SAT Reasoning Test*

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The SAT is rite of passage for many high school juniors and seniors each year. Administered by The College Board Corporation and developed, published and scored by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States.

Historically, the SAT has been more popular among colleges along the coasts and the ACT, another standardized test for college admissions, has been more popular among colleges in the Midwest and South. Some colleges require the ACT to be taken for college course placement, and a few schools do not accept the SAT at all.

The current SAT Reasoning Test is administered in about 4 hours and costs $43, excluding late fees. It is offered seven times a year, October, November, December, January, March (or April, alternating), May, and June. The test is typically offered on the first Saturday of the month for the November, December, May, and June administrations.

To register for the SAT, please visit The College Board.

Structure

The SAT Reasoning Test consists of three major sections: Mathematics, Critical Reading, and Writing. Each section receives a score on the scale of 200–800, for a possible Total score of 2400. Each major section is divided into three sub-sections. Some test takers are given an additional 25-minute experimental or "equating" section that may be in any of the three major sections. The experimental section is used to normalize questions for future administrations of the SAT and does not count toward the final score.

Most of the questions on the SAT are multiple-choice with five answer choices, one of which is correct. The questions of each section of the same type are generally ordered by difficulty. However, an important exception exists: Questions that follow the long and short reading passages are organized chronologically, rather than by difficulty. Ten of the questions in one of the math sub-sections are not multiple-choice, but rather require the test taker to bubble in a number in a four-column grid.

Scoring

All questions are weighted equally. For each correct answer, one raw point is added. For each incorrect answer, one-fourth of a point is deducted. No points are deducted for incorrect math grid-in questions. The final score is derived from the raw score; the precise conversion chart varies between test administrations.

When you register for the SAT Reasoning Test, you can select up to four recipients (Colleges or Scholarship Programs) to receive a copy of your score report at no cost. Additional score reports can be ordered for a fee. Score recipients can be changed up until 11:59 PM (EST) on the Monday one week after your scheduled test date.

Your score will be mailed to you and if you have a collegeboard.com account, you can view your SAT score report online. The online score report provides additional information on how you performed on each section of the SAT Reasoning Test. It lists the types of questions, their level of difficulty, and how many in each group you answered correctly, incorrectly, or omitted. Percentile information is also provided to give you better comparisons with other groups of test-takers.

Preparing

Preparing for the SAT is big business. There are numerous Test Prep providers at different price ranges and providing varying degrees of value. Consumer Reports WebWatch did a report, A Review of Ten Online SAT Test Preparation Services, in 2006. Based upon their report and our own research and experience, we recommend the following options for those looking to improve their scores on the SAT Reasoning Test:

Number 2

Number2.com offers a Free online SAT Companion tutorial that provides personal tutoring, immediate feedback on incorrect answers, and adaptive training based on your skill level. It received very good reviews in the Consumer Reports WebWatch report and the price can't be beat - it's free!

SparkNotes

Spark Notes offers their New SAT Book, an SAT Mini-Test and Power Tactics for the New SAT online and for free. They also offer numerous other test prep products.

ePrep

ePrep started after the Consumer Reports WebWatch was conducted. They offer a new approach to SAT preparation with detailed online videos that demonstrate how to solve a problem. We think the approach of "show, don't tell" is an excellent way to learn difficult subjects.

Kaplan

Kaplan is the Granddaddy of Test Prep. Their offerings may be the most expensive, but the quality is first rate. Check out their SAT Online course, judged to be one of the best in the Consumer Reports WebWatch report. They also offer private tutoring and classroom courses

Please note: We are members of the affiliate programs for Kaplan, ePrep and Barnes & Noble (owners of SparkNotes). All links to their products include our affiliate id.

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