When trying to assess the difficult requirements of securing a placement at their university of choice, students often ask: how many students have gotten a perfect SAT score?
Statistically speaking, it’s much less than 1%. As a matter of fact, on average, this is a feat achieved by only 7 out of 10.000 students who take the SAT, which boils down to precisely 0.07 %. Every year, roughly 1.7 million students take the SAT exam, which means that only about 1000 of them score a perfect score of 1600.
To expand on the original question and give you some further context, another, perhaps more realistic question is due: how many students score between 1550 and 1600 each year (the maximum score)?
And the answer is – roughly the top 1%!
In today’s post, we’re going to give you a detailed breakdown of how the SAT score system works, and give you some concrete tips on how to get the perfect SAT score, all while answering the question of whether that’s something you should be aiming for in the first place. Let’s get started!
Understanding the SAT scoring scale
As always, it’s crucial to get some of the essential concepts out of the way before we delve into any advanced strategies. First off, what is the perfect SAT score to begin with? In simple terms, it’s 1600. So what’s the lowest? The answer is 400. Technically speaking, the SAT exam consists of the following 2 categories:
- Mathematics
- Evidence-based reading and writing
Each one is equally weighted, meaning that the total score you can get in these is 800 a piece (for a grand total of 1600).
Raw vs. scaled scores
Whatever you end up scoring on the test does not necessarily equate to your final SAT score, at least not in its refined form. In other words, your so-called raw score (whatever it happens to be on the test) is then converted to the scaled score, which is the one we’re referring to in the context of this article (so when we say a score of 1600, that would be the scaled score). The reason for scaling the score is to be able to compare the student performance throughout different years and have a standardized figure as a point of reference.
A deep dive into the various sections the SAT is comprised of
As the times change, so does the scoring structure of SAT exams. Up until now, it has always been about having to answer X amount of questions correctly to get a certain score. However, we cannot reliably conclude that the approach to scoring will always remain the same.
As of right now, the SAT modules are structured as follows:
- Reading and Writing Module 1
- Reading and Writing Module 2
- Math Module 1
- Math Module 2
Each of the sections in the first module is comprised of questions that can be described as easy, medium, and hard. That is true for both the Math as well as the English module. What’s particularly interesting about the SAT is that the questions you get in each respective Module 2 are a direct reflection of how you performed in Module 1. If you did poorly, the questions will be easy, but if you performed well, the questions will get progressively harder.
Note: it’s still possible to get a perfect score if you miss a single question per section, but data from previous SAT exams suggests that you can’t afford to make more mistakes than that.
Maximum SAT Score on Math
As already stated, the maximum scaled score on the Math section equals 800 points. To get to that point, you’re going to need to strive to answer all of those 44 questions correctly.
It goes without saying that you’re going to need to adopt the mindset of a perfectionist to get this far. When studying, your goal should be to fill any gaps in your knowledge and clarify all the things that you don’t yet fully comprehend.
It’s absolutely crucial that you focus the majority of your attention on your weak spots and clarify whatever keeps tripping you up.
Perfect Score on SAT Reading and Writing
Similarly to the point made above, you should aim for perfection even though you can technically get away with incorrectly answering up to one question.
Once again, you’ll need to integrate that kind of approach in the way you study for the SAT exam, whether you take it as a junior or a senior.
How Many Students Have Gotten a Perfect SAT Score?
To answer how many students have gotten a perfect SAT score, we’ll put it bluntly – being in the top 1% of scorers isn’t going to cut it, which is extraordinarily difficult to pull off to begin with.
As a point of reference, being in the top 1% of scorers will likely get you somewhere in the range of 1550-1600, but that’s not a perfect score – just extraordinarily high.
In terms of numbers, suppose there are 1.7 million SAT takers in a given year, the number of students getting a perfect score will be somewhere in the ballpark of 1000 or less.
What are the averages?
The perfect SAT score is likely going to be out of reach for most students. Perhaps a better goal to set would be to aim for beating the average score (at least that should be your goal for starters, and you can set a much higher goal for your SAT exam retake).
To answer the question of what is the average SAT score, let’s examine the results from the year of 2020. At the time, the average SAT score was:
- 528 for Reading
- 523 for Math
These numbers are based on the scores of roughly 2.2 million test-takers from the US.
As for some of the more recent statistics, IES NCES published the following SAT averages for 2023:
- 520 for Reading
- 508 for Math
The average SAT score in 2023 was 1028.
What is considered a good SAT score?
Before we attempt to answer that question, the fact of the matter is that everyone’s goals in life are different, and that’s okay!
At Novel Prep, our mission is to help you get where you want to be, not where others are seemingly pushing you. With this in mind, our best recommendation is to simply study up on the list of colleges and their respective SAT score entry requirements, determine what kind of score ranges your desired universities are typically looking for, and then set your goals by taking this into consideration.
Another way to think about this is to identify a score range.
Let’s say you’ve found 5 schools you’re interested in. If the one with the lowest requirements wants to see a SAT score of 1250 and the one with the highest requirements tends to require at least 1400, then that’s the range you should be aiming for. Ideally, you should be aiming slightly above the top of the identified range to allow some leeway.
Above all else, don’t let anyone else tell you what a good SAT score is supposed to be. After all, they’re viewing the world through their own subjective lens. At the end of the day, only you can decide what’s best for you.
If you’d like to ask us for advice directly, we’re happy to assist! Feel free to drop us a message and we’ll take a look at where you currently stand.
Should you aim for the perfect SAT score?
Let’s get that one out of the way fast – aiming for the perfect score is an arduous and exhausting task. The vast majority of those who attempt will fail. The good news is, you don’t really need it!
Far from it, actually. The top schools typically rest somewhere in the 1300+ range, so there’s some, but not infinite room for mistakes.
Even shooting for that 1550-1600 is going to be very difficult, unless you’re confident you can demonstrate an academic prowess that’s better than 99% of your peers.
Also, you should keep in mind that your SAT is not the only thing that colleges consider when short-listing their applicants. To maximize your chances of getting your foot in the door, consider taking AP Capstone and AP Credit courses, both of which we offer here at Novel Prep. And, if you don’t know what AP Capstone is, we’ve prepared an article that elaborates on its key points.
In addition to that, you should also focus on maximizing your GPA.
How to get the perfect SAT score
If, despite everything we’ve laid out, you’re still keen on nailing that perfect SAT score, we wish you the best of luck! Realistically, in addition to putting in an enormous amount of work, that’s what you’re going to need. Although luck and hard work is what’s ultimately going to take you there, there are other things you can do, starting with:
- Getting familiar with how SAT exams are structured. By knowing this, you will have a better idea of what to focus on and dedicate your study time to.
- Setting realistic expectations. Getting a perfect score on your SAT exam means accepting that not even being in the top 1% will be enough. Therefore, you should take it as a challenge rather than a realistic, achievable goal.
- Reviewing the exact requirements. Start with achieving 100% familiarity with the grammar rules that will be put to the test in the Writing section, the types of passages in the Reading section, and the properties in the Math section.
- Get some SAT exam practice by taking a dummy SAT practice test. These are also part of our SAT exam preparation course. The goal is to not only anticipate what questions you’re likely to encounter but also how much time you’ll have to spend answering them. And, let’s face it, the last thing you want to encounter is spending too much time on a single question and being left with too little of it remaining to properly answer the rest.
- Knowing that you can re-take your SAT exam as many times as you want. This effectively lifts some of the pressure off your shoulders, allowing you to get a progressively better score each time. Also, know that your SAT does not expire.
- Working with a SAT exam tutor. At Novel Prep, we believe that tutoring is a shortcut to academic success. With our unique methodology, we focus on letting the tutoring process be about you, rather than feeding you a generic script. In other words, you get to choose your own tutor who will serve your unique goals and needs. In fact, we have highly acclaimed academics among our ranks who specialize in different subjects. If there’s someone who can help you reach perfection, it’s them!
Conclusion
Realistically speaking, getting a perfect score is theoretically possible, but extremely unlikely even for the best among the best.
However, if you don’t feel pressured by the idea and you’re up for a challenge, you could attempt to get a perfect score on your SAT exam. Just know that the proper way to study for SAT test is going to require an investment in the form of long, goal-focused study sessions, tons of hard work, and a sprinkle of good luck.
In case you’d like to know more about how SAT tutoring online works, get in touch with Novel Prep and let’s figure out how we can get you where you want to be.
