Hey guys,
So I recently took an SAT test and scored pretty okay but I felt kind of bad because I thought I did better. This prompted me to check how many got missed and calculate my score myself and see if they matched up. They did not match up. There was a difference of 90 points which is pretty significant. The score I got on the SAT was a 1320 and I calculated (based on how many I missed which is shown on my score report on the college board website) a 1410. Also, I didn’t just calculate using some bad resource, I used multiple websites like the albert.io SAT score calculator and the chart that came with my SAT prep book. They all came out to a 1410 so I’m pretty sure I got that score. Now here’s the thing, I got a 1410 FROM the number of questions I got correct shown on my score report on the college board website, so I don’t disagree on how they scored my test, just my final score. Another thing, a lot of you guys will tell me to get the $50 verification done, but here’s the thing: I didn’t circle a lot of the question answers on the actual SAT book on the test day because I was on a time crunch so my focus was on bubbling the correct answers. Basically getting the hand score verification will work against me, not for me. Again, I don’t disagree with how they scored my exam, I just want them to calculate my final score again. This is a really weird case but I want to get it resolved asap. I’ve called them already and they said they’d contact me in 5-7 business days but it been a month now. This is crucial because I’m applying for colleges right now. I wanted to make this discussion because I wanted to see if others agree with my thought process and maybe give suggestions/advice. If you have any questions about how I calculated the 1410 or in general, I can answer within an hour or so. Thank you! (also if you guys want to calculate it yourselves I got 45/52 on the reading section, 41/44 on the writing and language, and 48/58 on the math section.)
The scoring guides that you saw were just averages amongst different SAT curves. The math curves of the past SATs have been brutal, so the scoring guides would be inaccurate. 10 wrong in math is generally ~680, but due to the bad curve (easier exam), it could be closer to 640. Also, the writing curves for the past exams were pretty bad, so instead of 3 wrong being ~37, it may be more like 34-35. I think the reading curves have been pretty average, though, for the latest tests. Using the curves of the exams and your raw scores in each section, a score of ~1320 does sound correct. It sucks, but you may have just been really unlucky with the curve of your test. Don’t worry too much. Most schools are test-optional, so if you don’t send in your score, it won’t hurt your admission’s chance.
Best of luck!
Okay, now I get it. You explained it really well, thank you!
Fwiw, there’s no such thing as a “good” or “bad” curve regarding a tester’s score. They reflect test difficulty such that a tester would (in theory) get the exact same 200-800 scaled score regardless of test difficulty/number of questions incorrect.
It doesn’t ‘“suck” and no one is “unlucky”.