Skip to main content

Raw vs. Scaled: What Your SAT/ACT Score Really Means

This article answers common questions about raw and scaled SAT/ACT scores and details the process by which they are determined.

Mona Sukkar avatar
Written by Mona Sukkar
Updated over a week ago

Topics in this article:

What is the difference between raw and scaled SAT scores?

The raw score is simply calculated using the number of questions answered correctly. For every question answered correctly on the SAT, a student receives one point.

The scaled score of between 200 and 800 is converted from the raw score a student earns on each section. The conversion happens through a process called equating, which ensures that the different forms of the test or the level of ability of the students doesn’t affect the score. In other words, equating makes it possible to make comparisons among test takers who take different editions of the test.


What is the difference between raw and scaled ACT scores?

A raw score is the total number of questions a student gets right in a section (English, Math, Reading, and Science). For example, if you answer 70 out of 75 English questions correctly, your raw English score would be 70.

A scale score is the final score a student gets for each section, on a scale of 1-36. Specifically, it's a translation of the student's raw score via an equating process developed by ACT, Inc.


How does one score affect the other?

Raw SAT/ACT scores alone don't provide information about how a student's performance compares to their peers or other test-takers in general.

Scaled scores, on the other hand, reflect a student's performance in relation to other test-takers who took any version of the SAT/ACT.

Therefore, equating is not about curving a student's score relative to other test-takers of the same SAT/ACT version. Instead, equating accounts for slight variations in different SAT/ACT exams to ensure that scaled scores represent the same level of ability across various test dates.

For instance, a 600 on SAT Math Exam X must represent the same ability level as a 600 on SAT Math Exam Y. So, if Exam X proves to be more difficult for students, the raw-score-to-scaled-score calculation will be adjusted so that a slightly lower raw score still results in a 600 scaled score.


Locate SAT/ACT scores on ChalkTalk

  • Log in to your ChalkTalk account.

  • Select the Tests tab.

Tests
  • Select the test you want to review (Placement, Mid, or Exit Test).

type of test
  • Under this table, you will find the scores, including the raw score for each subject and sitting.

raw scoress
  • Under this table, you will find the scaled score for each subject, as well as the total scaled score:

    • For the SAT: The total score for each subject is out of 800, and the scaled score is out of 1600 as shown below.

    • For the ACT: The total score for each subject is out of 36, and the scale score is also out 36 as shown below.

scaled score - SAT

scaled score

For a deeper understanding of how SAT scores are calculated and what they mean, check out our detailed blog post, SAT Scores: What You Need To Know.

Understanding raw scores can help you determine how many additional points—or how many more questions—you need to answer correctly to reach your target score (adapted from PrepMaven, SAT Goal Setting: The Ultimate Guide).


Did this answer your question?