Online SAT/ACT Prep Guides and Tips
What Is an Appropriate SAT Score for 2024?The college application season for 2023-2024 is in full swing, which means you're probably taking standardized examinations. Will your grades get you into your dream colleges? And, if your SAT scores aren't high enough, what can you do to improve them?
We'll show you how to determine whether your SAT scores are adequate for your college admissions goals.
If you want to hit the target with your college application, you must first grasp what constitutes a solid SAT score.
What Is an Average SAT Score for 2024?
In 2024, a good SAT score gets you into the universities you're applying to. That means that what you consider to be a "good" score may differ from what someone else considers to be a "good" score. A good SAT score for someone who is not applying to competitive institutions, for example, will be lower than a good score for kids attempting to get into Ivy League schools.
Having stated that we may discuss what constitutes a "good" SAT score in general by examining national score averages. An excellent SAT score is greater than the national average.
We'll begin by determining the average SAT score in 2023. The average 2023 cumulative SAT score was 1023. By section, the average Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (ERW) score was 520, and the average Maths score was 510.
With that in mind, we may deduce that, based on previous years' tendencies, an excellent SAT score in 2024 will most likely be close to 1023 as well.
Given that a good SAT score last year was 1023 or higher, what is a good SAT score for 2024? Any score that places you in the top 50%, or top half, of SAT takers is considered good.
The higher your score is above the average, the better your score! Scores below the national average SAT score, on the other hand, will be less competitive on college applications.
Learn How to Use Percentiles to Determine Your Good SAT Score (2024)
Here's how you can use the average composite, or total, SAT score to assess your own SAT performance. If you achieved greater than the average SAT score of 1023, you can consider your score "good."
If you want to see where your scores stand in contrast to other test takers, percentiles can provide you with even more information. Percentiles indicate the percentage of other test takers who scored the same or higher than you.
Assume you take the SAT without studying and achieve a score in the 30th percentile. That indicates you outperformed 30% of the other exam takers. It also means that you scored less than 1023, which is below average.
However, suppose you study and apply to Masterclass Space's SAT Complete Online Prep program before your next SAT. You now rank in the 75th percentile! You now have a SAT score that is higher than 75% of test takers, which is significantly higher than normal!
Check at this chart of 2023 percentile scores for SAT takers to help you understand how to utilize percentiles to judge your score:
| Percentile | EBRW | Math | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99th (Best) | 760 and up | 790 and up | 1530 and above | ||||
| 90th (Excellent) | 670-680 | 690 | 1350 | ||||
| 75th (Excellent) | 600-610 | 600 | 1200 and higher (Average) | ||||
| 50th (Average) | 520-530 | 510-520 | 1050 and higher (Poor) | ||||
| 10th (Poor) | 440-450 | 430-440 | 870 | ||||
| 1st (Poorest) | 330 and lower | 310 and lower | 670 and lower |
The College Board is the source of this information.
As the data above show, a composite SAT score of 1350 or higher places you in the 90th percentile, or the top 10% of test takers. In other words, you don't have to get a perfect 1600 to get a good SAT score. Even with a 1350, you will be in a higher percentile than the majority of students!
Your composite score of 770 places you in the tenth percentile of exam participants. Unfortunately, the tenth percentile is seen as extremely low. With a 770, you'll only outperform 10% of exam takers, which won't help your college applications.
But suppose you raise your score by 100 points to get an 870 instead of a 770. While 100 points may appear to be a significant rise, it only moves you to the 25th percentile. That means your score will still be lower than 75% of all exam takers, putting you significantly below average.
Based on the 2023 SAT scores, we may deduce that SAT scores in the 25th percentile or lower are not good SAT scores.
Does the fact that the SAT is now computerized impact what constitutes a good score? Below, our experts weigh in.
What Is a Good SAT Score on the Digital SAT 2024?
You now know what the average SAT score of 2023 test takers was. But, in 2024, when the exam will be all computerized, what is a decent SAT score?
At this time, the College Board claims that scoring on the digital SAT will be the same as it was on the paper and pencil SAT. That means that scores on the digital SAT will be equivalent to those on the paper exam. A 1600 on the digital SAT, for example, will be equivalent to a 1600 on the paper SAT.
You'll also be able to compare your digital SAT scores to those of other test takers using College Board percentile statistics. The College Board, for example, will continue to use a percentile range of one to 99 to assist students in understanding how their scores compare to those of other test takers.
We don't know when the College Board will disclose its first wave of statistics on digital SAT score percentiles. We'll find out how the College Board intends to distribute digital SAT score data as a resource to test takers later in 2024!
Finally, comparing national percentiles will help you understand how your SAT scores relate to those of other recent test takers. However, because your ultimate objective is to be accepted to your top institutions, you must also evaluate how strong your scores are for the schools to which you are applying!
Visit our website at www.masterclassspace.com and for further information on Digital SAT what is it? you can email info@masterclassspace.com.
