SAT Test Overview

The SAT Test, known officially as the SAT Reasoning Test, is a standardized admissions test used by virtually all colleges and universities. The SAT Test serves a similar purpose as the ACT Test. Standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT are used in the admissions process along with other factors such as class rank, GPA, community service, recommendations and extracurricular activities.

The SAT Test is intended to measure a students’ knowledge of the core areas of reading, writing and mathematics. High school juniors and seniors typically take the SAT. SAT Test Scores range from 200 to 800 for each of the sections. There are seven SAT Test Dates for the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Territories.

SAT Test Format

The SAT Test is made up of 10 sections. The first section is a 25 minute essay. Sections 2 through 7 are 25-minute sections. Sections 8 and 9 are 20 minute sections and section 10 is a 10 minute multiple choice writing section. The table below summarizes the sections.

Section	Time Limit	Number of Questions	Summary
SAT Critical Reading	70 minutes (Two 25 minute sections and one 20 minute section)	67 questions (19 sentence completion and 48 passage-based reading questions)	Short and long reading passages. Measures sentence completions and passage-based reading.
SAT Math	70 minutes (Two 25 minute sections and one 20 minute section)	54 questions (44 multiple choice and 10 response questions)	Covers basic mathematical skills that are typical for a student at the end of junior year. You will be tested on: number and operations; algebra and functions; geometry and measurement; and data analysis, statistics, and probability.
SAT Writing	60 minutes (two 25 minute sections and one 10 minute section)	40 questions	One essay and 49 multiple choice questions (25 on improving sentences, 18 on identifying sentence errors, and 6 on improving paragraphs)