Fast Facts

SAT scores

Question:
What are the average scores for students taking the SAT?

Response:
The SAT (formerly known as the Scholastic Assessment Test and the Scholastic Aptitude Test) is not designed as an indicator of student achievement, but rather as an aid for predicting how well students will do in college. Between 1998� and 2004�, the mathematics SAT average score increased by 9 points, but it declined by 6 points between 2004� and 2010�. The critical reading average score in 2010� (497) was 8 points lower than in 1998�. The writing average score in 2010� (489) was 8 points lower than in 2005�, the year in which the SAT writing section was introduced.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Digest of Education Statistics, 2011 (NCES 2012-001), Chapter 2.

NOTE: Data for 2009� and earlier years are for seniors who took the SAT any time during their high school years through March of their senior year. Data for 2010� are for seniors who took the SAT any time during their high school years through June of their senior year. If a student took a test more than once, the most recent score was used. The SAT was formerly known as the Scholastic Assessment Test and the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Possible scores on each part of the SAT range from 200 to 800. The critical reading section was formerly known as the verbal section. The writing section was introduced in March 2005.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Digest of Education Statistics, 2011 (NCES 2012-001), Table 153.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 156. SAT mean scores of college-bound seniors and percentage of graduates taking SAT, by state: Selected years, 1995-96 through 2010-11
  
• 2011, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 154. SAT mean scores of college-bound seniors, by sex: 1966-67 through 2010-11