If you are planning to take the SAT for the first time or retaking the exam, percentile ranks are a great way to understand your SAT score requirements. Percentiles guide you towards setting a good target score for your choice of programs. In fact, SAT percentiles are a great way to maximize your chances of getting a good score.
So, what is a SAT score percentile? It is a number which helps compare your performance with other test takers. For instance, 80 percentile indicates that you have done better than 80% of your peers who took the exam. To learn more, read this detailed post on SAT score percentiles.
The College Board releases SAT Data Tables every year. These tables contain the composite scores along with the corresponding percentile rankings. Since these SAT data tables represent the most recent trends, students can learn about the score requirements needed to achieve the desired percentile.
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Here’s the SAT 2014 percentile data:
| SAT Score | Critical Reading Percentile | Mathematics Percentile | Writing Percentile |
| 800 | 99 | 99 | 99+ |
| 790 | 99 | 99 | 99 |
| 780 | 99 | 99 | 99 |
| 770 | 99 | 98 | 99 |
| 760 | 99 | 97 | 99 |
| 750 | 98 | 97 | 98 |
| 740 | 98 | 96 | 98 |
| 730 | 97 | 95 | 97 |
| 720 | 97 | 95 | 97 |
| 710 | 96 | 94 | 96 |
| 700 | 95 | 93 | 96 |
| 690 | 94 | 91 | 95 |
| 680 | 93 | 90 | 94 |
| 670 | 92 | 88 | 93 |
| 660 | 91 | 87 | 92 |
| 650 | 90 | 85 | 90 |
| 640 | 88 | 83 | 89 |
| 630 | 86 | 82 | 88 |
| 620 | 84 | 79 | 86 |
| 610 | 82 | 77 | 84 |
| 600 | 80 | 75 | 82 |
| 590 | 77 | 73 | 80 |
| 580 | 75 | 70 | 78 |
| 570 | 72 | 67 | 76 |
| 560 | 70 | 64 | 73 |
| 550 | 66 | 62 | 70 |
| 540 | 64 | 59 | 68 |
| 530 | 60 | 55 | 65 |
| 520 | 57 | 52 | 62 |
| 510 | 54 | 49 | 58 |
| 500 | 50 | 45 | 55 |
| 490 | 47 | 42 | 52 |
| 480 | 44 | 40 | 48 |
| 470 | 40 | 36 | 45 |
| 460 | 37 | 33 | 41 |
| 450 | 34 | 30 | 38 |
| 440 | 31 | 27 | 34 |
| 430 | 27 | 24 | 31 |
| 420 | 25 | 21 | 28 |
| 410 | 21 | 19 | 25 |
| 400 | 19 | 16 | 21 |
| 390 | 16 | 14 | 19 |
| 380 | 14 | 12 | 16 |
| 370 | 12 | 10 | 14 |
| 360 | 10 | 9 | 12 |
| 350 | 9 | 7 | 10 |
| 340 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| 330 | 6 | 5 | 7 |
| 320 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 310 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 300 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 290 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 280 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 270 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 260 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 250 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 240 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 230 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 220 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 210 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 200 | — | — | — |
It is also worth noting that the percentile ranks drop down much faster with middle and lower scores. For instance, if you look at the critical reading percentile for a score of 800 and 700, the difference is just 4 percentile units (99 to 95). However, if you look at the difference between 600 and 500, the difference is 30 percentile units (80 to 50). This means that even a 10 point score increase can contribute greatly towards your SAT percentile rank.
