<p>I just bought The Princeton Review's 11 practice SAT tests, and was flipping through it when I noticed something odd.</p>
<p>(If anybody else has this same book, I'm talking in particular about page 96.)</p>
<p>For the raw score conversion, it's a big ambiguous, and I'm hoping someone can clarify:</p>
<p>Writing: 73 = 800, 72 = 790-800, 71 = 780-800, 70 = 770-800, 69 = 770-800, 68 = 760-800, 67 = 760-800, 66 = 760-800</p>
<p>Reading: 67 = 800, 66 = 770-800, 65 = 760-800</p>
<p>Math: 54 = 760-800</p>
<p>Does this mean that only a 73 in Writing will earn me an 800? Or does it mean that 66 will earn me one too? In math, it seems as though getting the maximum score could only earn me a 760, but obviously that's not true. I'm confused :)</p>
<p>Those are just estimated scores. There are curves on the actual scores. So, depending on what scores were attained on a particular testing day, there are different curves, thus accounting for the multiple raw scores needed to get an 800. In math (i'm guessing) a curve is not that common, because more people get perfect scores? I don't know, it could be something completely different.</p>
<p>So depending on how other people did, a 66 on the Writing section could be a 760 or 800? How do you score your practice tests then? How did the most recent SAT curve?</p>
<p>Just don't get anything wrong and write a 12 essay, then you're guaranteed a perfect score. Simple enough, bro.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/research/pdf/rn14_11427.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/research/pdf/rn14_11427.pdf</a> </p>
<p>An 800 is the peak SCALED score. It is meant to be comparable from one administration of the test to another. Various raw scores may result in a scaled score of 800. Follow the link for many more details.</p>
<p>I read the article you posted, and I now see the reasons behind the "curves," but I still would appreciate some feedback about how that information is used practically in preparing for the SAT. To be candid, I want to know how I should score myself for a 66-73 on the Writing section and 65-67 on the Critical Reading Section. Do people generally take the median of these potential 800 bearing raw scores, the maximum, or the minimum? Of course, I will strive to get them all correct, but, especially during the first couple practice tests that I take, that's just not very realistic, and I would like a solid way to track my progress in a way that's somewhat comparable to other's. (Not so I can brag to people, but so I'll be able to see if I'm on the right track to scoring what I would like to score using averages and other statistics.)</p>
<p>The approach I recommend to my son is to take a practice test, preferably an actual released test, and see if the score is 800. If it is, he has something better to do with his time than practice more. If the practice test score is lower, he has something to learn--whatever he missed in practice--and then a chance to practice again. For the SAT I test, we only use genuine College Board previous tests from the Blue</a> Book. I don't trust any other brand name to have accurate scoring of sample tests. For the SAT II Subject Tests, I like the Barron's brand if you like more tests than the two or three available from College Board for each subject.</p>