All about Scoring

What's your magic number?

For all the anxiety out there about scoring, most people have no idea where this number actually comes from!

Knowledge is power; the more specifically you understand how your scores are built, the simpler it will be to achieve them.

Let's zero in on the formidable composite score: what does this number trickle down to say about your path to an increase?

Say I scored 1200 (SAT)/25 (ACT). Here are two examples of the chart that builds that score:

Much more revealing are the raw score numbers: these are the number of questions you got right in each section. Once you find your raw scores, you can start to turn the dials up and see how many additional right answers it takes to increase your scaled scores.

All this is technical, I know. But it is also empowering.

Increasing your score is a matter of 1-3 questions in any particular section. Knowing this opens up several paths to a composite score increase, and you get to choose which to take.

Love the Writing/English section? Master that section for some easy increases!

Hate SAT Math? Well, you're in luck - the test rewards you the most for gains in this section. More bang for your buck.

Science hit you like a ton of bricks? Demystify this section and watch your score go up fast.

The more granular you get, the more control you have over how to make your scores go up.

That's where more detailed information (cross-test scores, subscores, and category breakdowns) can be helpful. Target the specific types of questions you missed most.

Saving the best for last . . . you can (most likely) superscore!

Your composite score is always built by your section scores - the SAT totals them and the ACT averages them. Your superscore is your highest possible composite score, even if it comes out of section scores from different days.

Say you took the test twice and these were your results:

If the schools you're applying to allow for superscoring (and the majority do), take advantage!

More info on superscoring here: SAT/ACT.

Happy studying!