Appealing Your SAT Score: Understanding When and How to Request a Rescore

Rescore requests are appropriate when you believe there was a scoring error (not a judgment about your work). Rescoring is most successful for evidence of mechanical errors: the College Board lost your answer sheet, scored the wrong section, or misaligned bubbles. It is less likely to succeed if you simply believe your answer was correct, as test-takers often misremember their own responses.

Before requesting a rescore, obtain your answer sheet or a copy of your marked answers (if available). Compare them to your responses while the test is fresh in memory. Only pursue rescore if you find a genuine discrepancy between what you answered and what was scored.

Step 1: Contact College Board within one year of your test date. Step 2: Request your answer sheet review or full rescore. Step 3: Pay the rescore fee (modest but not free). Step 4: Wait 2-4 weeks for results. Document your original answers or the specific section you believe was miscored to support your request. Without clear evidence of error, College Board is unlikely to investigate thoroughly.

Note: If you challenge only one section, the rescore is quicker; full rescore of all sections takes longer and is more expensive.

Scenario 1 (Worth pursuing): You marked all your reading answers, then discovered two months later that the score seems too low. You find your marked answers and discover College Board scored a math section instead. This mechanical error warrants rescore. Scenario 2 (Unlikely to help): You remember marking choice (B) for question 15, but the score report says you marked (C). Without your original sheet, you cannot prove the error, and memory alone is unreliable.

Scenario 3 (Definitively wrong): You are positive question 15's answer is (C), but College Board marked it (B). This is an argument about correctness, not a scoring error—College Board will not rescore based on content disagreement.

Ask yourself: Do I have clear evidence of a mechanical error? Can I document it? Is the potential score improvement worth the fee and wait? If the answer to all three is yes, pursue it. If you are second-guessing whether your answer was correct (a judgment question), do not pursue rescore—the College Board is unlikely to overturn their judgment even if you disagree.

Rescore is a tool for genuine errors, not for disputing scoring judgment. Use it sparingly and only when you have strong evidence.