What Do My Scores Mean?
Score Summary
On your score report PDF, you can view the three scores available from your assessment—total score, Reading and Writing section score, and Math section score. If you took the SAT with Essay as part of state in-school testing, you will see those scores as well.
Here's what you can expect to see on your official score report PDF:
| Assessment | SAT | SAT with Essay | PSAT/NMSQT | PSAT 10 | PSAT 8/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Score | 400–1600 | 400–1600 | 320–1520 | 320–1520 | 240–1440 |
| Section Scores | 200–800 | 200–800 | 320–1520 | 160–760 | 120–720 |
| Additional Items | Essay scores reported separately on a scale of 2–8 | Selection Index Score on a scale of 48–228 |
You'll also see a Score Range, which shows how much your scores would likely vary if you took a different administration of the test under identical conditions, and percentiles that compare your scores to other students who took the same test. Read the Understanding Scores resources on this page for more details, and check out the accordions below for more information that only applies to specific tests.
Knowledge and Skills
In the Knowledge and Skills section of the PDF score report, you'll see a graphic that represents your performance on each of the eight content areas measured on the test. There are four content areas in Reading and Writing and four in Math.
For each content area, you'll see:
- The approximate number of questions in the content area.
- The percentage of the section covered by that area (e.g., 12–14 Information and Ideas questions would be about 26% of the Reading and Writing section).
- A visual indication of how you performed in each content area.
You can use this section to identify content areas you may want to focus on to practice and improve.
Discover Growing Careers
Your score report may have you thinking about what comes next. If you live in the United States, your score report PDF will include Career Insights Snapshot—a list of growing careers in your state that connect to your scores.
These careers are examples, not recommendations, and the list on your score report can show you more about what careers are out there and key aspects of a job, like if it requires a college degree.
You may be curious about a career on the list—or maybe none of the options feel like a great fit. That's okay! The insights can help you start thinking about what you might want to do after high school. If you checked your Career Insights Snapshot on BigFuture School, learn more about any career that sparks your interest. Simply navigate to "Career Explorer" to discover more possibilities. If you saw your Career Insights Snapshot on your PDF score report, take the short career quiz to find careers that reflect your interests.
Each job on your score report:
- Is growing in your state, meaning there are jobs available.
- Pays a living wage because we know salary is important.
- Requires more education after high school, in some cases college but not in all.
- Spans a variety of interest areas: Doers, Helpers, Creators,
- Organizers, Persuaders, Thinkers.
- Connects to the math, reading, and writing skills you demonstrated on the test because every job has a set of measurable skills.