Average SAT Score Simple Strategies To Beat It

2015 was the sixth year in a row that saw average SAT score fall or remain steady. High School students who want to beat the average score will have to score 495 in critical reading, 484 in writing and 511 in Math. Now that’s a combined score of 1490, which was a couple of points lower than the previous year. A score of 1550 is considered to be a good score for SAT takers because it is seen as a marker to a decent performance in the freshman year. This score is considered to give you a 65 percent chance of getting a B minus or more on your GPA. Interestingly only 42% of test takers managed that score in last year’s test. Set the bar high for yourself If you are planning on taking the SAT then of course you need to have a target in mind from day 1. It gives you something to work towards during your course of preparation. Experts believe that trying to beat the average score can be a realistic and encouraging goal for beginners. However there’s definitely no harm in aiming higher and beyond 1550. But the first step in your preparation towards your goal should be thinking like the test and knowing exactly how the SAT is scored. Each section has multiple-choice questions and right answer gets you a +1 raw score for the section. Wrong answers in Critical Reading and Writing will get you penalized by -0.25 points. Simple steps to beat the average SAT score Once you have understood how the scoring for SAT works and the goal you have set for yourself, you can start your prep accordingly. You have to remember that the test is definitely beatable and there are simple steps, which let you do just that. Firstly, you need to look at your PSAT scores so that you can narrow down on the skills and areas that you need to work on. By all means prepare for all the sections of the test, but focus on those where you can do with some help. For Critical Reading you have to emphasize on building vocabulary. For Math questions where you are stuck for an answer, work backwards and eliminate wrong ones. Focus on typical grammar rules that are often repeated in case of Writing section. There are different skills you need to work on for the three sections of the test. But you shouldn’t consider them to be shortcuts because there aren’t any. Give yourself sufficient time to prep, take practice tests to be ready for the exam day. Beating average SAT score is definitely possible and you can do better than that too. Other articles that you might be interested in : SAT Grading Scale Upcoming Dates and Deadlines of SAT