SAT Percentiles | All You Need to Know About How Your Score Stacks Against Other Test Takers

Do you know what SAT percentiles are? Do you wish to understand them so that you can come up with an excellent target score? If you recently sat for the SAT, you might want to understand the SAT score percentiles to decide if you will retake the test. 

Understanding the percentiles is also vital in helping you maximize your study time. You may also want to understand the types of SAT scores and which ones are important for you if you are aiming for the perfect score on the SAT. 

Getting a high percentile in the SAT is not easy. In this post, we recommend the best prep book that you can use to ace the test. 

What Are the Percentile Ranges for the SAT?

Percentile scores are just as important as the overall composite scores. 

If you are taking the SAT or wish to retake it, which composite score should you aim to get the percentile you want? 

The College Board releases composite scores with matching percentiles so that you can figure out your score. The percentiles in the SAT percentiles chart give two digits of precision. 

For instance, you will get that people with a composite score ranging from 1510 to 1600 are in the 99th percentile. 

Also, the percentiles change fast with the middle scores. For example, for the composite score between 1450 to 1600, the percentiles' difference is 4 points from 96 to 99. But, the difference between 1100 to 1250 composite scores ranges from 58 to 81 percentiles. So, check out here if 1100 SAT score should be enough for most parts.

Even in the subject test percentiles, there is a dramatic change in the percentile ranks towards the middle scores. For instance, a 500 score in the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing is 39%. On the other hand, a 600 score is 73%. Thus, with the right strategies and smart studying, you can achieve 100 points that can affect your SAT subject test percentiles dramatically. 

Also, note that if you want to get the same percentile in both Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, you’ll have to work harder in math.

For example, a 750 score is in the 99th percentile in EBRW but in the 96th percentile in math. 

As it is evident, the two-digit percentile is not very precise. It doesn’t contain decimals or fractions. 

The following is a table with some samples of 6-digits high precision percentiles:

Methodology: How Did We Calculate These High-Precision SAT Percentiles?

In calculating the new SAT score percentiles, we used the exact number of students who got a particular score and not an estimate. The precise number of test-takers was then summed with data from the College Board. 

With this percentile, a 400 score doesn’t correspond to a 0.0000 percentile; neither does 1600 correspond to 100.0000 percentile. 

Do SAT Percentiles Change From Year to Year?

There are no new SAT score percentiles every year. The last time the College Board released charts with details of the exact numbers of students who did the SAT was 2015. 

Since the SAT subject tests scores percentiles don’t change much from year to year, you can use 2013, 2014, and 2015. 

It is also essential to note that the SAT underwent a significant shift in 2016. The shifting was from the old SAT with 2400 as the top score in the scale to the new SAT with 1600 as the top score. 

Throughout the years, the SAT percentiles haven’t undergone much change, and you can still use the high percentile table to estimate your target percentile. 

How Can Knowing Your SAT Percentile Help You?

The SAT is vital in your college or university admission. Therefore, making an effort to increase your ranking is essential.

Your percentile ranking puts you in a competitive position, especially when you want admission in top colleges. Sometimes, all you need is an effort to improve your composite SAT score to increase your percentile ranking.

Some schools also have their score range for admission. Being able to calculate your percentile will help you target your college of choice. 

If you have already taken the SAT and you wish to retake it, your percentile ranking can come in handy. For instance, assuming you had a score of 620 in maths and 700 in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing. The 620 composite scores will put you in the 79th SAT math percentiles, while the EBRW will be in the 94th percentile.

If you put effort and increase your composite math score with 100 points, which is possible, you will go to a 720 score, which is the 94th percentile. Therefore, during your retake, you can concentrate on math, and you will be more competitive. 

What is a Good Score Percentile For SAT in 2020? 

The best score is one that will allow you to get admission to your college of choice. Ordinarily, a good score should put you on the upper half of all the students who sat for the test. 

For instance, the College Board puts the average composite score for 2019 at 1059. A good score should, therefore, put you above the average 1059. 

Let’s have a look at the following table to see what would be considered a good score. The table is prepared using data from the 2019 percentile.