SAT Score Percentiles: Evaluating Your Performance Among Peers

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. Engaging with experienced SAT tutors can significantly enhance your understanding and performance in these critical areas.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 SAT Percentiles? 

Apart from looking at your overall SAT score, you can also look at your SAT percentiles to evaluate your performance. The SAT scores percentiles show the number of people who did the test and scored lower or higher than you.

In the SAT scores, the higher the numbers, the better your performance. The same applies to the percentiles where higher numbers indicate you had a better performance. 

The ranking of percentiles for SAT scores ranges from 1 to 99. You will receive a ranking for the overall SAT score and two sections, including Math, Evidence-Based Reading, and Writing. 

Your percentile is an indication of how best your performance is compared to other test-takers. 

For instance, if you get a composite percentile score of 90, it means only 9% of other test-takers performed better than you. If your percentile score is in the 30th percentile, 30% of other students who took the test would have lower scores. On the other hand, 70% of students got a higher score than you. 

If you get 51st percentile in the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, you will have performed better than 51% of the other test-takers. 

Note, your percentiles for SAT are not an indication of your score on a grade out of 100. For instance, if you are in the 76th percentile, it doesn’t mean that you got 76% of the questions correct. It means you performed better than 76% of the other students who took the test. 

Are percentiles important in looking for your desired college?

You should put the effort in preparation for the test to ensure both your SAT scores and percentiles are high. Here are our reviews of the best prep courses that could help raise your score. 

Colleges and universities will compare your percentile with that of other students to decide on your admission. 

If you are in the 90th percentile, you are better positioned to get admission as you performed better than 90% of other test-takers. 

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:

Old SAT Score	New SAT Score	Percentile
2400	1600	99.9826
2390	1600	99.9581
2380	1590	99.9411
2370	1590	99.9157
2360	1590	99.8801
2350	1580	99.8413
2340	1580	99.7950
2330	1570	99.7354
2320	1570	99.6664
2310	1560	99.5923
2300	1560	99.5141
2290	1527	99.4276
2280	1550	99.3395
2270	1550	99.2459
2260	1540	99.1397
2250	1540	99.0273
2240	1530	98.9104
2230	1530	98.7855
2220	1520	98.6515
2210	1520	98.5063
2200	1510	98.3528
2190	1510	98.1924
2180	1510	98.0238
2170	1500	97.8469
2160	1500	97.6597
2150	1490	97.4642
2140	1490	97.2555
2130	1480	97.0358
2120	1480	96.8045
2110	1470	96.5559
2100	1470	96.2958
2090	1460	96.0276
2080	1450	95.7529
2070	1450	95.4650
2060	1440	95.1588
2050	1440	94.8398
2040	1430	94.5099
2030	1430	94.1634
2020	1420	93.7955
2010	1410	93.4120
2000	1410	93.0201
1990	1400	92.6195
1980	1400	92.2101
1970	1390	91.7854
1960	1380	91.3402
1950	1380	90.8779
1940	1380	90.3975
1930	1370	89.9012
1920	1360	89.3846
1910	1350	88.8429
1900	1350	88.2867
1890	1340	87.7155
1880	1340	87.1305
1870	1330	86.5287
1860	1320	85.9086
1850	1320	85.2697
1840	1310	84.6085
1830	1300	83.2498
1820	1300	83.2498
1810	1290	82.5362
1800	1290	81.7995
1790	1280	81.0451
1780	1270	80.2791
1770	1270	79.4952
1760	1260	78.6945
1750	1250	77.8770
1740	1250	77.0333
1730	1240	76.1735
1720	1230	75.3036
1710	1230	74.4108
1700	1220	73.4994
1690	1210	72.5711
1680	1210	71.6280
1670	1200	70.6719
1660	1200	69.7021
1650	1190	68.7169

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. 

Percentile	EBRW	Math	TOTAL
99th (Best)	750 and above	790 and above	1510 and above
90th (Excellent)	670	680-690	1340
75th (Good)	610	600	1200-1210
50th (Average)	530	520*	1050-1060
25th (Poor)	460*	450*	910
10th (Poorer)	400	380-390	800
1st (Poorest)	330 and below	310 and below	680 and below

With this data, if you get a 910 score, you will have a poor score as you will have 85% of other students who have performed better than you.

At the same time, you may not need to get the 1600 perfect score. With 1340, you have an excellent score, and you are ahead of 90% of your competitors.

Final Thoughts  

Percentiles, whether they are the SAT essay score percentiles or the overall percentile, are vital when you are preparing for your SAT, or you wish to retake. The higher the percentile number, the more competitive you are, and the better your chances of getting admission to a college of choice. You should strive to be in the top percentile so that you will be among the best. 

Getting a high percentile in the SAT is not easy, but it’s certainly achievable with the right tools and guidance. In this post, we have recommended the best prep book to help you ace the test. Additionally, for personalized and effective preparation, consider exploring Learner, an online tutoring company known for tailor-matching students with world-class tutors. With resources like Prep Expert‘s comprehensive SAT courses and Learner’s expert tutoring, you’re well-equipped to achieve your SAT goals