on the old SAT you could score lower than a 0 due to penalties for incorrect answers. Let's start with the SAT Math curve. According to the data above, araw Math score of 50gave test takersas high as 750 in the 2005-06 testing year but onlyas high as 730 in the 2015-16 testing year. Similarly, if you look at the highest possible scaled score for each Math range, you'll findthat the 2005-06 maximums are consistently (albeit only marginally) higher than those on the 2015-16 table. What thispattern tells us is that, on average, the Math sections on the 2005-06 SATs were slightly harderthan those on the 2015-16 SATs. This is evidenced by the fact youtypically needed to score more raw points in 2015-16 to get the same scaled Math scores in 2005-06. But what about the other sections? On Writing,you used to be able to earn up to 49 raw points. In 2005-06, you could score as high as 770 with a raw score of 45 but only as high as 720 with the same raw score in 2015-16. And with theSAT Critical Reading curve, the 2005-06 and 2015-16 ranges are mostly the same, give or take10 points. Based on all of this information, then, what can we conclude about the SAT curve? The tables indicate that the number of questions you must answer correctly to get certain scaled scores has stayed roughly the same over the years. Generally speaking, the variations among scaled scores on each section are minimal- usually only 10- or 20-point differences at most. Therefore, these patterns- along with the fact thatSAT percentiles hardlychange each year- imply that the difficulty of the SAT has stayed relatively consistentover time. Using theSAT Curve to Your Advantage: 5 Do's and Don'ts By now you may be wondering how theSAT curve can helpyou, personally. Below, I give you thedo’s and don’ts of what to do with this knowledge about the SAT equating system,so thatyoucan give yourself a better shot at getting the SAT scores you needfor college. Do: Use raw score conversion tables toestimatehow many correct answers you’ll need to get the scaled scores you want.My recommendation is tofirst figure out your SAT goal scores.Once you have these scores, use any raw score conversiontable from anSAT practice test (or multiple tests) to get a feel for the raw scores you'll need on each section in order to hityour (scaled) goal scores on test day. (Tests #5, #6, and #7 are all former SATs, so these are great tests to use!) Take the SAT curvewith a grain of salt. Although the equating process can be helpful, at the end of the day nobody (except the College Board!) knows the exact equating formula for the SAT you’re going to take. So don’t worry too much about raw scores and how they convert into scaled scores- just know that while you can use equating tablesto help you estimate the number of correct answers you'll need, this data will never be 100-percent applicable to your particular test. Don't: Confuse the SAT equating process with a regular curve. As I mentioned before, there is no SAT curve- at least not in the traditional sense. On the SAT, how other test takers score has zero bearing on your score (though it does affect your SAT percentile).The only factor that influencesyour scaled score is the equating process, which varieswith each SAT to ensure scaled scores represent the same levels of ability across tests. Assume when you take the test willaffectyour score. Again, this is a common misconception. Many people believe certain tests areeasier to score higher on than others due to variations in difficulty or different abilities of test takers. But this isn't true! The equating process makes it so you don't gain or lose any likelihood of attaining a certain score, no matter when or with whom you take the SAT. Try togame the system.Because you can't know for certainhow your raw SAT scores will convert into scaled scores, it's impossible to use what we know about theequating process to cheat the system and guarantee yourself a higher score.Anyone who claims this is possible is flat-outwrong! Now, sit back and grab your popcorn- it's time for the recap! Recap: What Is the SAT Curve? How Does It Work? So is the SAT curved? In short, no, the SAT isn't curved.However, the College Board does use an equating system, which ensures scaled SAT scores always correlate tothe same levels of ability, no matter when you take the test. Although there's no way of knowing forsure just how your raw scores will convert into scaled scores, you can use raw score to scaled score range tables from official SAT practice tests to help you approximate the number of questions you'll need to answer correctly on test day, so you can get the scaled scores you want. Unfortunately,these tables aren't a hundred percent reliable, as each test uses a different equating formula (that only the College Board knows). Lastly, don't try to use the SAT curveto cheatthe SAT. As long as youstudy hardand usehigh-quality resources, you'll be on your way to a high SAT score (and hopefully the college of your dreams) in no time! What’s Next? You understand how the SAT curve works- but what about the scoring system? Read our in-depth guide to how the SAT is scoredto learn more about theequating process andhow subscores and cross-test scores come into play. Want to learn more about SAT scores?Find your goal score with our step-by-step guide and learn about the current averages. Once you're finished with those, check out my article on SAT scores for colleges to see what kinds of scores you'll need for popular schools! If you enjoyed this article, you'll love myanalysisof the ACT curve! Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: