Raw score vs scaled score
A raw score is simply the number of questions answered correctly, with no penalty for wrong answers. A scaled score is that raw score converted onto the 200–800 section scale through equating, so the same scaled score means the same thing across different test forms.
Also written as: equating, conversion
Why it matters
Only the scaled score is comparable. Because the conversion differs by form — and because adaptive routing changes which questions you were even asked — the same raw total can produce different scaled scores on different days. Progress tracked in raw totals is not progress; it is noise.
What people get wrong
Calling the conversion a curve. It is not graded against the other people who sat that day; equating is built into the form in advance so that no test date is easier than another. Students who chase a favourable administration are optimising something that does not exist.
Practise this on real adaptive questions
PrepGenix runs the same module-adaptive format as Bluebook, with scoring handled server-side. Free to start.