What's a Good SEAG Score? Transfer Test Grades Explained Simply
Once results are near, every parent asks the same question: what counts as a good score? It's a fair question with a slightly awkward answer, because a “good” SEAG score depends on which school you're aiming for. Here's how the results work, in plain English, and how to think about the number without losing sleep over it.
SEAG results come as a Standardised Age Score plus a Band from 1 to 6, not a pass or fail.
How SEAG grading works
Your child's result comes in two parts.
1. A Standardised Age Score (SAS). Instead of a plain mark out of 100, the score is “standardised”, which means it's adjusted for your child's exact age on the day, so younger children aren't put at a disadvantage. It also factors in how many questions they answered correctly and how hard the assessment was. The Total SAS runs from 138 to 282, with an average of 200. It's made up of an English (or Irish) score added to a Maths score.
2. A Band from 1 to 6. Alongside the score, every child is placed in one of six bands. The bands are worked out by percentile, meaning how your child did compared to everyone else who sat the test that year. SEAG call this whole group the “cohort”. So a band tells you where your child stands relative to their peers, not just how many questions they got right.
Band
Where your child sits vs. everyone who sat the test
Band 1
The top group, roughly the top 40% of children (60th percentile or higher)
Band 2
The next 10% (50th to 59th percentile)
Band 3
The next 10% (40th to 49th percentile)
Band 4
The next 10% (30th to 39th percentile)
Band 5
The next 10% (20th to 29th percentile)
Band 6
The lowest 20% (below the 20th percentile)
Why there's no single “pass mark”
This is the key thing parents miss: the SEAG test isn't pass-or-fail. There's no magic number that means “in” or “out”. Instead:
Every child gets a score and a band.
Each grammar school decides how it uses those results in its own admissions criteria.
A result that's more than enough for one school might be borderline at another.
So “what's a good score?” really means “what does the school we're hoping for tend to ask for?”, and that varies school by school, and year by year.
So how do I know what my child needs?
Pick the school(s) first. Look at the grammar schools you'd realistically consider.
Read their admissions criteria. Schools publish how they rank applicants, and this tells you what result tends to be competitive there.
Talk to the school. Open evenings, usually in January, are a good chance to ask what results applicants typically hold.
That gives you a real target, rather than an anxious guess.
The honest advice: don't obsess over the number
It's easy to turn the whole of P7 into a hunt for one number. Try not to. A few things worth remembering:
Progress matters more than any single practice score. A child improving steadily is in a good place.
Confidence and calm on the day can be worth a band. A rested, unflustered child performs closer to their real ability.
One test doesn't define your child. It's a door to one type of school, not a verdict on who they are, and children thrive down many different paths.
The parents who handle this best treat the score as useful information, not a life sentence, and their calm tends to rub off on the child, which helps the score too.
Track progress, not just the final number
Through the year, the more useful thing to watch isn't a single mock score. It's the trend, and which topics are improving. That's what tells you where to help next. A good practice tool shows you exactly that: what's strong, what needs work, and roughly where your child is sitting.
Want to see how your child is progressing?
Transfer With Me tracks your child's practice by topic and shows an estimated SEAG band, so you can see strengths, spot gaps, and help where it counts, without the guesswork.
Results are reported as a Standardised Age Score (Total SAS 138 to 282, average 200) plus a Band from 1 to 6. The bands group children by how they did compared to everyone who sat the test that year. Band 1 is the top group, roughly the top 40%, down to Band 6, the lowest 20%. SEAG uses numbered bands, not letter grades.
Is there a pass mark for the transfer test?
No. It isn't pass-or-fail. Every child gets a score and a band, and each grammar school decides how it uses those results in its own admissions.
What score does my child need for grammar school?
It depends on the school. Check each school's published admissions criteria and ask at their open evening what results applicants typically hold.
How can I tell if my child is on track?
Watch the trend over time and which topics are improving, rather than any single practice score. Steady progress is the goal.
