Wednesday, October 18, 2017

SAT Scoring, a Mystery?

When it comes to SAT scores, there is no such thing as passing or failing.  SAT scores are about “Mean (average) Scores”, “Percentiles”, and “Benchmarks”.   The College Board explains them as follows:

Mean (Average) Scores: Your score report will show you the mean, or average, scores earned by typical U.S. test-takers per grade. Unless your score is much lower than average, you’re probably developing the kinds of reading, writing and language, and math skills you’ll need in college.
College and Career Readiness Benchmarks: You’ll see a benchmark for each section of the SAT. Benchmarks are the scores that represent college readiness. In other words, if you score at or above the benchmark, you’re on track to be ready for college when you graduate high school. Use the detailed feedback in your online score report to see which skills need the most improvement.
Percentile Rank: A percentile rank is a number between 1 and 99 that shows how you scored compared to other students. It represents the percentage of students whose scores fall at or below your score. For example, a test-taker in the 57th percentile scored higher than or equal to 57 percent of test-takers.  You’ll see two percentiles:
The Nationally Representative Sample percentile compares your score to the scores of typical 11th- and 12th-grade U.S. students.

The User Percentile—National compares your score to the scores of typical college-bound U.S. 11th- and 12th-grade SAT takers.