Carleton College: Advising Handbook: HS Rank & Test Scores

HS Rank & Test Scores

High school rank is still the best predictor of performance at Carleton, although rank in class reported for students who attended independent schools may be less important because of the selective nature of such schools. The class rank distribution for the class of 2008 is shown below. In interpreting class rank, advisers should note the academic program carried by the student, honors and advanced placement courses in particular, as well as the nature and size of the school attended.

The rank in class distribution for the class of 2008 as of August 2, 2004:

Class Rank	Number	Percent
Top 10%	226	73
2nd 10%	45	15
3rd 10%	21	7
4th 10%	8	2.5
5th 10%	3	1
Below top half	5	1.5
No Rank	183
TOTAL	491

Carleton asks that candidates for admission submit the SAT 1 (Scholastic Aptitude Test) results or the ACT (American College Testing Program) scores. We recommend that applicants submit the English composition and two other SAT 2 scores. Advisers may find any or all of these reported on student records or included in the advisee file. Nearly half of the students submit both SAT 1 and ACT scores.

SAT Distribution

In the class of 2008, 392 students submitted SAT 1 scores. The range for these tests is 440-800, and scores will sometimes be reported in two digits (20-80). The Carleton distribution for the entering class is as follows as of August 2, 2004:

Testing Scores	Verbal Class #	Verbal Class %	Math Class #	Math Class %
750-800	108	28	73	19
700-749	98	25	121	31
650-700	90	23	107	27
600-649	57	14	54	14
550-599	21	5	20	5
500-549	14	4	11	3
Below 500	4	1	6	1
Not available	99
Total	491		491

The Class of 2008 is the ninth entering class whose SAT 1 scores are "recentered." The original intent of the Educational Testing Service in 1941 was that the Verbal and Math scores would both average about 500. This had not been true for many years, and for 1994 high school grads, for example, the actual averages were 423 Verbal and 479 Math. The result of the recentering has most test takers receiving higher scores, particularly on the Verbal section. For example, 34 members of the Class of 2008 have SAT 1 Verbal scores of 800; 18 members have a Math score of 800. On the original scale, these scores could have been as low as 730. The effect on Math scores is much less dramatic. Indeed, a recentered 800 could have been not lower than 780 on the original scale, and a 600 Math score is still a 600, because the changes on the Math scale are more pronounced at the lower score levels.

Of the Class of 2008, 270 members submitted ACT scores, though only about 20% presented only ACT scores. The middle 50% of all Carleton first-year students taking the ACT scored from 28 to 32 on the ACT Composite. The scores ranged from 19 to a high of 36. A Composite score of 30 is at the 98th percentile of the U.S. college-bound population.

HS Rank & Test Scores