The SAT is a globally recognized college admission test, administered by the College Board, that lets high school students show colleges what they know and how well they can apply that knowledge. Most students take the SAT in 11th or 12th Grade, some even earlier, in 10th Grade. Almost all colleges and universities in the United States, and many colleges worldwide, use the SAT to make admission decisions.
Topics Tested
The SAT tests skills taught in high school classrooms: reading, writing and math. A student’s knowledge and skills in these subjects are important for success in college and beyond.
The critical reading section includes reading passages and sentence completions.
The writing section includes a short essay and multiple-choice questions on identifying errors and improving grammar and usage.
The mathematics section includes topics like arithmetic operations, algebra, geometry, statistics and probability.
Exam Duration
The SAT is a fairly long exam – 3 hours and 45 minutes in duration, and made up of 10 sections:
One 25-minute essay
Six 25-minute sections (mathematics, critical reading and writing)
Two 20-minute sections (mathematics, critical reading and writing)
One 10-minute multiple-choice writing section
Scoring
Each section of the SAT (critical reading, mathematics and writing) is scored on a 200-800 point scale, for a possible maximum total of 2400. Students also get two ‘subscores’ on the writing section: a multiple-choice score from 20 to 80, and an essay score from 2 to 12.
How Many Times Should Students Take the SAT?
At least half of all students take the SAT twice, and most students do see an improvement in their scores the second time they take the test. However, students should be cautioned against taking the SAT too many times, since there is no evidence that taking the SAT multiple times significantly changes your score. Instead, students should focus their time on other important components of their college application and on doing well at school. Students should also note that some universities might ask to see all your scores.
You should also know that the SAT is not the only test you can give you also have the ACT, which is a similar test but is said to have a lenient curve which means you get less marks cut for wrong answers.