Many students wonder how the SAT essay can be graded consistently across tests. Certainly, they understand how a machine can read the bubbled in answers on a data sheet, but what about a hand written essay? Rest assured there is a method to the SAT’s essay madness.
Your SAT essay will be reviewed and graded by two readers. All readers are thoroughly trained before they are actually permitted to review and grade real SAT essays. Most readers are professionals with backgrounds in English, writing, composition and/or the language arts in general.
The readers use a grading rubric and sample essays to guide them in their work. As mentioned above, your essay will be reviewed by two readers. Each will grade your essay using a 1 to 6 scoring scale, 1 being the lowest grade and 6 being the highest. If the two scores assigned to your essay differ by 2 or more points, a third reader is brought in to review and grade the essay. (Scoring a 4, 5 or 6 is generally considered good or acceptable.) You should know that, while 6 is considered a perfect score, an essay earning a 6 need not be perfect — just a perfect first draft. All essays are considered first drafts.
Your reported score will be between 2 and 12, inclusive. The reported score is simply the sum of the scores assigned by the two readers. Thus, a reported score of 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 is considered good.
By the way, there are three different ways to score a zero:
1. Do not write an essay at all.
2. Write an essay on a topic other than the one assigned.
3. Write an essay that is illegible.
I hope you now have a better understanding of the process used to grade your essay. In my next post, I will discuss the actual SAT essay scoring rubric. I am hopeful that a thorough review of the rubric will help you learn to write a high-scoring essay.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
great advices
May 1st, 2009 at 9:06 pm
My daughter recieved a “8″ on her essay, and she still wants to do better
May 4th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Jass,
ePrep can certainly help your daughter with the essay.
October 4th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
on my essay, my score is 7…so that meani did good on it.
October 5th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Nou,
The highest essay score is 12, so a 7 is pretty good.
November 9th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
i got a 9 woohoo i rock
November 24th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I got an 8 -__-
I’m so upset..
November 26th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Mallory,
An 8 on the essay is not bad at all.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I got an 11 for my first Sat essay with no Sat prep (cold turkey lol). Is that ok?
December 5th, 2009 at 10:22 am
An 11 on the essay is outstanding, Kyle. Congrats.
December 13th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
i got a 12 on my essay but a 1400 in total. is that good?
December 13th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
urloss,
12 is a perfect score on the essay. Congratulations.
When you say 1400, do you mean Math and CR or all three subject areas? A person who scores a 12 on the essay should be above 2000 overall.
December 28th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
I got a 9 when I was in 7th grade. I’m in 9th grade now and am about to take the SAT diagnostics test. And I have no idea how to bring my grade up.
Help?
December 31st, 2009 at 3:13 am
Great tips.
But, I’m really not sure what I should do.
I’m a senior and I just took my SAT.
I’m embarrassed of my scores, but i want to share them with you and see what you all think.
So, for the essay part, I got a 7.
Writing, I got a 390.
Math, sooo low. I got a low score of 290.
and critical thinking, i got a 360.
this is horrible. I don’t think any colleges will accept that!
Please tell me what you think/tips will be appreciated. (:
January 18th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Kim,
Sorry for the long delay. If you select “Essay” among the “Categories” on ePrep’s blog site, you will be directed to a few videos that will help you increase your essay score. (The “Categories” in listed in a column on the right-side of the web page.
Karl
January 18th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
confusedsenior,
Don’t stress. The economy is bad and a lot of colleges are hurting for students. Your scores will get you into a few four-year universities and most junior colleges. Some people just don’t test well. That does not mean that you would succeed in life.
If you decide to take the SAT one last time this Saturday, you may want to watch some of the videos in ePrep’s The Night Before the SAT post.
January 21st, 2010 at 5:07 pm
I got a 6 as a 7th grader and my math=490, writing=520, and
critical reading=460. So I got a 1470. Is this good, for a 7th
grader?
January 21st, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Sania,
That is amazing for a seventh grader. Keep up the good work!
February 4th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
I’m a senior and I got a score of six. Is that good or bad? Also, is ther a way, other than using the prep book and paying attention in class,to imprrove? I unfortunately went into the test “cold” so I don’t know how much the book could have helped.
February 6th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Myranda,
Six is an okay score, but I’m sure you could score higher with a little guidance and some practice. I suggest you select “Essay” among the categories listed on ePrep’s blog site. Doing so will direct you to a series of video blogs on the SAT essay. The videos will definitely help you score higher.
February 11th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
I am a 11th grader and I got a 8 on my essay and I scored
A 1580 on my SAT, this is all 3 scores together. Is
this a good or bad score?
February 11th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
Maya,
While the score is not bad, you should be able to do better with some practice. You should consider an ePrep course. Many ePrep students have raised their scores by hundreds of points. Please see our point-increase guarantees.
February 14th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
I am a junior, and i made an 8 on my essay. And for my actual scores, my reading=640, writing=580, and math=540. So my total score is 1760, will that be good for most colleges?
February 14th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Robard,
1760 is, indeed, good for most colleges. However, I think you will be better off if you break 1800. Doing so will help with admissions and might actually qualify you for some merit-based scholarships. Since you are only 40 points away, I encourage you to go for it.
February 16th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
I am in 8th grade and I got an 8 on the essay, 550 on reading, 560 on writing, and 420 on math. Are these good scores? How can I improve them?
February 19th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
A kid,
Great job for an 8th grader. Just keep working hard in school and your scores will improve. You’ll know a lot more in a few years when you take the SAT again.
February 22nd, 2010 at 7:31 pm
I am in seventh grade and i got a 7 on the essay, a 500 on the reading, a 540 on the math, and a 440 on the writing (AHH!). Is that good?
February 22nd, 2010 at 7:34 pm
By the way, that makes my score a 1480… wow… how can i improve cuz i need to break 1800 if i want to go to a really good college (i want to go to yale
)
February 25th, 2010 at 8:43 am
Kristen,
Your scores are very good for a 7th grader. To improve by junior year in high school, all you have to worry about now is paying attention in school. In other words, if you keep working hard in school, you will know a heck of a lot more in four years. Keep up the good work.
February 26th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
My son just did a mock SAT test, math (560), reading (520),
writing (480) and Essay (8). He however left many questions
unanswered in reading area because he ran out of time.
How did he do?
February 26th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
I forgot to mention that my son is a junior
February 28th, 2010 at 10:58 am
William,
Although some mock SAT tests are much more accurate than others, I’ll assume that your son took a good one. With some dedicated practice, he should be able to get the math and writing scores above 650. Because improvement in critical reading involves lots of additional reading and vocabulary building, critical reading scores are, generally, more difficult to change. Your son should make a big effort this summer to do a lot of outside reading and vocabulary building. I suggest he focus on math and writing for now. Both of those sections are rule-based, allowing for significant short-term improvement.
I hope this helps.
March 5th, 2010 at 10:59 am
Hello,
I am a junior student but I go to a French School
I took the SAT test in January and got 630 on Critical Reading,
620 on Math, 530 on Writing, 52 on Multiple Choice and 8 on
the essay. I am not sure if those grades are good enough for me
if I want to apply to colleges such as Harvard or Yale. What do
you think about it? Do you have any useful tips that could help
me get higher grades if I took the test a second time ?
In advance, Thank you for your advice.
March 7th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
Laura,
In order to get into a school like Harvard or Yale, you will need SAT scores in the 700s. In addition to searching ePrep’s blog site for test-taking tips, you should seriously consider purchasing an ePrep study program.
Good luck.
March 17th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Okay so what is it graded out of? I got a 4 which has to be really really bad. At first someone told me that it was graded from a 1-6 scale now I’m just confused..
March 20th, 2010 at 9:28 am
L,
Two people grade each essay on a 0-6 scale. The two scores are then added together to yield a final score on a 0-12 scale. If you got a 4, it is very likely that you received a 2 out of 6 from each grader.
April 1st, 2010 at 8:29 am
I recieved a 9 on my essay even though thats not so bad i know i can do better in sentence completions and math
April 2nd, 2010 at 12:18 am
umm i got a 1260 and an 8 on my essay is that good for csus
April 2nd, 2010 at 4:59 pm
I’m a junior and I recently took the SATs for the first time and
got a 1360 and a 7 on my essay. I live in Florida and want to go
to University of South Florida, would my scores be ok or should I
take it again?
April 3rd, 2010 at 7:44 am
My son, Junior High School, took SAT test. He got 460
critical reading, 690 math, 560 writing, 8 on his essay.
He wants to go to Rice University or University of Texas
at Austin. He wants to be a dentist. Can he make it with
this grade? His GPA is good. One of test advisors said
it would be negative influence on his admission if he takes SAT tests
more than three times. Is that right?
April 4th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Jasmine,
A score of 9 on the essay is very respectable. Good luck on the sentence completions and math.
April 4th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Giovanni Marquez,
Is the 1260 the total for Math, CR, and Writing, or just Math and CR?
I’m not sure about CSUS. Here is a link to the school’s admission page: http://www.csus.edu/admissions/
You may want to hack around the site a bit. Try the search feature and the FAQ (frequently asked questions). Good luck.
April 4th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
Crystal,
It depends on your score breakdown — Math, CR, and Writing. Go to the following web page and (in the middle of the page) scroll down to Test Scores:
http://usfweb2.usf.edu/Admissions/Freshmen/freshman-requirements.aspx
Good luck.
April 4th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
coolsong,
Your son should take the test until he is satisfied with his score. Taking the test more than three times does not reflect negatively on the student. In fact, multiple tries suggests that the student is willing to stick to his academic goals.
Your son should definitely consider an ePrep course. There is no reason he can’t get into the 700s in Math, the 500 or 600s in CR, and 600+ in Writing. If he prepares with ePrep, he will not only increase his score, he will be better prepared for Rice University or the University of Texas. With his current scores, his chances are not good. (The CR is really the one that hurts his chances most.)
I hope this helps.
April 5th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
I am a 7th grader and just got my SAT scores:
Writing 650 with essay of 9, math 600, and critical reading 540.
Are these good enough? How can I improve my CR?
April 11th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
This is what i got into my SAT,is this good enough,
which University would accept me?
Critical Reading – 390,Math – 350,Writing – 380,
Multiple Choice – 38,Essay – 06,
TOTAL Score: 1164
April 12th, 2010 at 7:54 am
Hanna,
For a 7th grader, your scores are awesome. Congratulations. The best way to improve your CR score over time is to read a lot and look up the words you don’t know.
You are certainly on track for outstanding high school SAT scores. Keep up the good work.
April 12th, 2010 at 7:58 am
Penny,
Good job. You should apply to local universities, community colleges, and junior colleges. They will likely offer the greatest potential for a “good fit.”
Good luck.
April 12th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
I got a 10 on the essay. I’m in 7th grade. Here are my scores:
Math-710
CR-630
Writing-600
Is it good? Do I have a chance at a 2400 by the time I’m a junior?
April 15th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Kevin,
Your scores are amazing, especially for a 7th grader. Keep up the good work and you will definitely be in the 2400 range by junior year.
April 30th, 2010 at 12:30 am
My 7th grade sons SAT scores were CR 600 W 490 M 520 and essay 6. What is the average score increase by Junior year for this group of kids. He wants to go to Harvard or MIT (just wondering how difficult it will be for him to get 2100 or higher)
April 30th, 2010 at 12:41 am
Also, he had no prep didn’t want to stress him over this test. He wants to take it again next year. Any prep advise? clueless mom and out of the know of things
April 30th, 2010 at 7:12 am
Karen,
Your son’s scores are terrific. The 600 in CR indicates that he is a good reader. If he continues reading diligently in school and on his own, his CR score will be in the 700s by junior year.
His math score is in the low 500s because the SAT covers some material he probably hasn’t learned yet and because he is young and his problem-solving skills are not yet fully developed. If he continues to earn high grades in his school math classes, his SAT math score should also be in the 700s by junior year.
The SAT writing section primarily tests grammar and editorial skills. Unfortunately, your son is not likely to improve his grammar skills much in school over the next few years. If he works on SAT writing now (on his own), he will learn the grammar he needs to be a technically good writer. An ePrep course might be a good idea to get him going over the summer. Also, ePrep is working on a Writing workbook that should be available for purchase within the next two months. I will keep you posted.
May 19th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Hi,
I’m a junior and I was just wondering if these scores were “Okay”. I know there not good but I wasn’t feeling well the day of the test so I did not take my ADHD medication that day. I also took the test again, in May so I am still waiting on those scores. Hopefully they will be much better. Since my first test, I’ve taken a semester long class on Sat prep so I hoped that helped as well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see but for now here are my scores from october.
Critical Reading: 460
Math: 440
Writing: 470
Essay: 6
MC: 50
Thanks!
May 20th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Hi,
I am a Junior in high school and I recently took the SAT on may 1st. I have hypoglycemia and my
blood sugar crashed while taking it.
My scores came out to be:
Critical Reading:470
Math: 420
Writing: 480
Multiple Choice: 46
Essay: 8
I feel like I completely bombed the SAT. I know I wasn’t
feeling well, but I still feel like a total failure.
I’ve been doing online prep as well as using an SAT math tutor.
My scores were significantly higher on all my practice tests.
do you have any suggestions for improving? are these scores
really as horrible as I feel they are?
thanks for your input.
May 23rd, 2010 at 8:06 am
Lindsey,
I believe students are allowed to bring snacks to the SAT. You should definitely do so next time.
While your scores are not terrible, they are not terrific either. You should definitely take the SAT again in the fall. I suggest you use the summer to read widely and build your vocabulary. You can brush up on the math and writing starting in September again.
Please don’t give up on yourself. With a little effort, you’ll wind up in the 500s across the board.
June 8th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
im a junior in high school and well
i have a question,
i took the SAT on may, and well my results were
math: 480
writing:450
cr: 410
and a 9 on my essay which made me really happy,
but im worried because i just took the june one
and im not sure if i did better;
would you say that it doesn’t not matter how many
times you take it as long as you improve in it?
because i might have to take it a third time, and
my concern is that if taking it alot of times
might look bad.
June 9th, 2010 at 7:31 am
Merle,
The College Board has a new score reporting policy called Score Choice. The policy will allow you to send colleges only the scores from the test dates you want. Thus, unless you choose to send your May and June 2010 scores, colleges will not even know that you took the SAT on those dates.
I hope this helps put you at ease. Good luck. You may want to consider an ePrep course to help you prepare over the summer.
June 13th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
A friend of mine got a 6 on the SAT essay, but claims that there was a note attached to her scores that said only one person scored her essay, therefore giving her a perfect score. I’m not sure I believe her. Is a case like this possible?
June 15th, 2010 at 6:59 am
Kait,
I have never heard of such a case, so I’m not sure if I believe it either. I will call a friend from the College Board and try to get an answer within the next couple of days.
In any event, if only one reader really did grade your friend’s essay, that score would have to be doubled to get the final score. (What I am trying to say is that a perfect final essay score is 12, not 6.)
I will post a follow-up comment soon.
June 23rd, 2010 at 12:28 am
I recently took my SAT in May. After taking the test, I felt pretty confident in my answers.
I recieved an 8 on the essay, and a total score of 1430.
Math 470
CR 440
Writing 520
Is it necessary to purchase an SAT prep book from collegeboard.com or do I have any other options. I would really like to improve my score by taking the SAT test again this fall in October. Advice please? Thank you for your time
June 23rd, 2010 at 12:32 am
Another question, What if i took my SAT but chose not to send my scores to any colleges, and lets say hypothetically i retake the test in October but get a worse score, Will I still be able to submit my SAT score from May? or can you only use your recent score?
June 23rd, 2010 at 2:21 pm
Another way to score 0 on the SAT essay is to write it in ink!
June 23rd, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Kait,
The CollegeBoard SAT site explains, the two readers score each essay on a 2-12 scale. “If the two readers’ scores differ by more than one point (a rare situation), a third reader scores the essay.
a third reader scores the essay.”
June 23rd, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Interesting. Here’s language from The Official SAT Teacher’s Guide:
“The essays are read by trained high school and college instructors who primarily teach English, composition, or language arts courses or who teach in another subject that requires a substantial amount of writing. These readers ust the Scoring Guide in conjuction with anchor papers to score each essay on a scale of 1 to 6. Each essay is read by two readers. If the readers’ scores are different by more than one point on the six-point scale, a third reader will score the essay. Scoring leaders constantly monitor scoring accuracy.”
June 23rd, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Angie,
If you are on a tight budget, you should purchase The Official SAT Study Guide from the College Board. The book has practice tests with answers, but no answer explanations, unfortunately. If your budget will allow a $99+ purchase, you should consider an ePrep course. Since all ePrep courses have answer explanations that are video-based, you should have a relatively easy time improving.
You can send the scores from any date you want, so “yes” you would be able to send your May scores and not your October scores. Think positive, however, and do really well in October. Good luck.
June 24th, 2010 at 9:12 am
I scored a 1450 in total
but a 950 with only Math and CR
and I got an 8 on my essay
do you think this is good?
June 24th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Hey right now I’m a junior in high school and I’m wondering if these grades are good enough for a Rutgers level college.
Critical Reading 600
Math 660
Writing 580
I got a 10 on the essay
Thanks!
June 24th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Alright, i took SAT and i was curious what yall would do to improve my scores
Math: 760 (not really needing help here)
Critical Reading: 600 ( would like it to be 700)
Writing: 510 (omfg i need some help, need to be 650, would like 700)
plz help me, i am taking again in fall and i really want to get a high score. ty
June 24th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Aiming for a 700 in all 3 sections, just got my scores back fromt aking the full-length test the first time:
CR: 630
Math: 650
Writing: 670
Essay: 8
What kind of colleges can I get into with these scores (I want to go to UNC Chapel Hill) What do you suggest I do to study?
June 25th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
I just got my scores back from the SAT.
CR: 680
Math: 550
Writing: 640
Essay: 9
Total: 1870
High School GPA (so far): 93.5
If my recommendation letters, interview, writing portfolio and
essays are really good, do you think I can get into the Creative
Writing program at Oberlin College?
June 27th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Yizzle,
I think your scores are good, but I am convinced that you can do much better, if you are willing to work a little over the summer. Please sign up a ePrep’s free trial. It may inspire you to spend some of your free time preparing. Good luck.
June 27th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Blake,
The answer to your question depends on whether you are an in-state or an out-of-state applicant. If you are a NJ resident, your scores are likely high enough to be admitted. If you are not a NJ resident, you will likely need to bump them up a bit.
You should consider an ePrep study program for the summer. I’m sure you can get your math and writing scores into the 700s with some effort. (A critical reading score is more difficult to improve in the short term.) The bump up will help with admissions and may even automatically qualify you for a merit-based scholarship.
Good luck. I hope this helps.
June 27th, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Rabago,
Your CR score will go up, if you build your vocabulary and take a few practice tests. You can definitely get into the 700s in writing, if you are willing to practice.
Please consider an ePrep study program for the summer. (You may want to sign up for a free trial.) ePrep has plenty of practice tests and a vocabulary builder called WordSmith.
Good luck.
June 27th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Taylor,
Your scores are great for a first try. If you study with ePrep over the summer, I’m sure you can reach your goal of 700s across the board.
Assuming a high GPA and 700s on the SAT, you are likely to be accepted by UNC. (My niece is a rising junior at UNC, by the way. Awesome school. Beautiful campus.)
Good luck.
June 27th, 2010 at 11:02 pm
Sierra,
I will check with one of ePrep’s guest admission experts and get back to you. Sorry for the delay.
June 29th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
I just got my SAT scores back. I got a 1940 total.
600 – reading
660 – math
680 – writing
8 – essay
Is this good? This was my first time so I’m going to re-take it.
(I went in cold the first time.) What should I aim for next time?
I know my essay score sort of sucks. How do I improve that?
Thank you for any help!
July 7th, 2010 at 8:30 am
Sierra,
Your current SAT scores will land you in the bottom 25% of the applicant pool at Oberlin College. Thus, unless you can bump your SAT scores up a bit, you will have only a modest chance of being admitted by Oberlin. You may want to sign up for ePrep’s free trial. If you like it, an ePrep course may be a good summer option. Good luck.
July 7th, 2010 at 8:32 am
Emily,
Your scores are pretty good — essay included. I think you should be shooting for 700s across the board. Please use your summer to prepare. Once school starts in September, you are likely to be overwhelmed with classes and after-school activities. Good luck.
July 12th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
when i was a junior my essay score was a 10 and the rest
added up to 1500 i would also like to add that i did not study
at all. i just hope to prove a point for the capacity or
potential we all hold. wether we are considered smart or not.
July 18th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
As a 9th grader (rising 10th now) I got a 1970 overall
(Math: 630, Reading: 630, Writing:710) & a 9 on the essay.
Is this a good score for my age? And how can I improve?
July 19th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Vij,
Your scores are terrific for your age. Your scores will improve, if you continue to complete school assignment diligently over the next year. After sophomore year, you may want to consider enrolling in an SAT prep course. I hope you consider ePrep. Good luck.
August 11th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
I am currently taking practice SAT tests out of the College
Board’s blue book. I have noticed that I am missing a lot of
the passage based questions while I rarely miss any of the
sentence completion questions. I can’t really figure out
what the problem seems to be for me missing around 10 questions
on the passage questions. Karl, do you have any helpful tips
and advice on how to properly attack the passage based questions
on the SAT. Thank you for the help.
August 12th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Viraj,
Check out this video blog post when you get a chance. It may help.
http://blog.eprep.com/2006/08/10/be-willing-to-flip-the-script-sams-story/
August 12th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Thank you for your help and the video and the story about Sam is fantastic.
I will definitely try and use those tips. Thanks once again.
August 15th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Hi Karl,
I wanted to ask you about a topic that you discussed with Mr. Malin on your video blog: “Apples and Oranges: Comparing Grades from Different High Schools.” I noticed that at one point in the video you mentioned that when you entered college, you learned how to self-study and teach yourself the material primarily because some of your teachers/professors were foreigners or they weren’t good teachers. I think I can relate to this topic to some extent because this past school year (junior year), I took AP Computer Science and the teacher that I had was a wonderful man and he knew his material well but ultimately, I just couldn’t adjust to his teaching style. The subject itself was easy but since I had trouble adjusting to the teacher, I ended up making a C for the year. But, like you, I made significant efforts to learn the material on my own and I watched computer science lectures on youtube to try and learn the material. My main question is that when I am filling out the college apps, is this something that I should work in to a essay or should I not take the chance? Sorry for the long post but I can really use your insigh.
August 27th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Viraj,
You should not bother trying to explain the C in your college applications. If the rest of your grades are high, especially in the math and sciences, college admission officers will figure out that your C was likely due to a bad teacher and not your work efforts. Also, it’s generally not a good idea to draw attention to a bad grade by discussing it, or referencing it, in your essay. Focus on the things that make you special in your essay.
I hope this helps.
Karl