Helpful Hints from joeeze: Getting your SAT scores — 40 years later

Wall Street Journal columnist Sue Shellenbarger, in her July 8, 2009 column (which follows) tells you how.

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Getting Your SAT Scores — 40 Years Later

Past scores for both college-entrance exams, the SAT and ACT, can be obtained from the test publishers for a fee. SAT scores from October 2002 or earlier are archived by the College Board and can be ordered by mail, a spokeswoman says. For instructions, see collegeboard.com and search for “archived scores.” The fee ranges from $21 for tests taken between 1991 and 2002, to $33 for scores from 1975 or earlier. For an added fee, you can order scores by phone at 866-756-7346.

ACT has archived score reports dating back to 1966, a spokesman says. You can access them online by creating an account at actstudent.org and clicking on “your test dates and scores.” You can also request scores by mail, based on instructions on the Web site, or by calling ACT at 319-337-1313. Archived score reports cost $26, plus an additional $12 for phone requests.

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FunFact: The SAT was recalibrated in 1995 to correct for five decades of declining scores.

"The recalibration was intended to add about 100 points to the typical test taker's score, 80 on the verbal and 20 on the math," wrote James Barron in a July 26, 1995 New York Times story.