What is SAT and how it is
structured?
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College Board (USA) |
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The College Board is a not-for-profit
membership association whose mission is to connect students to
college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is
composed of more than 5,000 schools, colleges, universities, and
other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves
seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and
3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college
admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and
teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®,
the PSAT/NMSQT®, and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). The
College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and
equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs,
services, activities, and concerns.
Test Structure
The SAT Reasoning Test
is a measure of the critical thinking skills you'll need for
academic success in college. The SAT assesses how well you analyze
and solve problems—skills you learned in school that you'll need in
college. The SAT is typically taken by high school juniors and
seniors.
Each section of the
SAT is scored on a scale of 200—800, with two writing sub scores for
multiple-choice and the essay. It is administered seven times a year
in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and U.S. Territories, and six times a year
overseas.
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SAT Question Types |
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The critical reading section |
Formerly known as the verbal
section, includes short reading passages along with the
existing long reading passages. Analogies have been
eliminated, but sentence-completion questions and
passage-based reading questions remain. |
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Time |
Content |
Item Types |
Score |
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70 min. (two 25-min. sections and one 20-min. section) |
Critical reading and sentence-level reading |
Reading comprehension, sentence completions, and
paragraph-length critical reading |
200-800 |
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Math Topics |
The SAT includes
expanded math topics, such as exponential growth, absolute
value, and functional notation, and place greater emphasis on
such other topics as linear functions, manipulations with
exponents, and properties of tangent lines.
Important skills
formerly measured in the quantitative comparison format, such as
estimation and number sense, will continue to be measured
through the multiple choice and student response (grid-in)
questions. |
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Time |
Content |
Item Types |
Score |
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70 min. (two 25-min. sections
and one 20-min. section) |
Number and operations; algebra
and functions; geometry; statistics, probability, and data
analysis |
Five-choice multiple-choice
questions and student-produced responses |
200-800 |
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Writing
Section |
The
writing section includes both multiple-choice questions and a
direct writing measure in the form of an essay. |
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Time |
Content |
Item Types |
Score |
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60 min. |
Grammar, usage, and word
choice |
Multiple choice questions (35
min.) and student-written essay (25 min.) |
200-800 |
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Short Essay
- The short
essay measures your ability to:
- Organize and
express ideas clearly
- Develop and
support the main idea
- Use
appropriate word choice and sentence structure
- You'll be asked
to develop a point of a view on an issue, using reasoning and
evidence — based on your own experiences, readings, or
observations — to support your ideas.
- The essay will
be scored by trained high school and college teachers. Each
reader will give the essay a score from 1 to 6 (6 is the
highest score) based on the overall quality of the essay and
your demonstration of writing competence.
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