General Information
The SAT is a college entrance exam that is administered by the College Board. It consists of three tests: 1) The Reading Test, 2) The Writing and Language Test, and 3) the Math Test.
Current SAT Content and Question Types
| Section | Timing (minutes) | Number of Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | 65 | 52 |
| Writing and Language | 35 | 44 |
| Essay (optional) | 50 | 1 |
| Math | 80 (25-minute section without a calculator; 55-minute section with a calculator) | 58 (20 questions without a calculator; 38 questions with a calculator) |
Total Length
- 3 hours without the essay.
- 3 hours and 50 minutes with the essay
Scoring
The SAT reports two section scores, each with scaled scores ranging from 200 to 800. The first section is Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, which combines the results from the Reading Test and the Writing Test. The second section is Math. These two section scores are added together to give a cumulative SAT score between 400 and 1600. The essay score is reported separately.
Scaled scores are calculated based on how a student’s raw scores compare to those of other students who took the same test on that same date all around the world.
The College Board will also report scaled test scores for each of the three sections ranging from 10 to 40.
Moreover, they’ll report cross-test scores for 1) Analysis in History/Social Studies, and 2) Analysis in Science. These cross-test scores are also reported as scaled scores ranging from 10 to 40. The reason for these cross-test scores is that certain items within each of the three tests will require analytical thinking as related to historical or scientific contexts. For more detail about the scoring, click here.
With this redesigned test, there is no longer a wrong answer penalty.
Testing Schedule
The SAT is administered seven times per year, typically once in each of the following months: August, October, November, December, March, May, and June.
2023-2024 Test Dates
- June 3, 2023 (registration deadline is 5/4/23; late registration deadline is 5/23/23)
- August 26, 2023 (registration deadline is 7/28/23; late registration deadline is 8/15/23)
- October 7, 2023 (registration deadline is 9/7/23; late registration deadline is 9/26/23)
- November 4, 2023 (registration deadline is 10/5/23; late registration deadline is 10/24/23)
- December 2, 2023 (registration deadline is 11/2/23; late registration deadline is 11/21/23)
- NEW DIGITAL SAT: March 9, 2024 (registration deadline is 2/23/24; late registration deadline is TBD)
- NEW DIGITAL SAT: May 4, 2024 (registration deadline is 4/19/24; late registration deadline is TBD)
- NEW DIGITAL SAT: June 1, 2024 (registration deadline is 5/17/24; late registration deadline is TBD)
Cost
- Exam Cost: $60
- Late Registration Fee: $30
- Change Fee: $25
- Scores by Phone: $15
Score Choice™
Score Choice™ is a feature of the SAT that allows a student to take the test multiple times without having to worry about colleges seeing all of their results. Instead, they can select which test dates they want sent to schools. A student CANNOT, however, select from within a test date certain subject scores to send. For instance, they cannot send ONLY a math score from a certain test date.
Different colleges have different policies with regards to Score Choice™.
Learn more here
Registration Site/Additional Information
To register, visit the official College Board SAT website.
New Digital SAT: 2023-2024 School Year
During the 2021-2022 school year, College Board announced that a new digital SAT would be launched in the spring of 2023 for international students, and the spring of 2024 for students in the US. In this article, we explain the changes that are planned.
