The SAT
(Information is provided by www.collegeboard.com)
The SAT helps college admissions officers make fair and informed admissions decisions. Combined with a student's academic record, it is a proven, reliable indicator of college success. Since its launch in 1926, the SAT has helped millions of students connect with college success and today remains the most reliable, effective measure of a student's college readiness. The SAT tests the subject matter learned by students in high school and the critical thinking skills necessary to succeed in college.

SAT Facts
The SAT is offered seven times a year in the United States and six times at international sites.
The test:
Takes three hours and 45 minutes
Consists of 10 separately timed sections
Three sections test critical reading (70 minutes total)
Three sections test mathematics (70 minutes total)
Three sections test writing (60 minutes total)
One variable (unscored) section tests critical reading, mathematics, or writing (25 minutes total)
Assesses critical thinking and problem solving skills in three areas. (Critical reading, mathematics and writing)
Includes three kinds of questions. (Multiple-choice questions, student-produced responses (mathematics only), essay question.
Test is machine-scored except for the essay.
Why should students take the SAT?
Reasons include:
All colleges accept the SAT as an objective measurement of students' college readiness.
Used with GPA's and high school transcripts, SAT scores allow colleges to fairly compare applicants.
Taking the SAT gives students access to scholarship opportunities.
Most colleges require an admissions test like the SAT.
The SAT provides students with the most comprehensive performance feedback of any admissions test.
Many institutions require a writing assessment for admission. Students who take the SAT automatically fulfill such requirements.
How difficult is SAT?
The SAT is developed to reflect accepted educational standards. The data show that the material on the SAT and the time allocated to each section are appropriate for the intended test-taking population.
On average students answer 50 to 60 percent of questions correctly.
80 percent finish nearly the entire test.
Almost all students complete at lease 75 percent of the questions.
Each edition of the SAT Reasoning Test includes critical reading, mathematics and writing questions divided into 10 test sections.

Critical Reading
The critical reading questions are all multiple choice. They can have one of two formats--sentence completion or passage-based reading with long and short excerpts from works in natural sciences, humanities, social sciences and literary fiction.

The questions assess students' reading skills such as:
Identifying main and supporting idea
Determining the meaning of words in context
Understanding author's purposes
Understanding the structure and function of sentences

Mathematics
The mathematics section has two types of questions--multiple-choice questions and student-produced responses
The questions require students to apply mathematical concepts and to use data literacy skills in interpreting tables, charts, and graphs. They cover skills in four major areas: numbers and operations, algebra and functions, geometry and measurement, data analysis, statistics, and probability.
Writing
The writing section consists of two types of questions: An essay and multiple-choice questions
The multiple-choice questions ask students to: recognize sentence errors,
choose the best version of a piece of writing and improve paragraphs.

The first section is always the essay and the last section is also a writing section.
In between, the academic content areas can come in any order.

Content
Minutes
Total Time
Writing (essay)
25
60 minutes
Writing (multiple-choice)
25
Writing (multiple-choice)
10
Critical reading (multiple-choice)
25
70 minutes
Critical reading (multiple-choice)
25
Critical reading (multiple-choice)
20
Mathematics (multiple-choice and student produced response)
25
70 minutes
Mathematics (multiple-choice)
25
Mathematics (multiple-choice)
20
Variable (unscored, multiple-choice)
25
25 minutes

The unscored section:
One of the 25 minute sections is unscored. This "variable" or "equaling" section may have critical reading, mathematics, or multiple-choice writing questions. It does not count toward the final score but is used to try out new questions and to ensure that scores on new editions of the SAT are comparable to scores on earlier editions.

Test book variations
Test-takers sitting next to each other in the same testing session may have test books with an entirely different sequence of the 25-minutes and 20-minute sections.