# Decrypting my SAT/ACT scores **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 27, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266 "2016-02-27T01:59:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/1 "2016-02-27T01:59:18Z")
I took my SAT’s and ACT’s in 1979 and have never had the results explained to me. I apparently did okay, as I got into a good college, but would like to know in more detail what these scores mean. I’ve looked at sites that try to explain it, but the notations are on my (1983) college transcripts–intended as a communication from one institution to another–and their abbreviations don’t match what I’ve got. Can anyone here recommend an online resource to sort this out? ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/2 "2016-02-27T02:25:54Z")
Well, to start off with, what does your transcript say? ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/3 "2016-02-27T02:45:47Z")
I’m not sure what you mean by “explain my SAT scores.” Do you mean, “Tell me how the Verbal and Math numbers are determined?” ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/4 "2016-02-27T02:52:50Z")
St7812 el2 vb61 mt65 rd57 vc65 ts60+ ah7901 el2c1en s163 c2m1 s262 c3sp s338 ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/5 "2016-02-27T03:47:38Z")
I couldn’t find a source for the code, but I think this is what it means: You took the SAT in December 1978. 610 Verbal 650 Math \*570 reading subscore? \*650 verbal comprehension subscore?? 60+ (the max) on the Test of Standard Written English (now part of the verbal section) \*At the time, the SATs were broken up into Sentence Completion, Antonyms, Analogies, Reading Comprehension, Regular Math, and Quantitative Comparisons. Those don’t fit “rd” and “vc”, of course. The second line is not your ACT – it contains your Achievement Test scores (now known as SAT II). You took those in January 1979. 630 English 620 Math I (up to algebra 2 and easy trig) 380 Spanish Aside from the TSWE, those were all scored from 200 to 800. There have been changes to the test since you took it – your scores will have been adjusted since then. (As an example, my verbal scores went up 60 points.) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/6 "2016-02-27T04:34:11Z")
Okay, and what are my combined SATs? ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/7 "2016-02-27T05:05:53Z")
1260 – simply the Verbal + Math. Scores from the last 11 years are on a 600 to 2400 scale, with three sections (math, writing, reading) being scored from 200 to 800. For the next academic year, they’re going back to the two-section format. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/8 "2016-02-27T05:12:18Z")
Okay, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/9 "2016-02-27T13:22:44Z")
These days students also get their percentile score (that may have been the case when you took them also), which also confuses them; it’s not the percent of questions a student got right, but rather the percent of other students who scored worse. The specific method for standardization of SAT scores isn’t generally known, so a score of, like, 610 doesn’t help much. But knowing that you had the 83rd percentile gives you a better idea of how you stack up against THE OPPOSITION. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/10 "2016-02-27T13:54:05Z")
> [@Kimble](#): > > There have been changes to the test since you took it – your scores will have been adjusted since then. (As an example, my verbal scores went up 60 points.) I’ve been having trouble finding a site that’ll convert my (1971) scores, and tell me what % of students got those. And, heck, my IQ, too… ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/11 "2016-02-27T19:46:10Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I’ve been having trouble finding a site that’ll convert my (1971) scores, and tell me what % of students got those. And, heck, my IQ, too… Yeah, I had no idea anyone would want this information from me this late in my life, and there’s no guidance counselor down the hall anymore! ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/12 "2016-02-28T04:00:43Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I’ve been having trouble finding a site that’ll convert my (1971) scores, and tell me what % of students got those. And, heck, my IQ, too… [This here](http://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/greiq.aspx) should at least cover the IQ part. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decrypting-my-sat-act-scores/747266/13 "2016-02-29T04:56:52Z")
> [@D18](#): > > [This here](http://www.iqcomparisonsite.com/greiq.aspx) should at least cover the IQ part. Thanks! I’ve taken quickie IQ tests (like Mensa’s), but this’d help. Although I’ve always vowed not to tell anyone my numbers, SAT or IQ … lest they realize what a douche I am.