Is It Better to Have a Lower Critical Reading Score on the SAT?

Test Preparation
1

<p>So, I was looking at various college websites, and they all show their average SAT Critical Reading/Writing scores as pretty low (some in the low 500 range), but the math scoresthey want are somewhere in the 600-650 range. </p>

<p>Why does it seem as though they think its better to have a bad reading/writing score than a math score? It's not fair to people who do extremely well in writing and reading, and suck a little in math...</p>

<p>How would they respond to a student whose done very well in reading/writing (enough to make the cumulative score 2000), but not well in math?</p>

2

<p>no! you should try to be even throughout. Some schools dont even look at writing!</p>

3

<p>A higher CR score will help you more because not a lot of people score high compared to there other sections.</p>

4

<p>Actually, many school focus on CR + M of the SAT and don’t look at writing so those are the two that need to be the highest…</p>

5

<p>They aren’t saying that they specifically want a higher math score. It’s just how the situation worked out. Most people, including those admitted, score better on math than on other sections (hence the harsh SAT Math curve for that matter), leading to a skewed image of percentiles.</p>

6

<p>But what if you get like a 500 in math, but a 760 in CR and 750 in Writing? I mean, would you be at a disadvantage because your scores are “flipped” (like, most people do well in math and not-so-hot in CR, but you did the opposite).</p>

7

<p>Would schools be suspicious? Absolutely.
Is it better than having perfect math scores, but bad CR scores?
It is more unusual.
Should you bring your CR, W scores down to round them out with Math? Of course not.</p>

8

<p>Why</p>

<p>Because math is more important for the growth of the American economy. Math and science (engineering and programming) is the future of the world economy. Americans are great at information, so finance and consulting will also play a huge role. Those all require strong math skills.</p>

<p>So You Are Good At Reading</p>

<p>If you are applying for a liberal arts degree and are great at reading, then you won’t have a problem. Schools like Princeton don’t care too much about your math.</p>

9

<p>For your question above, I think its quite rare for someone to get a 500 math and almost perfect CR. Such a huge gap which would lead to some questions like maybe you have math anxiety, etc. I suppose it’s certainly possible, just unlikely.
The math is (IMHO) 90% reading properly and understanding the question/answer choices. The rest is remembering how to setup the problem when you have to. </p>

<p>Like others said above, depends on the college.</p>

10

<p>Always do your best on all sections of the test! You may surprise yourself!!!</p>

<p>As an educator, I know that some students cannot help but to have the large discrepancies in scores you’ve described. There are many possibilities, and it is something you may wish to talk to your guidance counselor or a licensed clinical psychologist about. </p>

<p>And no, it’s not (necessarily) because I think you’re anxious… :)</p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>

11

<p>Throughout the entire country, the average score for each section is around 500 with standard deviation 100.</p>

<p>But really, it depends on the college. Lots of selective math/science schools might have average math scores around 750 and average reading/writing scores in the 600s-low 700s.</p>

<p>Don’t worry if one of your sections is lower than the others. It’s going to happen anyway (unless you score the same in all three sections).</p>