SAT – FAQ’s

At TestingMom.com, we have helped thousands of parents help prepare their children for the SAT.  Here are our answers to the most commonly asked questions we receive about the SAT.

What are the dates for SAT Test for 2023-2024?

How does a student register for the SAT?

Students can register for the SAT online on the College Board’s website. CLICK HERE They will need to provide personal information, choose a test date and location, and pay the registration fee.

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How many times can a student take the SAT?

Students can take the SAT as many times as they want, but most colleges will only consider the student’s highest score.

Is the SAT optional?

Some colleges and universities have made the SAT optional for admissions, while others still require it. It’s important to check with individual schools to determine their policies.

How much does it cost to take the SAT?

The registration fee for the SAT is $55, with an additional $18 fee for the essay. Fee waivers are available for eligible students.

When should a student take the SAT?

It’s recommended that students take the SAT in their junior year of high school, but they can take it earlier or later depending on their individual needs and college application timeline.

Is the SAT offered in a Digital Format?

The College Board has not announced any plans to offer the SAT exclusively in a digital format in 2024. As of now, both the paper-based and digital formats of the test will be available to students who choose to take the SAT.

The College Board has been gradually introducing the digital format of the test in select test centers, and they plan to expand its availability in the future. However, they have not indicated any plans to phase out the paper-based format entirely.

It’s worth noting that the availability of the digital format of the SAT may vary by test center and location, so students should check the College Board’s website for the most up-to-date information about test formats and availability in their area.

How many questions are in each section of the SAT? How much time do students get to complete each section of the SAT?

*5 questions are ‘grid-in’
**8 questions are ‘grid-in’

How is the SAT test scored?

The SAT is scored on a scale of 400 to 1600, with separate scores for the Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing sections. The optional essay is scored separately on a scale of 2 to 8.

Each section of the SAT is scored based on the number of questions a student answered correctly, with no penalty for incorrect answers or skipping a question. Students receive 1 point for each correct answer. This raw score is then converted to a scaled score (between 200 – 800) using a formula that takes into account the difficulty of the questions on the test.

The scaled scores for the two sections are added together to produce a composite score, which is the student’s overall SAT score. The maximum composite score is 1600, with 800 points possible for each section.

In addition to the overall SAT score, students also receive subscores and cross-test scores that provide more detailed information about their performance. Subscores indicate a student’s performance in specific areas within each section, such as “Words in Context” in the Reading section or “Heart of Algebra” in the Math section. Cross-test scores indicate a student’s ability to apply knowledge and skills across different subject areas, such as “Analysis in Science” or “Command of Evidence”.

The SAT score report also includes percentiles, which indicate the percentage of students who scored lower than the student on the test. For example, a percentile of 75 means that the student scored higher than 75% of test-takers.

After taking the test, your answer sheet is scanned for a raw score (the number of questions answered correctly).  Students receive 1 point for every question answered correctly so there is no penalty for guessing or skipping a question.  The raw score is converted to a scaled score between 200 – 800 for each of the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) and Math sections of the test.  Then the scores are added together.   The overall SAT test is scored on a scale of 400 – 1600.  The optional essay is scored and reported separately.

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What is a good score on the SAT test?

A good score on the SAT test will vary depending on the scores the colleges or universities you are applying to are looking for.  In general, a score of 1200 or above (out of 1600) will put you in the top 75^th percentile of test takers, which means you did better than 75% of the other test takers.

Here are some statistics that will give you a sense of the score you may want to aim for.

Score Needed to be in the top 10% of all SAT test takers:
SAT EBRW – 670 – 800
SAT Math – 690 – 800

Score Needed to be in the top 25% of all SAT test takers:
SAT EBRW – 610 – 660
SAT Math – 600 – 680

Score Needed to be in the top 50% of all SAT test takers:
SAT EBRW – 540 – 600
SAT Math – 530 – 590

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