SAT

Scholastic Aptitude Test or Scholastic Assessment Test

SAT is a standardized test administered by the College Board and is required to be taken by students seeking admission in undergraduate schools. SAT exam has been developed to evaluate the written, verbal and mathematical skills of the candidates. Applicants to undergraduate courses, particularly in US and Canada, are required to take the SAT exam. If the student is looking to get admission to a particular course, she/he can take the SAT subject tests to show his knowledge and understanding of that particular subject. Subject tests are offered in areas like Literature, History, Mathematics, Sciences and Foreign Languages. A recent review of admissions policies by The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) revealed that many colleges have moved away from SAT subject test, which some years back was crucial for admission to top American universities.

SAT Pattern

SAT exam pattern is as follow- three sections, namely, Math, Reading, and Writing. There is an optional section which is called the Essay, which has one 50 minutes long substantial passage from which the student needs to build their argument. Students are not scored on this section. Here we cover the general SAT test pattern. Here is the SAT paper pattern –

Subject	Duration	Subsections	Questions	Score Range
Math	80 minutes	Calculator allowed for 37 questions Calculator not allowed for 20 questions	Problem-solving and data analysis ‘The Heart of Algebra’ ‘Passport to Advanced Math’	200-800
Reading	65 minutes	Total 52 questions	No Sentence Completion Tests understanding of passages from the US and world Literature, History/Social Studies, and Sciences (500-750 words)	200-800 (combined with Writing section)
Writing and Language	35 minutes	Total 44 questions	Tests ‘Expression of Ideas’ and ‘Standard English Conventions’ through passages related to Careers, History/Social Studies, Humanities and Science All questions from extended prose (400-450 words)	200-800 (combined with Reading section)
Essay (optional)	50 minutes	One 50 minutes optional essay	This section requires students to evaluate an argument through analysis of evidence	not scored
Total	3 hours (with optional 50 minutes)	154 questions	—	1600

Scoring in SAT

The SAT is divided into two sections – 1. Reading, Writing, and 2.Mathematics. These two sections are scored on a 200-800 point scale, for a maximum total score of 1600. SAT subject test scores are measured on a scale of 200 to 800. There are additional subscores reported on a 20-80 scale. The scores of a student reflect on how he/she compared with other students who took the test. An average SAT score is around 1000. Anything above 1200 is considered a good SAT score. The maximum anyone can score on SAT is the perfect score of 1600. Since you receive scaled scores, you should have some understanding of SAT scaled scores and percentiles.

SAT Results

SAT test results are typically released within 4-5 weeks of the test administration and can be viewed online. Students can choose to send their test scores to colleges of their choice. They also have the option to cancel their test score or withhold them from being sent to certain colleges.

SAT Dates

The SAT is conducted only a few times a year between October to June. You don’t have the luxury of selecting an exam date suitable as per your convenience, which is the case with other exams. You need to plan your exam prep according to these test dates. These exams are scheduled to suit your application deadlines for the fall semester. Here are the exam dates for the year 2017-18:

SAT Test Dates	SAT Subject Test Dates
October 7, 2017	October 7, 2017
December 2, 2017	November 4, 2017
March 10, 2018	December 2, 2017
May 5, 2018	May 5, 2018
–	June 2, 2018