GENERAL ADVICE FOR STUDENTS
If you’re interested in the SAT, ACT, GRE, or another standardized test, don’t just pick a date out of thin air and head off to the testing center. Strategy is involved in preparing for college and university exams.
SAT Overview, Structure & Scoring
Overview
The SAT is a standard college entrance exam that measures skills in math, reading, and writing. The first section is always a written essay, which takes 25 minutes, and the last section is always a multiple-choice writing segment, which takes 10 minutes. The other parts of the test – six 25-minute sections and two 20-minute sections – can appear in any order. One of the 25-minute sections (you won’t know which) will not count toward your score; it is used to try out questions for future SATs. Total test time is 3 hours and 45 minutes.
The SAT Critical Reading sections present you with reading comprehension questions about full-length and paragraph-length passages. They also include sentence completions.
The SAT Writing sections include multiple-choice questions on grammar, usage, word choice, and organization. The essay section asks you to respond to a prompt by developing a point of view supported by clear, well-organized ideas based on your experience and observations.
The SAT Math sections include multiple-choice questions and grid-in questions, which require you to generate a response. Topics include: numbers and operations; algebra and functions; geometry and measurement; and statistics, probability, and data analysis.
Test Structure
| Question Type | # of Questions |
|---|---|
| Sentence Completions | 19 |
| Passage-based Reading | 48 |
Time Allotted: Two 25-minute sections; one 20-minute section Total: 70 minutes
| Question Type | # of Questions |
|---|---|
| Identifying Sentence Errors | 18 |
| Improving Sentences | 25 |
| Improving Paragraphs | 6 |
| Essay Writing | 1 Essay |
Time Allotted: Two 25-minute sections; one 10-minute section Total: 60 minutes
| Question Type | # of Questions |
|---|---|
| Multiple Choice | 44 |
| Grid-ins | 10 |
Time Allotted: Two 25-minute sections; one 20-minute section Total: 70 minutes
Scoring
Each section (Critical Reading, Writing, and Math) is scored on a scale of 200 to 800. Essays, a sub-section of Writing, are graded on a scale of 2 to 12.
