What Do Your New SAT Scores Really Mean?

An Update on New SAT Scores and Concordance Tables
by Summit Educational Group

After a prolonged waiting period, scores from the March 5th administration of the redesigned SAT will be available this week to schools and students.  As promised, the [ https://www.collegeboard.org/ ]College Board has provided a number of concordance tables and tools so that everyone understands what these new scores mean:

Concordance Tables Released by CollegeBoard

·         New SAT/ACT, p. 12 (Table 7)

·         ACT/New SAT, p. 20 (Table 15)

·         New SAT/Old SAT, p. 8 (Table 1), p. 9 (Table 2)

·         Old SAT/New SAT, p. 15 (Table 9) and p. 16 (Table 10).    


We will have more to share on this subject soon, but an initial look at the concordance tables indicates that the new SAT scores are higher – but not better – than the old scores, very similar to what we saw with the scores for the new PSAT compared to the old PSAT. This disparity is consistent with the College Board’s messaging that the new SAT scores would not be identical to the old SAT scores, in spite of the familiar 200 - 800 point scale used for both tests. 

Depending on where on the scale you look, the verbal and math sections of the new SAT are each about 10-50 points higher compared to the old SAT score.  The smallest gaps are at the extremes of the curves (scores approaching the 200 and 800 ends of the scale) and are widest for those scores in the middle.  For example, a score of 1000 on the old SAT for the verbal and math sections (the national mean) is now a combined score of 1090 on the new SAT – on the surface an improvement of 90 points for the student.

As we discussed when the PSAT scores were released, all of us, including college admissions officers, will have to rely on the new concordance tables to truly understand the comparison between the old SAT, new SAT, and ACT scores.  Just as with the re-centering of SAT scores that took place in 1995, colleges will initially rely on these concordance tables to fully understand these scores.  Eventually, however, these scores on the new SAT will become the new normal and will stand alone.  Colleges will still rely on the ACT – new SAT concordance table to compare scores across the two tests.

Below are some additional useful links:

SAT Score Converter – A mobile app and online tool to compare scores on the new SAT, the old SAT, and the ACT.

New SAT Scores to Old SAT Scores

Old SAT Scores to New SAT Scores

Free Practice from CollegeBoard