thomas broderick

old sat to new sat math score conversions

good morning/afternoon/evening, magoosh readers. mr. b here with some important information that you will need to know if you’ve taken both the old and new sat. the college board has tweaked the scoring system, so you have a set of old scores and new scores, you might be left scratching your head about the difference. more importantly, you need to know if your new scores really indicate whether or not your score improved, or just a quirk in the new scoring system.

never fear! the following chart contains the conversions between old sat to new sat math scores. while you’re at it, make sure to check out act to new sat to old sat score conversion chart for more information about converting scores between different standardized tests.

old sat math section (200-800) new sat math section (200-800) new sat math test (10-40)
200 200 10
210 220 11
220 230 11.5
230 250 12.5
240 260 13
250 280 14
260 300 15
270 310 15.5
280 330 16.5
290 340 17
300 350 17.5
310 360 18
320 360 18
330 370 18.5
340 380 19
350 390 19.5
360 400 20
370 410 20.5
380 420 21
390 430 21.5
400 440 22
410 450 22.5
420 460 23
430 470 23.5
440 480 24
450 490 24.5
460 500 25
470 510 25.5
480 510 25.5
490 520 26
500 530 26.5
510 540 27
520 550 27.5
530 560 28
540 570 28.5
550 570 28.5
560 580 29
570 590 29.5
580 600 30
590 610 30.5
600 620 31
610 630 31.5
620 640 32
630 650 32.5
640 660 33
650 670 33.5
660 690 34.5
670 700 35
680 710 35.5
690 720 36
700 730 36.5
710 740 37
720 750 37.5
730 760 38
740 760 38
750 770 38.5
760 780 39
770 780 39
780 790 39.5
790 800 40
800 800 40

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why the change?

good question. the good news is that the math you studied in school is still preparing you for the sat. the biggest changes have to do with the test’s focus. let’s take a look.

real world applications: math questions on the new sat are modeled around math/science/social science classes you will take in college, the jobs that you might have in life, and your personal life. expect to use your math knowledge in a brand new way.

focus: sat math questions now have three areas of focus:

  • algebra
  • data analysis
  • ‘passport to advanced math,’ which includes much of the math taught in a second year algebra course.

of course, geometry and trigonometry questions still appear on the sat math test, but you might notice fewer of these types of questions.

grid-in questions: for 22% of all test questions, you provide the answer on your bubble sheet rather than choosing from a list of options. grid-in questions link back to sat’s goal to have students use math in practical ways rather than just answering multiple choice questions.

well, that’s all for now, magooshers. best of luck in getting ready for the sat!

author

  • thomas broderick

    thomas spent four years teaching high school english, social studies, and act preparation in middle tennessee. now living in northern california, he is excited to share his knowledge and experience with magoosh’s readers. in his spare time thomas enjoys writing short fiction and hiking in the sonoma foothills.

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