Historical SAT Percentiles: 2021-2024

If you took the SAT between 2021 and 2024, you might be wondering what percentile you scored in. Is a 600 on Math in 2021 the same as a 600 in Math in 2024? How much do percentile scores change from year to year?

Keep reading to learn what SAT percentile scores are and how they’ve changed over time. I’ll also provide percentiles for SAT combined and section scores for 2021 through 2024.

What Are SAT Percentile Scores?

Your SAT percentile score tells you how well you did compared to other students who took the SAT. If you scored in the 69th percentile, then you scored higher than 69% of the people who took the test. If you scored in the 50th percentile, you did better than 50% of the people who took the test.

Every year, the College Board determines that year’s SAT percentile scores based on how college-bound high school seniors that year scored on the SAT. The higher the percentile your SAT score is in, the better you scored compared to other high school seniors.

Special Note: Nationally Representative Sample Percentiles vs. SAT User Percentiles

On your score report, you’ll see information about two different kinds of percentiles: Nationally Representative Sample Percentiles and SAT User Percentiles. For this article, when we talk about percentiles we’ll be exclusively referring to SAT User Percentiles, which are based on only actual SAT scores of students who took the new SAT. Read this article to find out more about the differences between the two percentile types on your SAT score report.

Do Percentile Scores Change?

In general, SAT scores have stayed pretty much at the same percentile, year over year. That SAT percentile scores haven’t changed much over time is intentional—the whole idea behind the SAT scoring system is that colleges can know that a student who got a 1380 SAT score in 2016 performed about the same as a student who got a 1380 SAT score in 2023. If an 1380 was in the 80th percentile in 2016 and the 95th percentile in 2023, the scores would be meaningless for comparison purposes on their own.

However, there’s always a little variation, and that’s increased slightly in the past few years. Since roughly 2022, average SAT scores have dipped a bit. It’s not entirely clear why, but the prevailing theory is that the pandemic and its disruption to schools and learning caused the drop. We’ll see in coming years if SAT percentiles return to their previous levels or if this is the new normal for scores.

How Should You Use This Info and Why Does It Matter?

Your percentile score is one of the easiest ways to figure out how well you did on the SAT. If you scored higher than 50 percent of test-takers, then you’re above average; if you scored higher than 75 percent of test-takers, then you did very well indeed.

When you apply to college, however, you’re not being compared to all students who took the SAT, but to all students who took the SAT and are applying to that school. To help students figure out how they stack up against past successful applicants, colleges usually publicly post 25th and 75th percentile scores of admitted students. If you want to be a competitive candidate for a school, your target SAT score should be around or above a school’s 75th percentile score.

On a section level, percentiles can help you put your scores in context. It might seem like you’re doing about equally well on Reading & Writing and Math if you get a 690 on Reading and Writing (ERW) and a 640 on Math. However, a 690 ERW score is in the 92nd percentile, while a 640 Math score is in the 84th percentile. Raising each section score by 100 points would raise your Math percentile ranking by 11 points and your ERW percentile ranking by only seven points. If you’re thinking about retaking the SAT and trying to figure out where you should focus your studying efforts, your percentile scores can help identify how you can improve the most.

Finally, percentile scores also tell us that a small increase in your composite score can have a large impact on your percentile score, particularly if you’re scoring around or even a little below the middle of the pack. For instance, in 2024 an SAT score of 1050 was at the 55th percentile, but a score of 1210 was at the 77th. Increasing your score by just 160 points can take your score from average to the top quarter of all SAT scores.

Composite Score Percentiles, 2021-2024

Sources: SAT Understanding Scores 2016, SAT Understanding Scores 2017, SAT Understanding Scores 2018, SAT Understanding Scores 2019, SAT Understanding Scores 2020. SAT Understanding Scores 2021, SAT Understanding Scores 2022,

Section Score Percentiles

Reading and Writing

Sources: SAT Understanding Scores 2016, SAT Understanding Scores 2017, SAT Understanding Scores 2018, SAT Understanding Scores 2019, SAT Understanding Scores 2020. SAT Understanding Scores 2021, SAT Understanding Score 2022

Math

Sources: SAT Understanding Scores 2016, SAT Understanding Scores 2017, SAT Understanding Scores 2018, SAT Understanding Scores 2019, SAT Understanding Scores 2020. SAT Understanding Scores 2021, SAT Understanding Scores 2022

What’s Next?

What counts as a great, average, or poor result on the new digital SAT? Our expert guides explain which scores to aim for and the minimum scores needed for college admission.

Would you be able to score in a higher percentile on the ACT? We help you figure out if the ACT or SAT is a better test for you with this foolproof method.

Do you need to take the digital SAT for college admissions? For the past 50+ years, universities have offered test-optional admissions. So should you even bother taking the digital SAT? Our post provides you with the information you need to decide whether you should go test optional.