What is a "Good" Score?
This simple question isn't as easy to answer as you think.
What’s a good score on the SAT® or ACT®?
I’ve led hundreds of information sessions for high schoolers, parents, and counselors about testing and admissions. This question is always met with the kind of awkward silence that feels like someone is about to speak up. It should be simple to answer. The SAT is a on a 400-1600 scale, the ACT uses a 1-36, and college admissions offices tell students what scores their students submitted.
There is one obvious answer that breaks the silence. A 1600 or a 36 is a good score! But saying the perfect scores is a small joke. Not a funny joke, but a way to lighten the mood. Everyone knows a perfect score is a good score, but also that most students won’t come close to sniffing a perfect score.
Answers don’t come easy when anyone is faced with “What’s a good score on the SAT or ACT?” in a group setting. The answer is actually dependent on two different things:
The Student
The Colleges Where That Student Will Be Applying
For a possible valedictorian who competes in Math Olympiads and is aiming for MIT, Harvard, and Stanford, then they need above a 1500 or a 34 to feel like they’ve done what they should. If a student is looking at mostly test-optional, small liberal arts colleges after excelling in theater, writing, and music, then a score that boosts their applications is the real goal instead of the very best overall scores. There isn’t one universal good score.
That’s why, in theory, a range of SAT and ACT scores can be considered “good.” There’s also a reason to think about a “good score on the SAT or ACT,” rather than just one test. Colleges do not care whether students submit SAT or ACT scores, and in fact view them similarly. The two testing companies even produce Concordance Charts showing equivalent scores on the other test. That’s because both tests are scored not as percentages of what students get right or wrong, but by percentiles. If you perform better than 90% of other students, you get a 1300 or a 28. Here’s a chart with each test’s scores and the relevant percentiles, taken from the companies themselves but cleaned up.
There are two things to take from this chart that can get lost when you hear people discuss SAT or ACT scores. This is especially true of the high school students who brag about their test scores. The first is that there are not that many students scoring above a 1400 or 31, and even fewer get into the 1500/34 range. Those scores are extremely rare.
The other major thing to learn from that chart is that improving 100 points on the SAT or 3 points on the ACT makes a huge difference. Going from an 1150 to a 1250 (or 23 to 26) moves you from the 75th percentile to the 85th percentile. Taking your score from a 27 to a 30 (or 1260 to 1360) would take you from the 85th to the 95th percentile.
Takeaways
When identifying your goal score on the SAT or ACT, don’t automatically shoot for the highest possible score. It’s a recipe for disappointment.
Look at the schools where you want to apply, and identify their median test scores. Schools show their 25th to 75th percentile scores of incoming freshman, and you should aim to be in that range.
You don’t need to do everything to significantly improve on either the SAT or ACT. Adding 100 points, which is sometimes 2 or 3 more correct answers per section, will do you wonders. Find the small things that will help, like improving pacing, identifying your worst questions, and making your strengths even stronger.