The SAT and Me

Reading Test

The Re-Designed SAT: What to Expect

Learn what to expect on the new SAT so that you're ready for your test day!

Why it Changed

One of The College Board's biggest goals in changing the SAT was to make sure it’s highly relevant to your future success. The new test is more focused on the skills and knowledge at the heart of education. It measures:

What you learn in high school
What you need to succeed in college

If you think the key to a high score is memorizing words and facts you’ll never use in the real world, think again. You don’t have to discover secret tricks or cram the night before.

The same habits and choices that lead to success in school will help you get ready for the SAT. The best way to prepare for the test is to:

Take challenging courses.
Do your homework.
Prepare for tests and quizzes.
Ask and answer lots of questions.

In short, take charge of your education and learn as much as you can.

And One More Thing

Know what to expect.

Find out what kinds of questions you’ll see on the new SAT and what the test will measure. Where do you want to start?

Reading Test

In the Reading Test, students will encounter questions like those asked in a lively, thoughtful, evidence-based discussion.

It’s About the Everyday

The Reading Test focuses on the skills and knowledge at the heart of education: the stuff you’ve been learning in high school, the stuff you’ll need to succeed in college. It’s about how you take in, think about, and use information. And guess what? You’ve been doing that for years.

It’s not about how well you memorize facts and definitions, so you won’t need to use flashcards or insider tricks or spend all night cramming.

Quick Facts

All Reading Test questions are multiple choice and based on passages.
Some passages are paired with other passages.
Informational graphics, such as tables, graphs, and charts, accompany some passages— but no math is required.
Prior topic-specific knowledge is never tested.
The Reading Test is part of the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section.

Learn More About the Reading Test

Go directly to The College Board's Website

Try Reading Questions Now

Go directly to Reading sample questions

Writing and Language Test

The SAT Writing and Language Test asks you to be an editor and improve passages that were written especially for the test — and that include deliberate errors.

It’s About the Everyday

When you take the Writing and Language Test, you’ll do three things that people do all the time when they write and edit:

Read.
Find mistakes and weaknesses.
Fix them.

The good news: You do these things every time you proofread your own schoolwork or workshop essays with a friend.

It’s the practical skills you use to spot and correct problems — the stuff you’ve been learning in high school and the stuff you’ll need to succeed in college — that the test measures.

Quick Facts

All questions are multiple choice and based on passages.
Some passages are accompanied by informational graphics, such as tables, graphs, and charts — but no math is required.
Prior topic knowledge is never tested.
The Writing and Language Test is part of the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section.

Learn More About the Writing and Language Test

Go Directly To The College Board Website

Try Writing and Language Questions Now

Go directly to Writing and Language sample questions.

Writing and Langauge Test

Math Test

The SAT Math Test covers a range of math practices, with an emphasis on problem solving, modeling, using tools strategically, and using algebraic structure.

It’s About the Real World

Instead of testing you on every math topic there is, the new SAT asks you to use the math that you’ll rely on most in all sorts of situations. Questions on the Math Test are designed to mirror the problem solving and modeling you’ll do in:

College math, science, and social science courses
The jobs that you hold
Your personal life

For instance, to answer some questions you’ll need to use several steps —because in the real world a single calculation is rarely enough to get the job done.

Quick Facts

Most math questions will be multiple choice, but some — called grid-ins — ask you to come up with the answer rather than select the answer.
The Math Test is divided into two portions: Math Test – Calculator and Math Test – No Calculator.
Some parts of the test include several questions about a single scenario.

Learn More About the Writing and Language Test

Go Directly To The College Board Website

Try Math Sample Questions Now

Go directly to Math sample questions.

Math Test

SAT Essay

The redesigned SAT Essay asks you to use your reading, analysis, and writing skills.

It’s About the Real World

The SAT Essay is a lot like a typical college writing assignment in which you’re asked to analyze a text. Take the SAT with Essay and show colleges that you’re ready to come to campus and write.

What You’ll Do

Read a passage.
Explain how the author builds an argument to persuade an audience.
Support your explanation with evidence from the passage.

What’s New

The SAT’s essay component has had a total makeover:

It’s optional — but some schools will require it. Get College SAT Essay policies.
You have 50 minutes to complete your essay, 25 minutes more than the required essay that was part of the SAT students took before March 2016.
You won’t be asked to agree or disagree with a position on a topic or to write about your personal experience.