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SAT
Information adapted from Gruber's Complete SAT Guide 2012.
Test Information
All questions on the SAT are multiple choice other than the 10 grid-ins (student-produced responses) in the math section and the student-produced essay in the writing section.
You can use a scientific, graphing, or four-function calculator on the math section only. Check out the College Board's list of complete calculator guidelines.
Scoring Information
All SAT questions have the same value; no question is worth more than another. The SAT essay is scored on a 1–6 scale by two readers. Your raw score—the number of questions you got right minus deductions for wrong answers (1/4 point each)—is converted to a scaled score. You will receive a score of 200–800 for each of the math, critical reading, and writing sections. Your three scaled scores are added together to make up your composite score, up to a maximum of 2400.
Total time: 3 hours and 45 minutes, plus two 5-minute breaks and one 1-minute break
Section |
Time |
Types of Questions |
|
Critical Reading (3 sections) |
Two 25-minute sections One 20-minute section |
Sentence completion—19 questions Reading passages—48 questions |
|
Math (3 sections) |
Two 25-minute sections One 20-minute section |
Regular math—44 questions Grid-ins (student-produced responses)—10 questions |
|
Writing (3 sections) |
Two 25-minute sections One 10-minute section |
Student-produced essay (25 minutes) Identifying sentence errors—18 questions Improving sentences—25 questions Improving paragraphs—6 questions |
|
Unscored (1 section) |
One 25-minute section | Experimental questions can be from any section—number varies |
SAT Test Prep
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Gruber's 5 strategies for taking the SAT
SAT/ACT score conversion chart
Test Prep
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