Fast Facts: SAT scores (171)

SAT scores

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

Response:

The SAT (formerly known as the Scholastic Assessment Test) is an examination administered by the Educational Testing Service and used to predict the facility with which an individual will progress in learning college-level academic subjects.

SAT mean scores of high school seniors taking the SAT, by sex and race/ethnicity: 2021
Sex and race/ethnicity	Mean score¹
Sex and race/ethnicity	Total SAT score	Evidence-based reading and writing (ERW)	Math
All students	1060	533	528
Sex
Male	1067	530	537
Female	1054	535	519
Race/ethnicity
White	1112	562	550
Black	934	477	457
Hispanic	967	490	477
Asian	1239	597	642
Pacific Islander	950	481	469
American Indian/Alaska Native	927	468	459
Two or more races	1116	565	551
No response	976	483	493

¹ Possible scores on each SAT section range from 200 to 800, for a total possible score of 400 to 1600.

NOTE: The SAT was completely redesigned in 2016. The new SAT was first administered in March of 2016. This table reflects 2021 high school graduates who took the new SAT during high school. If a student took the new SAT more than once, the most recent score on each section is used, along with the student's most recent responses to the SAT questionnaire. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Table 226.10. Number, percentage distribution, and SAT mean scores of high school seniors taking the SAT, by sex, race/ethnicity, first language learned, and highest level of parental education: 2017 through 2021 [Data table]. In Digest of education statistics. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_226.10.asp.

Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)