How is the SAT scored? Is it curved?
Updated
The SAT is scored from 400 to 1600. You get a score from 200 to 800 for Reading and Writing and another for Math, and your total is the two added together. A perfect score is 1600 and the lowest is 400.
The SAT isn't curved against the other students who tested that day, and wrong answers don't cost you points. Your score depends on which questions you answer correctly and how hard those questions are.
How your score is calculated
College Board scores the digital SAT with a method called item response theory. Instead of counting right answers, it looks at the pattern of your answers and at each question's difficulty and other traits. Two students with the same number of correct answers can end up with different scores, because they answered different questions.
That's also why there's no fixed number of points per question, and no chart that turns "number wrong" into a score.
Easy or hard second module
Each section has 2 modules. Module 1 has a mix of easy, medium and hard questions. Based on how you do on it, Module 2 is either harder or easier. Your section score uses both modules.
- A hard Module 2 is a good sign. It means Module 1 went well, and it's meant to feel hard.
- An easy Module 2 doesn't mean you failed. College Board says a range of scores is possible on either path, and the two ranges overlap. The easier path can still reach a little above College Board's college readiness benchmark, but the highest section scores come from the harder path.
Guessing and blank answers
There's no penalty for a wrong answer, so never leave a question blank. College Board's own advice: for most students, it's better to guess than to skip. Pace yourself so you reach every question, then guess on any you can't finish.
Unscored questions
Each module includes 2 pretest questions that don't count toward your score. They're mixed in with the rest and look the same, so treat every question as if it counts.
How Aniko uses the same scale
Your Aniko score estimate and practice test scores use the same 400 to 1600 scale, with Reading and Writing and Math scored separately. Aniko's full practice tests also adapt the second module to how you did on the first. See How do Aniko practice tests work? and How does the score estimate work?
Aniko is an independent SAT prep platform and isn't affiliated with College Board. For the official explanation, see College Board's How SAT Scores Are Calculated.
Frequently asked questions
No. Your score doesn't depend on how other students did on the same day. It comes from your own answers and the difficulty of the questions you got right.
There's no fixed number. Because scoring depends on which questions you miss, the same number of misses can lead to different scores. Missing hard questions usually costs less than missing easy ones. To try different numbers of right answers per module, use our SAT score calculator.
No. Your score report shows your scores, percentiles and how you did in each content area, but not the questions themselves.
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