More about the SAT

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is an admission requirement of most accredited four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The exam measures your reading, writing, and mathematical reasoning abilities, skills considered essential for success in college. It is typically taken by high school juniors and seniors, although anyone who wishes to apply to college may take the test.

The SAT is an approximately four hour long standardized test administered seven times each year by the College Board at designated testing centers throughout the United States.

inlingua SAT Fact

 SAT Structure

The SAT is divided into ten sections: three Critical Reading sections, three Writing sections, three Math sections, and one unscored Experimental section, which looks just like one of the other nine sections. The Writing Essay section always comes first, but the remaining nine multiple-choice sections can appear in any order.

Critical Reading (3 sections)

Length

20 or 25 minutes

Format

Multiple Choice

Questions

16-19 (20 minute section)
24-28 (25 minute sections)

Question Types

Reading Comprehension
Sentence Completion

Topics Tested

Reading
Sentence Structure
Vocabulary

 
 

Writing (3 sections)

Length

10 or 25 minutes

Format

Student-written Essay
Multiple Choice

Questions

1 (Essay section)
14 (10 minute Multiple Choice section)
32-35 (25 minute Multiple Choice section)

Question Types

Long-form Essay
Identifying Sentence Errors
Improving Sentences
Improving Paragraphs

Topics Tested

Writing
Grammar
Sentence and paragraph structure

 
 

Math (3 sections)

Length

20 or 25 minutes

Format

Multiple Choice
Student-produced Responses

Questions

16-20

Question Types

Problem Solving (multiple choice)
Grid-ins (student-produced responses)

Topics Tested

Arithmetic and number properties
Algebra
Geometry
Data analysis
Probability and statistics

 
 

Experimental (1 section)

Length

25 minutes

Format

Multiple Choice

Questions

Varies

Question Types

Varies according to section type

Topics Tested

Critical Reading, Writing, or Math