Test scores
A percentile tells you how your score compares with other students, not how many questions you got right. It is one of the most useful numbers on a score report and one of the easiest to misread. This guide explains what it means and how it differs from the percentile numbers in a college's score range.
If your score is in the 70th percentile, you scored the same as or higher than about 70% of the students in the comparison group. About 30% scored higher. A percentile is a rank, so it says nothing by itself about how many points separate you from others.
Percentiles bunch up in the middle of the scale. A few points can move you several percentile places near the average, and the same few points matter much less at the top.
College Board reports more than one kind of percentile. A nationally representative percentile compares you with a sample designed to reflect all U.S. students in a grade. A user percentile compares you with students who actually took the SAT in recent years. These can differ, and ACT also publishes its own percentile tables. The percentiles on this site are approximate national figures, labeled as estimates, because the official tables shift each year.
The score lookup pages, such as 1200 on the SAT and 24 on the ACT, show the percentile for each score with the colleges it matches.
When a college reports a 25th and 75th percentile, it is describing the spread of scores among its own enrolled students. That is a different thing. A 1200 can be around the 70th percentile nationally and below the 25th percentile at a selective college, since the college's students are a high-scoring group. The guide to the middle 50% range explains how to use the college numbers.
Percentiles depend on who is taking the test. If more high-scoring or more low-scoring students test in a year, the same score can sit at a different place. Test makers also revise their tables. For that reason, an old percentile for a score can be off, and a percentile from one year should not be compared closely with one from another.
Track your score for practice, because it moves in clear steps you can work toward. Use the percentile to see where you stand nationally. When you choose colleges, use the college's own score range, not the national percentile. And do not read a small change in percentile as progress or decline without looking at the score and the test date.
The superscore calculator shows an approximate percentile for a combined total, and the conversion page shows how SAT and ACT scores line up.
It means you scored at or above about 90% of the students in the comparison group. About 10% scored higher.
No. A college's percentiles describe its own enrolled students, while a national percentile describes all test takers.
They use different comparison groups or different years. Check which group a table uses.
Last reviewed 2026-10-14. This guide is general information, not advice for your situation. Test and admissions policies change, so check the official College Board, ACT or college page for the current rule.
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