Overview of SAT

The SAT is a standardized test used for college admissions at most institutions in the United States and in many other countries, as well. SAT originally stood for "Scholastic Aptitude Test," but it is now generally known only by its acronym. The test is owned and administered by the College Board, which is a "mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity." As a general introduction to the SAT, please have a look at the following topics:

  • SAT Basics
    This page discusses general information about the SAT, including purpose, perception, and comparison with the ACT. Also covered are the SAT's role in college acceptance, correlations between SAT scores and student performance in college, and basic information about SAT scoring. Detailed comparison with the ACT centers on the two tests' content, the advantages of each test, and how they factor into college admissions.
  • Changes to the SAT in 2024 (the new digital SAT)
    While the underlying content of the SAT did not change much with the latest exam revision, there are significant changes associated with aspects of taking the exam that students need to be aware of. Specifically, the exam is now digital, with the new format being available to international students in 2023 and U.S. students in 2024. The exam has been shortened from roughly three hours down to just over two hours. There is an embedded graphing calculator, and a calculator is permitted for use on the entire Math section. Reading passages are shorter, and overall, there is more time between questions and sections. This page covers the major changes to the test, the reasons for these changes, and how they impact student preparation.
  • SAT Administration
    This page provides a summary of the issues associated with how the test is given. Students can find information on when the test is offered, how taking the SAT multiple times affects performance, major policies in the test's administration, available accommodations and required procedures for disabled students, and College Board policies on academic honesty. In order to ensure a smooth experience when taking the SAT, students should become familiar with all relevant policies to avoid registration problems or cancellation of scores.
  • SAT Registration
    This page provides a summary of how to register for the SAT, including the cost of registration, forms of payment accepted, where to find information about registration dates and deadlines, and how to locate the closest test center if the test is not being taken at a school.
  • SAT Technology
    Information about the use of technology in the administration of the SAT can be found on this page, including how the newest digital version of the exam is taken, what the College Board Bluebook app is and how it works, what the computer adaptive nature of the exam means for test-takers, assessing available SAT technology for use by disabled students, and how technology can assist in effective test preparation.
  • Digital vs Paper SAT
    This page offers a comparison of the historical paper-based SAT with the new digital SAT. Students can learn about differences in test length, section length, number of questions and question types, computer adaptability, release of scores, the content of score reports, and more.
  • SAT Scores
    This page includes a brief overview of SAT scoring with information on composite scores, section scores, test scores, cross-test scores, percentiles, and sub scores. Students can also find a discussion of scoring procedures for the newest version of the SAT, and a consideration of continued criticisms of the SAT as an assessment.
  • SAT History
    This page covers the history of the SAT from its inception through the latest version, last revised in 2023. Students can learn about how and why the SAT was created, the founding of the College Board, the association of the SAT with the IQ test and early 20th-century U.S. Army experiments, early versions of the test, the SAT's growth in use and popularity, the SAT and bias, and some of the most consequential revisions to the SAT over the years. SAT history shows the test to be responsive to innovations in pedagogical theory, various types of popular criticism, and competition from other standardized tests, especially the ACT.
  • SAT versus ACT
    A comparison of the SAT and the ACT can be found on this page, which includes general information about the ACT and how it differs from the SAT in areas such as cost, length of test administration, types of scores, where the test can be taken, and impact on college admissions.
  • SAT versus PSAT
    A comparison of the PSAT and the SAT can be found on this page, which includes general information about the PSAT, its association with the National Merit Scholarship, the administration and function of the PSAT, and the comparative difficulty levels of the two tests. Also discussed are the history of the PSAT from its establishment in 1959 to the present day, the relevance of the PSAT to SAT preparation, revisions to the PSAT as a result of criticism and competition, published research on PSAT performance and its validity as a predictor of SAT scores, and differing viewpoints on the PSAT's value as an instrument of SAT preparation.
  • SAT versus SSAT
    A comparison of the SAT and the SSAT can be found on this page, including the purpose behind each test, what the tests are used for, how long the exams are, where the exams can be taken, registering for the exams, the relationship between the SSAT and the SAT, as well as format and content differences between the two exams.
Fill out Info Request