Case 1
- Math section score
- 600
- Reading & Writing section score
- 600
1,200
Open with these valuesSAT Score Calculator
1,200
Result: 1,200The total is simply the two section scores added together — there is no weighting and no conversion between them. Because each section starts at 200, the lowest possible total is 400, not zero.
The numbers at a glance
Held fixed: Math section score 600.
| Reading & Writing section score | Result |
|---|---|
| 450 | 1,050 |
| 500 | 1,100 |
| 550 | 1,150 |
| 600Your value | 1,200 |
| 650 | 1,250 |
| 700 | 1,300 |
| 750 | 1,350 |
Worked examples
Case 2
- Math section score
- 650
- Reading & Writing section score
- 700
1,350
Open with these valuesCase 3
- Math section score
- 800
- Reading & Writing section score
- 800
1,600
Open with these valuesHow it's calculated
total = Math + EBRW
- StepEnter your Math section score, between 200 and 800.
- StepEnter your Reading & Writing section score.
- ResultRead the total out of 1600.
What this number means
The SAT reports two section scores. Math is one. Evidence-Based Reading and Writing is the other, folding reading and language questions into a single number rather than reporting them separately. Each section runs from 200 to 800, and the total is the two added together — no weighting, no conversion, no third component. Enter 600 and 600 and the total is 1200. Enter 650 in Math and 700 in Reading & Writing and it is 1350. Two ceilings of 800 give 1600. What catches people out is the other end of the scale. Because each section starts at 200 rather than at zero, the lowest total the scale can produce is 400, which means the whole span of possible totals is 1200 points wide and not 1600. That is also why both fields here refuse anything outside the 200-to-800 window. The numbers you enter are scaled scores — the ones printed on your report — not counts of correct answers. College Board converts raw answers into scaled scores with a table that differs from one test form to the next, and that step is not part of this calculation. For orientation, the reference table below places a total near 1000 around the national average and 1200 around the middle of test-takers.
The floor is 400, not zero
Each section starts at 200 rather than at zero, so the lowest possible total is 400. A blank paper still scores 400.
Scaled section scores, not raw answers
This takes the two scaled section scores as its input. The conversion from raw answers to a scaled score changes with each test form.
No weighting between the sections
The two scores are simply added, with no weighting and no conversion between them. A point in Math counts exactly as much as a point in Reading & Writing.
Section scores move in steps of ten
The SAT reports section scores in ten-point steps, so the total does too. A decimal place would never appear on a score report.
Commonly misread
Zero on both sections gives a total of zero.
Each section starts at 200, so the lowest total on the scale is 400. There is no part of the range below that.
The two sections are weighted before they are added.
They are simply added together. Neither section counts for more than the other.
EBRW is the reading score, and writing is counted separately.
Evidence-Based Reading and Writing combines reading and language into one score. It is the other half of the total alongside Math.
The calculator turns the number of correct answers into a total.
It takes the two scaled section scores. The step from raw answers to a scaled score changes with each test form.
Reference table
| Total | Roughly |
|---|---|
| 1600 | The ceiling |
| 1200 | Around the middle of test-takers |
| 1000 | Around the national average |
| 400 | The floor — 200 in each section |
Questions
How is the total calculated?
The two section scores are simply added. Each runs from 200 to 800, so the total runs from 400 to 1600.
What is the EBRW section?
Evidence-Based Reading and Writing — reading and language combined into one score. It is the other half of the total alongside Math.
Why can the total not go below 400?
Because each section starts at 200 rather than at zero. A blank paper still scores 400 in total.
Does the calculator convert raw answers into section scores?
No, it takes the two scaled section scores as its input. The conversion from raw answers to a scaled score changes with each test form.
Sources and last check
Information, not professional advice.