SAT General Info, Content and Scoring Details

What is the SAT?
 

The SAT is a test used by college/university admissions offices to more quickly evaluate among the many applicants whether enrolling a student is desirable for their institutions.  The test is significant but not the only factor taken into consideration; GPA, extracurricular work and experience, background as well as the application itself-- essays and recommendation letters-- are all part of the decision-making process.  Each school values these factors differently, but generally the larger the school the more important the test score.  

How is the SAT scored?

The SAT combines the scaled scores for the two primary sections and scores the essay separately.  For a detailed overview, please click here 

When should the SAT be taken for the first time?

Since you may take the test as many times as you want (only the most recent 10 scores stay on file) and usually only need to send in your best score, there are few downsides to taking the test early.  The time and effort to sign up and sit through it and the potential to hurt the confidence of a student too young are possible disadvantages.  However, nothing in practice can replicate the experience of seriously* sitting for an official test. 

*(If, for example, the student hasn’t learned the math yet, it cannot be a serious attempt)

Therefore, Ivy Bridge recommends attempting the SAT as early as October of Sophomore year of high school and no later than Autumn of junior year (must be taken by Autumn senior year or many universities' deadlines will be missed).  If you are planning to apply to a school that superscores your SAT, it is even a greater advantage to take it many times.  However, you shouldn't completely dismiss sections in an attempt to focus on improving specific section scores, as large score fluctuations could raise red flags. Another reason to be wary of neglecting a section is that most schools, even those that superscore, request to see all your scores.  International test dates are in October, December, March, and May. 

How Do I Find My Target Score?

​Your target score is based on three things:  Which institutions you want to attend, your current score, and how much meaningful time you put in to improving.  

·       What is the mean score of admitted students for the last few years at the schools to which you want to apply?  Consider your other factors like GPA and extracurricular résumé when evaluating the average score range

·       Have you taken a test or practice test?  How did you feel about it?​

       If you did well and felt good on any sections, you may be at or near your target score​.  If you felt bad and did poorly, you may have a lot of room for progress (unless language is an issue)

·       Based on your schedule, how much meaningful time can you devote to test preparation?

       Meaningful time is concentrating on practicing the right way and giving your best effort.  Learning anything takes time and practice and obviously, the more time and effort the better the results.​

​ ​​​​Your Target Score should be in the range of the most competitive school in which you are seriously interested, given that based on the previous questions, you have a legitimate chance of hitting that score.

​I Want A Concrete Answer!!! What should my target score be?

​There are so many variables, like the biggest one of all--the uniqueness of each student--, that it is impossible to make any definitive formula.  However, Ivy Bridge can give an estimate:

​Is it possible to go from [x] SAT score to [y] SAT score in [z] amount of time?

First, in terms of SAT score increases, these are the basic possibilities, which of course will vary based on personal factors:

100-150 points: Very doable. Your main obstacle is likely test-taking strategy and a few small content issues.
150-200 points: Doable, but you will have to devote more study hours to accomplish this increase.
200-250 points: Possible, but it will take some very serious studying and commitment. You likely will have to address some content deficits in addition to practicing.
300+ points: This will really depend on your situation and time available for studying. You will almost certainly have to address some serious content deficits before you focus on improving your test-taking strategy. 

Those possibilities aside, whether you can actually achieve your desired increase depends simply on this: how many hours can you devote to studying? Even if you're just aiming for a small 100-point increase, you have to devote time to studying to actually meet your goal. There are no shortcuts!

With that in mind, this is an estimate of the amount of hours you will need to accomplish SAT point increases:

50-100 SAT Score Improvement: 10 hours
100-150 SAT Score Improvement: 20 hours
150-200 SAT Score Improvement: 40 hours
200-300 SAT Score Improvement: 80 hours
300+ SAT Score Improvement: 150 hours+

Again, these are just estimates, and the time you need will vary based on your own personal strengths and weaknesses.  The Ivy Bridge class is 20 hours with an expected 20 hours of homework.  The general plan of attack is below.

Fundamentals

1.  Master the concepts tested

2.  Master the strategies that beat the test

3.  See the test through the eyes of the test architects

If you want to see specific examples by section of how the test tries to trick you and how we help you, check out

What Is Tested?

The SAT is divided into three sections that always are presented in the same order: Evidence Based Reading and Writing (Reading 65 minutes 52 questions & Writing and Language 35 minutes 44 questions) section, Math (No Calculator 25 minutes 20 questions & With Calculator 55 minutes 38 questions) section plus an Essay that is scored separately. 

       The Evidence Based Reading and Writing tests

• Relevant words in context
  (Reading, Writing)

• Command of evidence
  (Reading, Writing)

• Expression of ideas
  (Writing)

• Standard English convention

(Writing)

        The Math tests

• Algebra

  • Linear Equations

  • Inequalities

  • Functions and graphs

• Geometry and Trigonometry

• Advanced math

  • Polynomials

  • Nonlinear graphs

  • Quadratic systems

• Problem solving & data analysis

• Ratios, rates, proportions, percents

• Table data, scatterplots, data inferences, distributions, growths

• Data collection, graphic features, conclusions

The Essay --Taken from existing published works (not made up for the test)      

 Understanding of Reasoned Argument

Analysis of subtle subject matter

Writing a clear response

Reading Part: This section is based on a variety of skill evaluations such as the ability to recognize key points, make generalizations from the evidence, decide what evidence supports a conclusion, consider the author’s intentions, extrapolate data from charts & graphs and occasionally predicting how the passage or author might fit into criteria outside of the passage based on its characteristics.

Writing Part: This section primarily tests a students’ knowledge of the rules of English grammar.  Although secondary, their ability to make stylistic decisions as well as their reading comprehension and graphical interpretation skills will be assessed.  There are many rules tested, but certain rules are challenged far more than others.  In addition to the knowledge of grammar, there are of course tricks that the test makers use.  Two of the most popular are relying on a colloquial fault and changing the meaning of the sentence.

Math Part: The questions at the beginning of this section test basic math knowledge with few tricks.  The middle ones also test basic math knowledge, yet with many tricks.  The end of the section has the hard questions which are difficult due to tricks, higher level math concepts tested and time consumption.  

​The SAT Essay

The Essay requires you to:

 • Carefully read a text

• Understand how an author appeals to a reader’s logic,  emotions, or morals

• Write a logical analysis of an argument

• Explain how style choices can affect an author’s persuasiveness

The Essay does NOT require you to:

• Give your opinion about a text

• Memorize examples from history or literature

• Have previous experience with the text

Scoring Overview

The SAT has two big sections – Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW), and Math. You can earn a scaled score of between 200 and 800 points on each section, for a total of 1600 possible points (composite score). The scaled score of between 200 and 800 is converted from the raw score you earn on each section. Your raw score is simply the number of questions you answered correctly. Skipped or wrong questions do not add or subtract from your raw score.

How Are Raw SAT scores turned into scaled scores?

It happens through a process that College Board, the maker of the test, calls equating: “Equating ensures that the different forms of the test or the level of ability of the students with whom you are tested do not affect your score. Equating makes it possible to make comparisons among test takers who take different editions of the test across different administrations.”

In other words, equating is not curving your score relative to other test takers on the day you take the test. Equating controls for slight variations in different SAT dates to ensure that scaled scores represent the same level of ability across different test dates. For example, a 600 on SAT Math in March has to represent the same ability level as a 600 on SAT Math in May. So if the May test turns out to be more difficult for students, the raw-score to scaled-score calculation will be adjusted so that a slightly lower raw score still nets a 600 scaled score.

Since the equating formula changes from test to test to keep the scores equal, there is no way to know for sure how a certain raw score will translate to a scaled score. However, the College Board releases raw score to scaled score ranges to give you an idea of what level of raw score you need to get to certain scaled score numbers.

While there are not confirmed score range tables available yet, we can use the raw to scaled score tables included in College Board’s free SAT practice tests for a sense of how raw scores become scaled scores on the SAT.

You'll notice as you look at the tables that they differ slightly: for example, a raw score of 57 gets you a perfect 800 on Test 4 but not Test 1. This is because, as we discussed above, each test is equated so that despite slight differences in difficulty, an 800 on one test means the same as an 800 on another test. In this case, the Math section on Test 4 is slightly harder, so you can only miss one point and still get an 800.

 Test 1 Score Conversion Table

Test 4 Score Conversion Table

Subscores

But wait, there's more! The SAT also gives you a number of subscores: two that rate your ability in different subjects (History/Social Studies and Science), and seven that break down the Math, Reading, and Writing sections into more specific (and creatively-named!) skills, for example, "Heart of Algebra." You can read in-depth about the Subscores on the SAT website.  However, the subscores are not very important (as discussed below) and though they might be able to identify strengths and weaknesses, at Ivy Bridge, our program thoroughly prepares every student in all possible areas therefore making focusing on subscores largely irrelevant. 

How Much Do My Subscores Matter?

In terms of how your SAT score is perceived, the subscores aren’t very important. Colleges are looking most closely at your composite score, which is simply the two main sections (EBRW and Math) added together.  Then they look at splits between those two main section scores with a balance preferred.  For example, 1400 can be achieved with an 800 math and 600 EBRW or 700 in each, with the latter They may look at your subscores for more info or context about your performance, but they’re not very important, especially since these subscore categories are new with the redesigned SAT, and colleges aren’t really used to taking all of these different subscores into account.

What About the Essay?

Unlike the old SAT, on the new SAT, your essay score is totally separate and not combined with your final composite score in any way.  You could technically score a perfect 1600 even with a subpar essay – not that we recommend blowing the essay off, as we will discuss below!.

As for how your essay is graded, it will receive three scores between 2 and 8: one score for Reading, one for Analysis, and one for Writing. A 2 is the lowest score for any category, while 8 is the highest.

• Reading will judge how well you read through and understood the passage the essay is about and how well you demonstrate that understanding in your essay.

• Analysis will judge how well you analyze the passage in relation to the prompt and how solid (or not) your argument is.

• Writing will judge how strong your essay is from a construction standpoint: in other words, is it logical? Does it flow well? Do you use good grammar and spelling?

Two readers (as in, two flesh and blood people!) will read your essay, and give the Reading, Analysis, and Writing parts of your essay a score from 1 to 4. Those scores will then be added together for the three final scores of between 2 and 8. You can read a complete SAT essay rubric in case you’re curious about how exactly the essay will be graded.

 SAT Section Breakdown

Math Section Score

Finding your score on SAT Math is relatively straightforward: your raw score is calculated to find your final scaled score between 200 and 800. .   The subscores are given for ‘Heart of Algebra’, ‘PROBLEM SOLVING AND DATA ANALYSIS’, and ‘PASSPORT TO ADVANCED MATH’.  

The raw score is just the total amount of questions you answered correctly. The No Calculator section has 20 possible points (20 questions), while the Calculator section has 38 possible points (38 questions). Blank or wrong questions do not count for or against you

As an example, let's say I take practice test one (see above).  After checking my answers, I count 15 correct answers on the No Calculator Section, and 25 correct answers on the Calculator section.  I ignore wrong or blank answers as I count, since there is no longer a deduction for wrong answers.  To continue my example, I would add 15 (my raw score on the No Calculator section) to 25 (my raw score on the Calculator section) for a final Math raw score of 40.  Using the table for your practice test, find the scaled score of 200-800 your raw score matches.  Since I took Practice Test 1, I use Table 1 and find that a raw score of 40 translates to a scaled score of 610. 

For more on the Math Section’s content, see our guide

Evidence-Based Reading and Writing

Finding your EBRW scaled score is a bit trickier than finding your Math score, since you have to combine your performance on the Reading and Writing sections. Let's take a look. 

Find your raw score on the Reading section. This is just the total amount of questions you answered correctly. Blank or wrong questions do not count for or against you. The highest raw score possible is 52 (52 questions). EXPRESSION OF IDEAS, STANDARD ENGLISH CONVENTIONS, WORDS IN CONTEXT, and COMMAND OF EVIDENCE are the subscores. 

To continue with my example, let's stay with Practice Test 1. Let's say I correct the Reading section and find that I got 39 questions right. That gives me a Reading raw score of 39.

 Find your raw score on the Writing section. This is just the total amount of questions you answered correctly. Blank or wrong questions do not count for or against you. The highest raw score possible is 44.

Let's say I correct the Writing section and see that I got 35 questions correct. My Writing raw score is 35.

Find your Reading “scaled score” on the table. This is a number between 10 and 40.

Using Table 1, I look up my Reading raw score of 40, and see that it translates to a scaled score of 32.

Find your Writing “scaled score” on the table. This is a number between 10 and 40.

 Using Table 1, I look up my Writing raw score of 35 and see that it also translates to 32.