The SAT exam is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, milestones that a student encounters over the course of their academic career. It can be confusing as a student sitting in a high school class and having their teacher lecture them on how it is the single most important thing in determining success. While, on the other hand, most adults who have been through the trenches will say the opposite. As a student preparing to take the SAT, it can be hard to see it as anything other than the massive hurdle standing between you and your desired college program. Regardless of how it is viewed, one thing is for certain: the better you perform, the more options you’ll have available to you when it comes to higher education. Let’s take a look at the subjects covered in the exam so that you can best prepare.
| SAT Section | Component | Time Allotted (Minutes) | Number of Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading & Writing | Module 1 | 32 | 27 |
| Reading & Writing | Module 2 | 32 | 27 |
| Math | Module 1 | 35 | 22 |
| Math | Module 2 | 35 | 22 |
| Total | 134 | 98 |
Overview of the SAT Exam Structure
While the SAT is an exam that has stood the test of time, the assessment that you’ll be preparing for will look a great deal different from how your parents recall it. This is because both the curriculum and assessment are always evolving to meet the needs of an ever-changing working world. For instance, one of the more notable changes was the transition to the Digital SAT. This streamlined the experience, shifting from a paper-and-pencil marathon to a shorter, adaptive computer-based assessment.
In terms of how the exam itself looks, you’ll be glad to learn that it isn’t as long as you might have thought, spanning just two hours and 14 minutes of test time, with a 10-minute break thrown into the mix. One of the coolest and more inventive changes that you’ll see with the SAT exam is that its digital format allows for what’s called multistage adaptive testing. This basically allows the exam to adapt the difficulty of the second module that you complete according to your performance in the first module. So, what subjects are tested on the SAT, and how long are you given to work through the assessment?
The exam is divided into two primary sections: Reading and Writing, and Math
The exam is still assessed on the familiar 1600-point scale, with each of the two main sections being scored between 200 and 800 points. In order to know where you stand, you simply add up the combined score from both modules to arrive at your final score. If you only take one thing from this article, let it be this: there is no negative marking, so be sure to have a stab at every question to maximize your chances of earning a top score.
Timing is a critical component of the SAT. The Reading and Writing section consists of 54 questions to be completed in 64 minutes, while the Math section gives you 70 minutes to answer 44 questions.
The Different SAT Sections
In order to get a full picture of the various SAT subjects covered on the SAT exam, let’s walk through the various sections of the assessment. These sections focus on reading, writing, and Math, and assess the deeper analysis and problem-solving skills necessary for higher education.
Reading and Writing Section
✍️ Craft and Structure
ℹ️ Information & Ideas
📝 Craft and Structure
💡 Expression of Ideas
The passages that you’ll encounter in this section actually differ somewhat from many of the comprehension-style assessments you may have encountered in the past. This is because the digital format actually challenges students to engage with shorter passages, which are often no longer than a paragraph or two in length. Don’t mistake this for being less work! While the extracts are indeed shorter, this format requires rapid context shifting but allows for a broader range of topics, including literature, science, history, and social studies.
There are four domains that you’re going to be assessed on as you tackle this section.
First is Craft and Structure, which assesses vocabulary in context and how an author’s language shapes meaning and tone.
Then you’ve got Information and Ideas, which, as the name might suggest, focuses on your understanding of the text at hand.
It assesses how well you grasp the main ideas and interpret data from any graphs or tables that might appear. Don’t think you’ve escaped standard English conventions, as your grammar and punctuation skills will also be put under the microscope. Lastly, you’ve got Expression of Ideas, which evaluates your ability to revise text and formulate ideas.
Math Section
🅱 Algebra
➗ Advanced Math
➖ Problem-Solving
📐 Geometry & Trig
The Math section of the SAT focuses on the areas of mathematics that play the biggest role in college and career success. So, regardless of whether you’re naturally inclined when it comes to numbers or dread the thought of calculations, you’re going to need to refine those problem-solving skills in order to earn a high score. In order to aid your preparation, let’s make this as simple as possible by highlighting the main areas that you’ll be assessed on. For starters, love it or hate it, algebra is the most prominent and will be at the center of your assessment. This means that throughout your preparation, you’ll want to focus on linear equations, systems of linear equations, and inequalities.
You’ve also got Advanced Math, which moves into more complex territory.
Here, you can expect to cover quadratic and exponential functions, polynomials, and absolute values.
This area is crucial for students planning to pursue STEM fields.
Make sure you've got the format of the SAT math section nailed down!
Problem Solving and Data Analysis is one of the more welcomed components among SAT students due to its applicability to many of the career paths students are eyeing in this digital age. It requires you to interpret ratios, rates, percentages, and various types of data. You’ll be glad to hear that we’re reaching the end of the section: Geometry and Trigonometry. This accounts for a smaller portion of the assessment, but it’s still a major difference-maker, so be sure to give it the attention it deserves and incorporate real-world applications into your revision.
SAT Calculator Policy
The SAT exam has undoubtedly adapted with the times through its transformation. This holds true when you look at its calculator policy. Instead of forbidding the use of the tool as in previous years, there is an understanding that it will be relied upon in the workplace, and there is a subsequent need for students to develop proficiency in using a calculator. This is, of course, provided that students can bring their own approved graphing or scientific calculator, but the testing application (Bluebook) also includes a built-in Desmos graphing calculator.
Effective Preparation Strategies for the SAT
Despite the makeover that the exam has undergone throughout its existence, it’s still a standardized test, which means it is still predictable. This is great news for students preparing to take the assessment since success is rarely a matter of aptitude alone. The top-performing students are those who have the greatest familiarity with the test’s format and know exactly how questions tend to appear on the exam.
Study Resources
There has never been a better time to access high-quality study materials, and this most certainly holds true for SAT students. You can spend hours revising, but if you’re not implementing the most optimal resources, you can expect a portion of your time to be wasted.
What is your biggest challenge when preparing for the SAT?
If there was one essential resource that we’d advise you to download, it’s the College Board’s Bluebook app. Having this at the center of your exam preparation will ensure that you’re a well-oiled machine by the time you take the test. That’s because you’ll be completing full-length practice tests that mimic the actual digital testing environment. If, after using the app, you still feel like some more preparation would help put those pre-exam nerves at ease, then you could also try incorporating Khan Academy into your study plan. That way, you’ll be diversifying your preparation with an SAT prep course that includes instructional videos, practice problems, and diagnostic tools that will show you exactly which areas still need some work.
There's nothing quite like the personalized guidance you get working one-on-one with an SAT tutor from Superprof. Working with one of the SAT tutors on the platform will ensure you're preparing as effectively as possible, so you can get the most out of the resources you decide to incorporate.
Make sure that you're aware of everything you need to know about the SAT reading and writing portion.
Study Techniques
People often overestimate what they can do in a day, and underestimate what they can do in a year.
Matthew Kelly
When it comes to the grind of preparing for the SAT exam, consistency beats intensity every time. So, make sure that your plan doesn’t simply entail “cramming” for eight hours the weekend before the test. Instead, you might want to aim for 30 to 45 minutes of focused study four or five days a week. This actually helps move information into your long-term memory and prevents burnout, which could result in you missing some valuable study days in the long run.
For pretty much all students, the strategy should begin with a full-length diagnostic test under timed conditions to establish a baseline score. Of course, each section of the test will require its own specialized technique to prepare as effectively as possible.
When it comes to the reading and writing section, a great technique is to read a variety of high-level nonfiction sources, such as The New York Times or Scientific American, to build your reading stamina and comfort with sophisticated vocabulary. For the math, practice active recall by attempting to solve problems from scratch without looking at the step-by-step solutions first, mimicking the exact situation you’ll be in when taking the actual test.
Preparing to Ace Your SAT Exam
As we see year after year with the SAT exam, a substantial amount of preparation is required in order to excel on the test. However, it’s the students who know exactly what subjects are covered and how they’re likely to appear who perform the best. By understanding the subjects covered and committing to a structured study plan, you can transform what seems like the single greatest hurdle you’ve encountered in life into a manageable task. Hopefully, you now find yourself more informed about the subjects that will feature on the test and what you can do to go after that high score!
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