How is the digital SAT scored?

Updated November 3, 2026 · facts checked against College Board and ACT sources listed below

Short answer

The digital SAT reports a Reading and Writing score and a Math score, each from 200 to 800, which add up to a total from 400 to 1600. Each section is multistage adaptive: your performance on module 1 decides whether module 2 is easier or harder, and the scoring accounts for the difficulty of the questions you answered. Wrong answers cost nothing, so you should answer everything.

What the adaptive routing means

Both sections start with a module of mixed difficulty. If you do well on it, the second module contains harder questions; if not, it contains easier ones. Harder questions are worth more in the scoring model, so a strong first module is what opens up the top of the score range.

This is why careless errors early in the test are costly and why practising with timed, adaptive modules matters more than doing loose worksheets.

What this means for how you prepare

Accuracy on the first module of each section matters most: slow down enough to avoid easy mistakes there.
Answer every question; there is no penalty for a wrong answer.
Practise the hardest question types in your strongest areas, because a harder second module will ask them.
Use full-length adaptive practice tests in Bluebook to see how the routing feels in real time.

Percentiles and what a score means

Your score report also shows percentiles, which tell you what share of test takers scored at or below you. College Board publishes these tables each year; a score's meaning for admissions depends on the colleges you apply to (look at their published middle-50% ranges).

Common questions

Does getting the harder second module mean I did well?

Generally yes: you are routed to the harder module after a strong first module, and it is the route to the highest scores. You won't be told which module you got.

Is the SAT curved?

Not in the sense of comparing you to others on the same day. Scores are equated so that a given score means the same thing across test dates, using the difficulty of the questions you answered.

How many questions can I miss and still get a 1500?

There is no fixed number, because the adaptive scoring depends on which questions and which second module you got. Practice tests in Bluebook give the most realistic estimate.

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Sources

Policies and formats change; confirm details on collegeboard.org or act.org before you register.