SAT Essay Scores- Score Range, Score Calculation, Colleges, and Samples

The SAT essay score is measured on a scale of 2 to 8. The SAT essay score is measured on 3 criteria - reading, analysis, and writing with each section marked on 1 - 8. There are certain universities that consider the SAT Essay score vital for assessment despite it being optional. Therefore, a focus should be placed on the proper preparation of the essays for SAT and candidates should also be aware of the calculation of the SAT Essay score. The candidates need to produce an essay based on the arguments provided by the author to convince their audience within 50 minutes.

SAT Essay Score Calculation

The SAT essay reading part of your grade assesses how well you read the essay that was provided. The SAT essay analysis part assesses how well you explained your point. The SAT essay writing part assesses how good your syntax and flow was.

The steps on how the SAT Essay is evaluated are given below:

• 2 distinct raters will examine your essay;
• Each of them will award points for each dimension, i.e., Reading, Analysis, and Writing. There are different levels of evaluating them.
  • 4 for Advanced level
  • 3 for Proficient level
  • 2 for Partial level
  • 1 for Inadequate level
• After both of them completes the evaluation, the 2 scores for each of the dimensions are added.
• Candidates will receive 3 scores for the SAT Essay: One for each dimension which ranges from 2 to 8 points.

What is a Good SAT Essay Score?

For candidates wondering “What is a good essay score on SAT?”

Well, a good SAT Essay Score is scoring 19 out of 24. If a candidate manages to get above 22 out of 24, it is considered as an excellent SAT Score.

Average SAT Essay Score

There are different ways and parameters for calculating the average SAT Essay Scores. However, an average SAT Essay score is 14 out of a maximum of 24 points for all the three sections. Logically, Average SAT Score should be equal to 15 for all three sections. But apparently, it comes out to be 14. The Analysis dimension is the part of the SAT essay task that is most different from what students have had to do on other standardized test essays. The average SAT Essay score is 5 out of 8 for the Reading section, 3 out of 8 for the Analysis Section, and 5 out of 8 for Writing.

SAT Essay Score Percentile

The rough breakdown of the SAT essay score percentile based on the most recent College Board data is given in the table below:

In order to apply to the top foreign Universities of the English speaking nations, Candidates are required to obtain a decent SAT Essay Score. Universities like Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, Stanford University require a decent SAT Essay score of 5-6 out of 8 in Reading, at least 4 out of 8 in Analysis, and 5-6 out of 8 in Writing.

To attain a good SAT Essay score, students need to practice more and more with the reading part. Try to understand what the author is trying to say and then take time to analyze and organize your thoughts and finally present it in a better way. This is one of the quick and easy ways to boost your SAT Essay Score.

Which Colleges require SAT Essay?

Candidates often wonder “Does Yale require SAT essay?” “Does UC Berkeley require SAT essay?” “Does NYU require the SAT essay?”

The following list will provide information about colleges that require SAT essay: