Did I do better on the new or old SAT?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

I recently got my scores back for the new SAT and am very confused as to whether I performed better or worse than on the old test.

On the old exam, I got a total of 2030:
Reading: 660
Math: 610
Writing: 760
In percentiles, it told me that I got 99th in writing, 91st in reading, and 77th in math.

On my new SAT, I got a total of 1420:
Reading/Writing: 770
Math: 650
In percentiles, it tells me that I got 99th in R/W and 90th in math, nationally.

So on first appearance, it appears that I did substantially better. However, if I use the score converter here:
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/scores/understanding-scores/sat-score-converter
and I input my old SAT score of 2030, it estimates that my score is equivalent to a 1430 on the new exam, which is 10 points higher than what I scored. Yet, if I click “See an estimate based on Critical Reading + Math only”, it tells me that my old test was equivalent to a 1330, indicating that I did much better this time around.

Further adding to my confusion is the conversion going the other way. I got a 39 in reading, a 38 in writing, and a 32.5 in math. When I convert the new score to the old score, it tells me I got an equivalent of a 2020, which is worse than I did before. Yet, it also provides me with “section scores”, in which it tells me I got an equivalent of 760 in reading, 630 in math, and 740 in writing. These numbers add up to 2130, a different number than the 2020 it tells me my score was equal to.

Even more confusing yet is if I click “See what your score would have been on a 1600 scale”, it tells me I would have gotten a 1370, yet I just told it that I got a 1420!

Furthermore, is the reading-scale on the new test so harsh that for missing only 1 question, it is equivalent to a loss of 40 points on the old scale?

Is there an error in the conversion tool, or am I reading this the wrong way? In regards to percentiles, I appear to have done much better. But did I actually? How much so?

Additionally, do colleges tend to look at the score-breakdown when reviewing SAT scores, or merely the total number? I ask because I am applying for a humanities major and did relatively well on the reading/writing portion of the test, while I did substantially worse on the math.

2

Also of interest is that if I go here
http://www.prepscholar.com/sat/s/scores/1420-SAT-score-is-this-good
it tells me that my score is in the 94th percentile, but on the SAT website it tells me that it is 98th nationally and 95th in SAT User Percentile

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@jgoldstein12

"I recently got my scores back for the new SAT and am very confused as to whether I performed better or worse than on the old test.

On the old exam, I got a total of 2030:
Reading: 660
Math: 610
Writing: 760
In percentiles, it told me that I got 99th in writing, 91st in reading, and 77th in math.

On my new SAT, I got a total of 1420:
Reading/Writing: 770
Math: 650
In percentiles, it tells me that I got 99th in R/W and 90th in math, nationally."

You did better on the new exam, based on your percentiles.

My daughter is in a similar situation to you (likely humanities major, similar SAT score and better RW than Math). I have advised her (in my opinion) not to worry about concordance now as the concordance table looks wrong so may change, plus she may get her Math score up when she retakes her SAT in October. Instead just do the best you can and look at the percentile rankings. Also, since her scores are high, focus now on her ECs and essays.

“Additionally, do colleges tend to look at the score-breakdown when reviewing SAT scores, or merely the total number? I ask because I am applying for a humanities major and did relatively well on the reading/writing portion of the test, while I did substantially worse on the math.”

It depends on the school, but many will focus more on your RW score as you are a humanities major.