Class of 2026 SAT® Results: How to Compare Your District to State and National Scores

The national SAT® composite rose 16 points for the class of 2026, from 1029 to 1045. Students who took the SAT® exam only through school-day testing (the group most like a full district cohort) gained 3 points, and their Math average did not move (442 in both years). For district leaders deciding what to compare this year’s results against, that school-day-only group offers a more useful point of reference than the national average alone.

This post walks through what the College Board® 2025 and 2026 annual reports show for the nine states that use the SAT® exam for accountability (Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and West Virginia), plus Texas and Florida, where participation is high without a mandate. It ends with the eight questions to settle before comparing your district to your state. 

This post is not a state ranking; it is intended to help districts make relevant comparisons. Every figure comes from the College Board reports unless it is marked as a Progress Learning calculation or cited to another source.

The National Picture

The national composite rose 16 points, but the increase does not tell the whole story. Progress Learning estimates that about two-thirds of that gain can be explained by a shift in who took the test. Scores changed much less among students who tested only during the school day, a group that more closely resembles a district testing its full cohort.

The mix of test takers also changed. The number of school-day-only takers fell by 109,504, while weekend-only takers rose by 49,097 (+7.6%). Weekend-only students average about 270 points more than school-day-only students, so a shift toward weekend testing raises the national average on its own.

Progress Learning’s calculation: if each test-taking group’s 2025 average had stayed the same, the 2026 mix of students would still have raised the national composite by about 11 points, roughly two-thirds of the 16-point increase. The remaining 5 to 6 points reflect higher averages within groups. Math splits the same way, with about 6 of its 9-point increase consistent with the change in mix. Treat this as an estimate. Group averages also depend on which states test on a school day, and the report cannot fully separate the two causes.

The first row is the one that matters for districts. School-day-only students are the closest national match to a district that tests every junior. Their composite rose 3 points, their Math average stayed at 442, and 19% met the Math benchmark in both years.

One more adjustment: the national figures also include international test takers. The closest proxy in the report is test takers with no U.S. school location. This group included 260,851 test takers in 2025 and 286,807 in 2026 (13% and 15% of takers). Their average composite score was about 1180 in both years. Because this group’s average remained stable, its presence raises the overall national average but does not explain the year-over-year increase. By Progress Learning’s calculation, takers with a known U.S. school location averaged 1007 in 2025 and 1022 in 2026.

Because the national average blends such different testing populations, a district that tests every junior should compare itself to states that do the same.

High-Participation States at a Glance

Across the nine states that use the SAT® exam for accountability, the combined composite increased by 4 points (a quarter of the national gain), while their Math average did not move. These states, and the table below, provide the main comparison point for the rest of this post.

How to read this table: figures are class of 2026, with the change from the class of 2025 in parentheses. Every score column includes the year-over-year change. Participation rates are shown for 2026 only; see the footnotes for details. Texas and Florida are listed separately because neither has a statewide mandate.

* No statewide SAT® mandate. Participation comes from state- or district-funded school-day testing and varies widely by district, so these state averages are not directly comparable to the nine accountability states.

† Progress Learning’s calculation: the nine states weighted by number of takers (367,096 in 2026). Benchmark rates are approximate because they are built from rounded state percentages. Changes are computed before rounding, so Math shows 467 (0); the unrounded change is +0.2.

Participation: each year’s rate is based on that class’s projected graduates (WICHE, December 2024 projections), so a change can reflect a smaller or larger projected class rather than more or fewer students testing. Rates can exceed 100%; Indiana had 82,126 takers in 2025 against 78,138 projected graduates. New Hampshire rose from 76% to 83%.

Section labels: the 2025 reports call the section “Evidence-Based Reading and Writing” and the 2026 reports call it “Reading and Writing.” Same section, same 200 to 800 scale. The 2025 reports also note that some class of 2025 students’ most recent score came from the older paper version of the SAT® exam, so 2025-to-2026 changes are close to, but not perfectly, like-for-like.

The College Board report cautions against using these scores to compare or evaluate schools, districts, or states, because participation and test-taker populations differ. That caution applies to every comparison in this post.

Texas

75% of the class of 2026 took the SAT® exam. The composite rose 8 points to 972, and the share meeting the Math benchmark rose from 30% to 32%.

Where it lands: the SAT® contributes to the College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) measure, which is 40% of the Student Achievement domain for high schools. Graduates can meet Texas Success Initiative (TSI) criteria by scoring 480 or higher on Reading and Writing and 530 or higher on Math, the same cutoffs as the College Board benchmarks. TEA counts SAT® scores from all four high school years and credits the graduate if any official score meets the cutoffs. The College Board report uses each student’s most recent score, so a district’s CCMR credit through the SAT® exam can run higher than the College Board figures suggest. The class of 2026 counts in 2027 accountability.

Florida

86% of the class of 2026 took the SAT® exam. The composite rose 13 points to 983, and Math rose 9 points, the largest gains of any state in the table. 30% of Florida’s takers tested on both a school day and a weekend in both years, about double the national rate (14% in 2025, 15% in 2026). Bright Futures score cutoffs are the likely driver of that retesting.

Where it lands: SAT® scores do not directly factor into school grades. Florida’s College and Career Acceleration component credits AP®, IB, and AICE exams, dual enrollment (including career dual enrollment), a military pathway, and industry certifications. SAT® scores still matter to students. For the class of 2026, the minimum scores for Bright Futures eligibility were 1190 for Medallion Scholars and 1330 for Academic Scholars. SAT® scores can also meet graduation requirements through concordant scores and serve as one of several accepted placement tests for dual enrollment. Dual enrollment does count in school grades, which is the indirect link between SAT® scores and accountability.

CALLOUT: From our Florida educator survey

58% of high school educators expect more than a quarter of their students to take the CLT® this year for graduation or scholarship eligibility.

38% say their school or district pays CLT® registration. 65% say the same for the SAT® exam.

30% name concordant scores for graduation as the main reason for their CCR testing, and 19% name Bright Futures eligibility. Only 17% name college admission.

In Florida, the CLT® now sits alongside the SAT® exam as a route to graduation and scholarship cutoffs rather than college admission.

These figures come from our Florida educator survey of 133 high school educators, October 2026.

Patterns Across States

In every high-participation state, the gap is math. Over the past year, Reading and Writing improved while Math stood still. Because these comparisons are within each state, they hold up better than the national average does.

The pattern is especially clear among students who tested only on a school day, the group most like a full district cohort. Among those students, Reading and Writing rose in all 11 states and Math fell in 8 of 11. Across the nine accountability states combined (Progress Learning’s calculation), school-day-only students gained 4 points in Reading and Writing and lost 2 in Math, from 444 to 442.

School-day-only students, class of 2025 to class of 2026. Source: College Board state reports, test-taking history. *No statewide SAT® mandate.

Two different 442 figures appear in this post. Nationally, school-day-only students’ Math average was 442 in both years. Across the nine accountability states combined, school-day-only Math fell from 444 to 442.

Math Is the Gap in Every State

• In all 11 states, the share meeting the Reading and Writing benchmark is 24 to 33 points higher than the share meeting the Math benchmark. Nationally, the gap is 22 points.
• The gap between section averages runs from 16 points (Texas) to 42 points (West Virginia). Nationally, it is 11 points.
• New Hampshire is the clearest example. On Reading and Writing, it matches or beats the national pool (529 vs. 528; 69% vs. 67% meeting the benchmark). On Math, it trails (497 vs. 517; 36% vs. 45%).
• “Met both benchmarks” is effectively a math number. In every state, it is within 2 points of the share meeting the Math benchmark. If your “met both” rate is low, look at math first.

Year Over Year

• Reading and Writing rose in 8 of the 9 accountability states (Delaware was flat). Math ranged from −4 (Delaware) to +5 (Rhode Island), and in every one of the nine, the Reading and Writing gain matched or beat the Math gain.
• Combined, the nine states gained 4 points in Reading and Writing and 0 in Math.
• Texas and Florida sit between the accountability states and the national pool. Florida’s 9-point overall Math gain shrinks to 5 points among school-day-only students, so part of it reflects who tested.

Eight Questions to Ask Before Comparing Your District to Your State

Before comparing district results with state averages, it’s important to work through and settle these eight questions. Page numbers refer to the 2026 College Board state reports, which all follow the same 21-page layout.

1. Did we test the same kinds of students? Compare district participation with the state rate (p. 5) before comparing any scores. This is decisive in Texas and Florida, where participation varies by district. In Florida, also consider how many students take the ACT® test or the CLT instead.
2. Which students and which year does this report cover? The class of 2026 report mostly reflects students tested as juniors in spring 2025, plus later retakes, using each student’s most recent score. The College Board report states that it is not comparable with, or a substitute for, state agency testing data (p. 3). Your state’s 2025-26 accountability results cover the next cohort.
3. Which threshold counts for which purpose? The College Board benchmarks are 480 for Reading and Writing and 530 for Math (p. 4). State proficiency cuts differ; check your own state’s. Texas TSI criteria use the same 480 and 530 but count each student’s highest score.
4. Did we move more or less than the state? Use the change columns in the state table above. The fair comparison is your state’s change, not the national 16 points.
5. Is our gap in Reading and Writing or Math? Compare section averages and section benchmark rates (p. 10). “Met both” is a math number.
6. Where does the middle of our distribution sit? The interquartile ranges (p. 20) show where the middle half of students score. In Delaware, New Mexico, and West Virginia, the 75th-percentile Math score is 510 or below, under the 530 benchmark, so fewer than a quarter of students reach it.
7. Are we comparing to the right slice of the state? Subgroups (p. 10), school location, and median family income (p. 11) give better peer comparisons than the statewide average. “Town/rural” means very different things by state: 64% of West Virginia’s test takers (average 905), 51% of New Mexico’s (854), 50% of New Hampshire’s (1025), and 8% of Rhode Island’s (1002).
8. How much retesting is in our number? Test-taking history is on p. 11. Nationally, students who added a weekend test averaged 1179; school-day-only students averaged 909. That score gap reflects differences in who chooses to retest, not necessarily an effect of retesting itself. A district’s average depends partly on how many students retest. The share of takers who tested on both a school day and a weekend runs from 5% (New Mexico) to 21% (Connecticut) in the accountability states, versus 22% in Texas and 30% in Florida.

Understanding the Gap Is the First Step

Because the class of 2026 has already graduated, these results are most useful for planning support for current juniors and sophomores.

Identifying the gap, especially in math, is only the first step. Improving next year’s results requires consistent work across the whole year rather than a single prep push before test day. That work has three parts: benchmark testing at intervals that mirror the SAT® sections, instructional support aimed at the skills the data flags, and data checkpoints between tests so leaders can see whether students are moving before spring.

Progress Learning’s College and Career Readiness suite supports this approach with full-length practice assessments and student and teacher score reports, so districts can monitor progress throughout the year. Lake Arthur Municipal Schools in New Mexico, one of the states in the table above, uses quarterly Progress Learning benchmarks in grades 9 through 12 for this purpose.

The next step belongs to the district: pick the right benchmark, identify the most relevant comparison, settle the eight questions above, and determine which student cohort and section to prioritize in the year ahead.

Book a demo below to learn more about how Progress Learning can help your district prepare for the SAT®.