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: 2019
Sex and race/ethnicity	Mean score¹
Sex and race/ethnicity	Total SAT score	Evidence-based reading and writing (ERW)	Math
All students	1059	531	528
Sex
Male	1066	529	537
Female	1053	534	519
Race/ethnicity
White	1114	562	553
Black	933	476	457
Hispanic	978	495	483
Asian	1223	586	637
Pacific Islander	964	487	478
American Indian/Alaska Native	912	461	451
Two or more races	1095	554	540
No response	959	472	487

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 2019 high school graduates who took the new SAT during high school. The data in this table include only test takers from the 2019 graduating class who took the new SAT. These data do not factor in performance on the old SAT, and the data for 2017 set a new baseline for future year-to-year comparisons. 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: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2021). Digest of Education Statistics, 2019 (NCES 2021-009), Table 226.10.

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