Editing SAT (section)

== Scaled scores and percentiles ==
Students receive their online score reports approximately two to three weeks after test administration (longer for mailed, paper scores).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/scores/getting-scores|title=Getting SAT Scores|date=January 11, 2016|publisher=The College Board|access-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424002943/https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/scores/getting-scores|archive-date=April 24, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Included in the report is the total score (the sum of the two section scores, with each section graded on a scale of 200–800) and three subscores (in reading, writing, and analysis, each on a scale of 2–8) for the optional essay.<ref name="understanding SAT scores">{{cite web |url=https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/understanding-sat-scores.pdf |publisher=The College Board |access-date=April 28, 2019 |title=Understanding SAT Scores |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417020602/https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/understanding-sat-scores.pdf |archive-date=April 17, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Students may also receive, for an additional fee, various score verification services, including (for select test administrations) the Question and Answer Service, which provides the test questions, the student's answers, the correct answers, and the type and difficulty of each question.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/scores/verifying-scores|title=Verifying SAT Scores|date=January 11, 2016|publisher=The College Board|access-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424002942/https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/scores/verifying-scores|archive-date=April 24, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition, students receive two [[percentile]] scores, each of which is defined by the College Board as the percentage of students in a comparison group with equal or lower test scores. One of the percentiles, called the "Nationally Representative Sample Percentile", uses as a comparison group all 11th and 12th graders in the United States, regardless of whether or not they took the SAT. This percentile is theoretical and is derived using methods of [[statistical inference]]. The second percentile, called the "SAT User Percentile", uses actual scores from a comparison group of recent United States students that took the SAT. For example, for the school year 2019–2020, the SAT User Percentile was based on the test scores of students in the graduating classes of 2018 and 2019 who took the SAT (specifically, the 2016 revision) during high school. Students receive both types of percentiles for their total score as well as their section scores.<ref name="understanding SAT scores" />

=== Percentiles for total scores (2022) ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Percentiles for total scores (2022)<ref name="understanding SAT scores" />
 ! Score, 400–1600 scale !! SAT User !! Nationally <br /> representative sample
 |-
 | 1600 || 99+|| 99+
 |-
 | 1550 || 99|| 99+
 |-
 | 1500 || 98 || 99
 |-
 | 1450 || 96 || 99
 |-
 | 1400 || 93 || 97
 |-
 | 1350 || 90 || 94
 |-
 | 1300 || 86 || 91
 |-
 | 1250 || 81 || 86
 |-
 | 1200 || 75 || 81
 |-
 | 1150 || 68 || 74
 |-
 | 1100 || 60 || 67
 |-
 | 1050 || 51 || 58
 |-
 | 1000 || 43 || 48
 |-
 |  950 || 35 || 38
 |-
 |  900 || 27 || 29
 |-
 |  850 || 19 || 21
 |-
 |  800 || 13 || 14
|-
|750
|7
|8
|-
|700
|3
|4
|-
|650
|1
|1
|-
|640–400
|1-
|1-
|-
|}

=== Percentiles for total scores (2006) ===
The following chart summarizes the original percentiles used for the version of the SAT administered in March 2005 through January 2016. These percentiles used students in the graduating class of 2006 as the comparison group.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web |url=http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/SATPercentileRanksCompositeCR_M.pdf |title=SAT Percentile Ranks for Males, Females, and Total Group: 2006 College-Bound Seniors – Critical Reading + Mathematics |access-date=May 29, 2007 |publisher=[[College Board]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614073909/http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/SATPercentileRanksCompositeCR_M.pdf |archive-date=June 14, 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/SATPercentileRanksCompositeCR_M_W.pdf |title=SAT Percentile Ranks for Males, Females, and Total Group:2006 College-Bound Seniors – Critical Reading + Mathematics + Writing |access-date=May 29, 2007 |publisher=[[College Board]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614073906/http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/SATPercentileRanksCompositeCR_M_W.pdf |archive-date=June 14, 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

 {| class="wikitable"
 ! Percentile !! Score 400–1600 scale,<br />(official, 2006) !! Score, 600–2400 scale<br /> (official, 2006)
 |-
 | 99.93/99.98* || 1600 || 2400
 |-
 | 99.5 || ≥1540 || ≥2280
 |-
 | 99 || ≥1480 || ≥2200
 |-
 | 98 || ≥1450 || ≥2140
 |-
 | 97 || ≥1420 || ≥2100
 |-
 | 93 || ≥1340 || ≥1990
 |-
 | 88 || ≥1280 || ≥1900
 |-
 | 81 || ≥1220 || ≥1800
 |-
 | 72 || ≥1150 || ≥1700
 |-
 | 61 || ≥1090 || ≥1600
 |-
 | 48 || ≥1010 || ≥1500
 |-
 | 36 || ≥950 || ≥1400
 |-
 | 24 || ≥870 || ≥1300
 |-
 | 15 || ≥810 || ≥1200
 |-
 | 8 || ≥730 || ≥1090
 |-
 | 4 || ≥650 || ≥990
 |-
 | 2 || ≥590 || ≥890
|-
|colspan="3"|* The [[percentile]] of the perfect score was 99.98 <br /> on the 2400 scale and 99.93 on the 1600 scale.
|}

=== Percentiles for total scores (1984) ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 20%"
|+Percentiles for total scores (1984)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://miyaguchi.4sigma.org/hoeflin/megadata/fifthnorm.html |title=The Fifth Norming of the Mega Test |access-date=May 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516221208/http://miyaguchi.4sigma.org/hoeflin/megadata/fifthnorm.html |archive-date=May 16, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
! Score (1984) !! Percentile
|-
| 1600 || 99.9995
|-
| 1550 || 99.983
|-
| 1500 || 99.89
|-
| 1450 || 99.64
|-
| 1400 || 99.10
|-
| 1350 || 98.14
|-
| 1300 || 96.55
|-
| 1250 || 94.28
|-
| 1200 || 91.05
|-
| 1150 || 86.93
|-
| 1100 || 81.62
|-
| 1050 || 75.31
|-
| 1000 || 67.81
|-
| 950 || 59.64
|-
| 900 || 50.88
|-
| 850 || 41.98
|-
| 800 || 33.34
|-
| 750 || 25.35
|-
| 700 || 18.26
|-
| 650 || 12.37
|-
| 600 || 7.58
|-
| 550 || 3.97
|-
| 500 || 1.53
|-
| 450 || 0.29
|-
| 400 || 0.002
|}

===Percentiles for verbal and math scores (1969–70)===
{| class="wikitable"
|+<!--Percentiles for total scores (1969–70)--><ref name="your-atp">{{cite book | title=Your College Board ATP Report | publisher=College Entrance Examination Board | location= | year=1971 | pages=7, 9–10}}</ref>
 ! Score, <br /> 200–800 scale !! Verbal SAT User !! Verbal, nationally <br /> representative sample !!  Math SAT User, <br /> Boys !! Math SAT User, <br /> Girls
 |-
 | 800 || 99+|| 99+ || 99+ || 99+
 |-
 | 750 || 99+|| 99+ || 99 || 99+
 |-
 | 700 || 98 || 99+ || 95 || 99
 |-
 | 650 || 95 || 98 || 89 || 96
 |-
 | 600 || 89 || 95 || 78 || 89
 |-
 | 550 || 79 || 90 || 65 || 79
 |-
 | 500 || 66 || 82 || 48 || 63
 |-
 | 450 || 50 || 72 || 33 || 46
 |-
 | 400 || 33 || 58 || 20 || 29
 |-
 | 350 || 18 || 44 || 11 || 16
 |-
 | 300 ||  7 || 28 || 4 || 6
 |-
 | 250 ||  2 || 14 || 1 || 1
 |-
 | 200 ||  1− || 4 || 1− || 1−
 |-
 |}

The mean verbal score was 461 for students taking the SAT, 383 for the sample of all students.<ref name="your-atp"/>

The mathematical scores for 1969–70 were broken out by gender rather than reported as a whole; the mean math score for boys was 415, for girls 378.  The differences for the nationally sampled population for math (not shown in table) were similar to those for the verbal section.<ref name="your-atp"/>

=== Ceilings and trends ===
The version of the SAT administered before April 1995 had a very high ceiling. For example, in the 1985–1986 school year, only 9 students out of 1.7 million test takers obtained a score of 1600.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://people.com/archive/no-mistake-these-five-kids-have-all-the-answers-they-scored-perfect-1600s-on-their-sat-exams-vol-27-no-23|title=No Mistake, These Five Kids Have All the Answers: They Scored Perfect 1600s on Their Sat Exams|newspaper=People|publisher=People (Meredith Corporation)|access-date=June 23, 2022|archive-date=June 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623205031/https://people.com/archive/no-mistake-these-five-kids-have-all-the-answers-they-scored-perfect-1600s-on-their-sat-exams-vol-27-no-23/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2015 the average score for the Class of 2015 was 1490 out of a maximum 2400. That was down 7 points from the previous class's mark and was the lowest composite score of the past decade.<ref name="Anderson-2015" />