How Long is a SAT Score Valid?

“我是否需要在申请大学的同一年获得SAT分数?",

“SAT 分数的有效期是多久?”，

“我的孩子八年级就参加了SAT 考试，对考试成绩感到满意，到了高中还需要重新参加考试吗?”，

“如果我的 SAT 成绩不是在申请年内获得的，我可以在申请大学时把这个分数提交给大学吗?”……

这些问题常常听到，却很少看到有专门的解答，今天就在这里为大家解一下惑。

SAT分数从技术上讲是永远不会过期的，College Board 会永远保存所有考试成绩，参加考试的人也可以在任何时间要求 College Board 向大学提交 SAT 成绩。

但是如果考试成绩超过五年期限，College Board 在向大学提交成绩的同时会有附带说明，这一点可以在 College Board 的网站上得到证明。

According to College Board:

Official score reports sent to colleges five or more years after a test date are accompanied by a message explaining that they may be less valid predictors of college academic performance than more recent scores.

虽然 SAT 的分数不管是多久前参加考试得到的都可以由 College Board 发送到指定的大学，但是不能保证你所申请的大学会接受这些分数，通常大学对考试和提交申请之间的时间长度有限制，这个限制通常是五年左右。这也是与 College Board 在发送 Old SAT Scores 的政策相吻合的。

同时，大家需要记住的是，SAT 的考试政策与方法会变，最近一次大的改变在 2016 年的三月，这种考试政策的变化也会影响 SAT 分数的有效期。目前，几乎所有的学校都接受 2018 年高中毕业班级的旧SAT分数，但在 2018 年之后将会只接受新的 SAT 分数。绝大多数大学在2017-2018年申请季后(for high school class of 2019 or later), 将不再接受 Old SAT。

SAT 考试成绩除了在申请大学时需要提交外，在申请 National Merit Scholarship Finalist 时也需要提交。

According to the official website of National Merit Scholarship Corporation:

TAKING THE SAT AND REPORTING YOUR SCORES

To become a Finalist, you must confirm your PSAT/NMSQT performance with scores from the SAT.

Deadline

You will be withdrawn from further consideration in the competition if NMSC does not receive a report of your SAT scores by January 31, 2018. NMSC must receive your scores no later than December 31, 2017 for full award consideration.

The SAT Program will not report your scores to NMSC unless you request it, and you cannot substitute a photocopy of the score report sent to you or your school for the official report. Send all testing and score reporting fees directly to the SAT Program.

Authorized SAT administrations

Scores earned on national administrations of the SAT from October 2015 through December 2017 will be considered by NMSC. NMSC will not accept scores from a national SAT administration taken earlier than October 2015 or later than December 2017.

For SAT scores earned prior to March 2016, your converted critical reading score, mathematics score, and writing multiple-choice subscore will be the basis for determining whether you meet the confirming score requirement. For SAT scores earned in March 2016 and later, NMSC will calculate an NMSC Selection Index score using the Reading, Writing and Language, and Math Test scores. Please note that NMSC will only consider the highest set of scores from a single administration of the SAT.

If you have not yet taken the SAT

It is solely your responsibility to register now to take the SAT on one of the following dates in 2017 and request scores be sent to NMSC when you register (code 0085):

October 7

November 4

December 2

We urge you to take the SAT no later than November 4 and not wait until the December administration. Visit www.collegeboard.org for information about registering for the SAT and ordering SAT score reports. You may also contact the SAT Program at (866) 756-7346 domestic or (212) 713-7789 international.

If you have already taken an authorized administration of the SAT

Look at the score report sent to you by the SAT Program to verify it shows National Merit Scholarship Corporation (code 0085) as a recipient. If NMSC is not listed, it is solely your responsibility to IMMEDIATELY contact the College Board and request that an official score report be sent to NMSC.

综上所述，如果一个学生只想考一次 SAT 的话，比较安全的做法是在高中十年级的十月份或以后参加考试。