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New SAT Scores to Old SAT & ACT Comparison: Conversion Chart

A student taking a test at a classroom desk.

The SAT has gone through a number of changes in recent years, to better reflect students’ real preparation for higher education. In March 2016, the College Board released the newest version of the SAT. This new test returned to two sections, each on an 800-point scale: a math section, updated to better reflect high school curricula, and a combined Reading and Writing section, which brought in elements of the old Writing section but scored the essay separately.

What does this mean for you? First, it means that you shouldn’t assume any old SAT scores (or PSAT scores) are directly analogous to yours. If you want to compare your score to one that you or someone else received prior to 2016, use one of our concordance tables below.

Second, important changes took place in the content of each section, which we describe in more detail below. This means you should not use any test prep materials, or take any practice tests, that were produced before the new SAT.

Finally, it may be that the changes in the new SAT affect your decision about whether to take the SAT or ACT. You can read more about where ACT scores fit into this discussion below.

Old SAT Math to New SAT Math

The new SAT math is similar to old SAT math section; both sections have scores out of 800. However, the new math section has some different content than the old section; the College Board says the section has moved away from highly abstract problems to emphasize concrete, skills-based math.

The revisions in the new SAT math section mean that new SAT scores are very similar to old ones, but not identical. Below you can see that new math scores are slightly higher than old ones.

Old SAT New SAT Old SAT New SAT Old SAT New SAT
800 800 600 620 400 440
790 800 590 610 390 430
780 790 580 600 380 420
770 780 570 590 370 410
760 780 560 580 360 400
750 770 550 570 350 390
740 760 540 570 340 380
730 760 530 560 330 370
720 750 520 550 320 360
710 740 510 540 310 360
700 730 500 530 300 350
690 720 490 520 290 340
680 710 480 510 280 330
670 700 470 510 270 310
660 690 460 500 260 300
650 670 450 490 250 280
640 660 440 480 240 260
630 650 430 470 230 250
620 640 420 460 220 230
610 630 410 450 210 220

Old SAT Reading + Writing to New SAT Reading + Writing

This is where the conversion gets tricky. The old, 2400-point SAT test had two sections for verbal: a critical reading section, with passages and questions, and a writing section, focused on grammar and writing skills. In the new SAT, the College Board has combined these two sections, while scoring the essay separately.

Elements of both the old critical reading and writing sections appear in the new SAT reading test. The reading passages are chosen to be less confusing, with fewer highly uncommon words, to test comprehension rather than vocabulary.

Old SAT New SAT Old SAT New SAT Old SAT New SAT Old SAT New SAT Old SAT New SAT Old SAT New SAT
400 200 600 350 800 450 1000 560 1200 650 1400 730
410 210 610 360 810 450 1010 560 1210 660 1410 740
420 220 620 360 820 460 1020 570 1220 660 1420 740
430 230 630 360 830 460 1030 570 1230 670 1430 740
440 240 640 370 840 470 1040 580 1240 670 1440 750
450 260 650 370 850 480 1050 580 1250 680 1450 750
460 270 660 380 860 480 1060 590 1260 680 1460 750
470 280 670 380 870 490 1070 590 1270 680 1470 760
480 290 680 390 880 490 1080 600 1280 690 1480 760
490 300 690 390 890 500 1090 600 1290 690 1490 760
500 310 700 400 900 500 1100 610 1300 700 1500 770
510 310 710 400 910 510 1110 610 1310 700 1510 770
520 320 720 410 920 510 1120 620 1320 700 1520 770
530 320 730 410 930 520 1130 620 1330 710 1530 780
540 330 740 420 940 530 1140 630 1340 710 1540 780
550 330 750 420 950 530 1150 630 1350 710 1550 780
560 330 760 430 960 540 1160 640 1360 720 1560 790
570 340 770 430 970 540 1170 640 1370 720 1570 790
580 340 780 440 980 550 1180 650 1380 730 1580 800
590 340 790 440 990 550 1190 650 1390 730 1600 800

SAT-ACT Conversion Chart

There are two standardized tests used in college admissions: the SAT and the ACT. A generation ago, these two tests were divided by geography. Now, because colleges accept both tests with no preference, high school students should take whichever test is the best fit for their learning style.

Unlike the SAT, ACT scores come from four sections: math, reading, writing, and science. Each section is scored out of 36, and then a composite score is created to average the four scores. Thus, each test-taker receives a total ACT score of up to 36.

In the table below, you can find the most recent conversion rates between new SAT scores (total) and composite ACT scores. Note that there are multiple ACT scores for each SAT score total. The SAT score mid-point per individual ACT score is marked with an asterisk (for instance, an ACT score of 28 is, on average, a 1310 on the new SAT).

SAT Total Score ACT Composite Score SAT Total Score ACT Composite Score SAT Total Score ACT Composite Score SAT Total Score ACT Composite Score
1600 36 1340* 29 1080* 21 820 14
1590* 36 1330 29 1070 21 810 14
1580 36 1320 28 1060 21 800* 14
1570 36 1310* 28 1050 20 790 14
1560 35 1300 28 1040* 20 780 14
1550 35 1290 27 1030 20 770 13
1540* 35 1280* 27 1020 19 760* 13
1530 35 1270 27 1010* 19 750 13
1520 34 1260 27 1000 19 740 13
1510 34 1250 26 990 19 730 13
1500* 34 1240* 26 980 18 720 12
1490 34 1230 26 970* 18 710* 12
1480 33 1220 25 960 18 700 12
1470 33 1210* 25 950 17 690 12
1460* 33 1200 25 940 17 680 11
1450 33 1190 24 930* 17 670* 11
1440 32 1180* 24 920 17 660 11
1430* 32 1170 24 910 16 650 11
1420 32 1160 24 900 16 640 10
1410 31 1150 23 890* 16 630* 10
1400* 31 1140* 23 880 16 620 10
1390 31 1130 23 870 15 610 9
1380 30 1120 22 860 15 600 9
1370* 30 1110* 22 850* 15 590* 9
1360 30 1100 22 840 15 580 9
1350 29 1090 21 830 15 570 9

Official SAT Composite Score Conversion Chart

This chart compares new SAT scores to old SAT scores to ACT composite scores, and vice versa. Here you can compare new and old scores across all these standardized tests.

Old SAT New SAT ACT Old SAT New SAT ACT Old SAT New SAT ACT Old SAT New SAT ACT
2400 1600 36 1950 1380 29 1500 1090 21 1050 800 14
2390 1600 36 1940 1370 29 1490 1090 21 1040 790 14
2380 1590 35 1930 1370 29 1480 1080 21 1030 780 14
2370 1590 35 1920 1360 29 1470 1070 21 1020 780 14
2360 1590 35 1910 1350 29 1460 1070 21 1010 770 14
2350 1580 35 1900 1350 29 1450 1060 21 1000 760 14
2340 1580 35 1890 1340 28 1440 1050 20 990 760 14
2330 1570 35 1880 1340 28 1430 1050 20 980 750 13
2320 1570 35 1870 1330 28 1420 1040 20 970 740 13
2310 1560 35 1860 1320 28 1410 1030 20 960 740 13
2300 1560 35 1850 1320 28 1400 1030 20 950 730 13
2290 1550 34 1840 1310 28 1390 1020 20 940 730 13
2280 1550 34 1830 1300 27 1380 1020 20 930 720 13
2270 1550 34 1820 1300 27 1370 1010 19 920 710 12
2260 1540 34 1810 1290 27 1360 1000 19 910 710 12
2250 1540 34 1800 1290 27 1350 1000 19 900 700 12
2240 1530 34 1790 1280 27 1340 990 19 890 690 12
2230 1530 34 1780 1270 26 1330 980 19 880 690 12
2220 1520 34 1770 1270 26 1320 980 19 870 680 12
2210 1520 34 1760 1260 26 1310 970 18 860 670 12
2200 1510 33 1750 1250 26 1300 960 18 850 660 12
2190 1510 33 1740 1250 26 1290 950 18 840 650 12
2180 1510 33 1730 1240 26 1280 950 18 830 640 12
2170 1500 33 1720 1230 25 1270 940 18 820 630 12
2160 1500 33 1710 1230 25 1260 930 17 810 620 11
2150 1490 33 1700 1220 25 1250 930 17 800 610 11
2140 1490 33 1690 1210 25 1240 920 17 790 600 11
2130 1480 32 1680 1210 25 1230 910 17 780 590 11
2120 1480 32 1670 1200 25 1220 910 17 770 580 11
2110 1470 32 1660 1200 25 1210 900 17 760 560 11
2100 1470 32 1650 1190 24 1200 890 16 750 550 NA
2090 1460 32 1640 1180 24 1190 890 16 740 540 NA
2080 1450 32 1630 1180 24 1180 880 16 730 530 NA
2070 1450 32 1620 1170 24 1170 870 16 720 520 NA
2060 1440 31 1610 1160 24 1160 870 16 710 510 NA
2050 1440 31 1600 1160 24 1150 860 16 700 500 NA
2040 1430 31 1590 1150 23 1140 850 15 690 490 NA
2030 1430 31 1580 1140 23 1130 850 15 680 480 NA
2020 1420 31 1570 1140 23 1120 840 15 670 470 NA
2010 1410 30 1560 1130 23 1110 830 15 660 460 NA
2000 1410 30 1550 1120 22 1100 830 15 650 450 NA
1990 1400 30 1540 1120 22 1090 820 15 640 440 NA
1980 1400 30 1530 1110 22 1080 810 15 630 430 NA
1970 1390 30 1520 1110 22 1070 810 15 620 420 NA
1960 1380 29 1510 1100 22 1060 800 14 600 400 NA

Final Thoughts

Your test scores are not your whole application, but they are an important piece. Doing well on the new SAT or ACT is essential to create a competitive application for most schools. Make sure you have a strategy. Know which test is better for you, how to prepare, and which test dates will fit best with your schedule. Lastly, don’t be afraid to take the SAT or ACT more than once, since colleges mainly care about your highest scores.

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