SAT Score Percentiles 2026: What Your Score Says About Your Rank

Your SAT score is a number between 400 and 1600 — but the number alone doesn't tell you how you compare to other test takers. A 1300 might sound strong, but if 89% of students score below that, it means something different from a 1300 in a year when the distribution shifts. This page lists the full SAT percentile table for 2026, so you can see exactly what your score means in terms of national ranking.

SAT percentiles come from the College Board's annual reporting on the most recent graduating class. The percentiles shown here are the nationally representative sample percentiles — the percent of SAT users in the 2025 cohort who scored at or below each total score. These are the same numbers that appear on your official score report.

If you haven't taken the test yet and want to estimate what score you'd get from your practice performance, use the SAT Score Calculator. For the parallel ACT table, see ACT Score Percentiles.

2026 SAT composite score percentile table

The table below maps total SAT scores from 1600 down to 600 to the nationally representative percentile. Scores below 600 are rare enough that the College Board no longer reports separate percentiles at every 10-point increment.

Source: College Board 2025 SAT Suite of Assessments Annual Report. Percentiles are based on the 2025 graduating cohort.

How to read the percentile table

A percentile of 88, for example, means that 88 percent of SAT test takers in the nationally representative sample scored at or below that score — not that you scored an 88 out of 100. A 1300 is in the 88th percentile, which means only 12 percent of test takers nationwide scored higher.

Two common mistakes:

1. Confusing percentile with percent correct. A 1300 is not "88% correct." The SAT's raw-to-scaled scoring is curved globally; your percentile is a ranking number, not a grade.
2. Mixing up user percentile and nationally representative percentile. The College Board reports two percentile figures. The "SAT user percentile" compares you only against actual SAT test takers — a smaller, generally more prepared group. The "nationally representative percentile" compares you against all U.S. 11th and 12th graders, including those who never took the SAT. The nationally representative percentile is always higher. The table above uses the nationally representative percentiles — the ones that appear on your score report.

What is a "good" SAT percentile

"Good" depends on where you are applying, but here is a rough tiered breakdown:

The College Board publishes the 25th/75th percentile SAT ranges for most colleges. If your score is above the 75th percentile of a college's admitted students, you are in a strong position. If it is below the 25th percentile, your score may work against you unless the rest of your application is unusually strong or the school is test-optional.

Retaking the SAT: how much can your percentile improve

Most students who retake the SAT improve their score, but the percentile effect depends on where you start. A 50-point gain from 1000 to 1050 moves you from the 44th to the 54th percentile — a 10-point jump in rank. A 50-point gain from 1450 to 1500 moves you from the 97th to the 99th percentile — a 2-point jump in rank, but a much harder gain to achieve.

The SAT Score Calculator lets you estimate your score before you take the test. If you are considering switching tests entirely, the ACT Score Percentiles counterpart may help you compare.

EBRW and Math section score percentiles

The composite percentile matters most for college comparisons, but section scores matter when a college has a specific cutoff or when you want to know which section to retake. The table below gives the nationally representative percentile for each Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) score and each Math score in 10-point increments.

Source: College Board 2025 SAT Annual Report.

Reading section percentiles from this table: a 700 EBRW is in the 96th percentile, meaning only 4 percent of students score higher on that section. A 700 Math is in the 92nd percentile. The same composite score can be built from different section strengths — a 1400 could come from 750 EBRW + 650 Math or 650 EBRW + 750 Math, and each combination tells colleges a different story about your academic profile.

SAT vs. ACT: how percentiles compare

The SAT and ACT serve the same purpose, but the scales are completely different. A 30 on the ACT is not the same as a 1300 on the SAT — that's why concordance tables exist. Here is a percentile-level comparison between the two tests for mid-to-high scores:

This side-by-side is most useful when you have taken both a practice SAT and ACT and want to know which one puts you in a stronger percentile. If your practice SAT is 1320 (89th percentile) and your practice ACT is 29 (89th percentile), there is no percentile advantage to switching — the tests rank you the same way. The decision then comes down to which format you find more comfortable.

For a deeper breakdown, see the SAT vs ACT Conversion Guide.