For a 1500 on the digital SAT you can miss roughly 5 questions in Reading & Writing and 5 in Math, assuming a balanced 750/750 split. But the count is the less important half of the answer: you must reach the harder Module 2 in both sections for 1500 to be possible at all. On the easier path it isn't difficult. It's unreachable.
This is the most-asked question in SAT scoring, and most answers to it are wrong, not because the arithmetic is hard, but because they ignore how the adaptive format works.
The short answer
Assuming an even split between the two sections and the harder Module 2 in both:
| Target total | Per section | R&W misses of 54 | Math misses of 44 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1600 | 800 + 800 | 0 | 1 |
| 1550 | 775 each | 3 | 3 |
| 1500 | 750 each | 5 | 5 |
| 1450 | 725 each | 7 | 6 |
| 1400 | 700 each | 10 | 9 |
| 1350 | 675 each | 12 | 11 |
| 1300 | 650 each | 15 | 13 |
Two things stand out. Math is less forgiving than Reading & Writing at every band. It has 44 questions to R&W's 54, so each miss costs more. And the allowance grows fast as you come down: 1400 tolerates roughly twice the errors of 1500. A free full-length practice test tells you where your real miss count sits.
By section score
Because real scores rarely split evenly, the more useful table is per section. Find your target section score and read across.
| Section score | R&W misses allowed | Math misses allowed |
|---|---|---|
| 800 | 0 | 1 |
| 780 | 3 | 3 |
| 760 | 5 | 4 |
| 750 | 5 | 5 |
| 740 | 6 | 6 |
| 720 | 8 | 7 |
| 700 | 10 | 9 |
| 680 | 12 | 11 |
| 650 | 15 | 13 |
| 600 | 20 | 17 |
| 550 | 25 | 21 |
So a 1500 built from 800 Math and 700 R&W allows 1 Math miss and 10 R&W misses, a very different test day from the balanced version, and often an easier one to engineer if you have a strong section.
The part most answers leave out
All of the above assumes you reached the harder Module 2. If you didn't, the numbers don't apply, because the easier second module carries a hard scaled ceiling.
The easier Module 2 tops out around 650 in Reading & Writing and 670 in Math. Answer every remaining question correctly and you still land near those numbers, a total in the low 1300s at absolute best.
Which means: every band from 1400 up requires the harder module in both sections. Not "is harder on the easy path", genuinely impossible. The score calculator shows this directly; drop Module 1 below threshold and watch the ceiling appear.
Routing into the harder module takes roughly 18 of 27 correct in Reading & Writing and 15 of 22 in Math on the first module. Those thresholds are approximate and vary by form, but the structure is fixed.
What this means for how you prepare
Three consequences worth acting on.
1. Module 1 errors cost more than Module 2 errors. A miss in Module 1 costs you a raw point and moves you toward the ceiling. A miss in Module 2 costs only the raw point. They are not equivalent, even though they look identical on a score report. The section structure those raw counts sit in is set out in College Board's test structure.
2. Careless mistakes matter disproportionately at the top. At 1500 you have ten total misses to spend across 98 questions. If three of them are arithmetic slips or misread questions rather than genuine gaps, you've given away nearly a third of your margin. This is why students plateau at 1450 despite knowing the content, and why trap-hunting beats more practice at that level.
3. Reading & Writing is where the volume is. With 54 of the 98 questions, R&W offers more total misses to give back, but also more opportunities to lose them. Most students under-prepare it relative to its weight; the domain breakdown shows where the points concentrate.
A caution on precision
These numbers are close, not exact, and it's worth knowing why.
College Board doesn't publish a single conversion table. Every administered form has its own, released only with that form's score report, and difficulty is equated so that a 700 on one date means the same as a 700 on another. A form that runs slightly harder is scored slightly more generously.
Practically: treat every figure here as ±1 question. If you're targeting 1500, plan for 4 misses per section rather than 5, and you'll have absorbed the variation. Anyone presenting these counts as exact is overselling what's knowable.
Students often ask me this question hoping for permission to relax, "so I can miss five, that's fine." The more useful framing is the opposite. Five misses is your entire budget for a three-hour test, and roughly two of them will go to things you didn't see coming: a misread question, a moment of panic, an unfamiliar phrasing. Plan around three, and the other two become insurance rather than the plan.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions can you miss and still get a 1500 on the SAT?
Roughly 5 in Reading & Writing and 5 in Math on a balanced 750/750 split, and only if you reached the harder Module 2 in both sections. An 800/700 split allows 1 Math miss but about 10 in R&W.
How many can you miss for a 1600 on the SAT?
Typically zero in R&W and zero or one in Math, depending on the form. Full answer
Can you get a 1500 from the easier Module 2?
No. The easier path ceilings near 650 R&W and 670 Math, low 1300s total at best. Full answer
How many questions do I need right in Module 1 to get the harder Module 2?
Approximately 18 of 27 in Reading & Writing and 15 of 22 in Math. Approximate and form-dependent, but the structure is fixed.
Is it worse to miss a question in Module 1 or Module 2?
Module 1, clearly. It costs the raw point and pushes you toward the easier module's ceiling. A Module 2 miss costs only the raw point.
Are these miss counts exact?
No. Treat them as ±1 question. Each form is equated separately, so curves shift slightly. Plan for one fewer miss than the table shows.