The SAT
The SAT is 3 hours and 50 minutes long and is composed of five tests: reading, writing and language, math without the use of a calculator, math with the use of a calculator, and an essay. The test is offered seven times per year, and most students take the test for the first time when they are in 11th grade.
The SAT is scored out of 1600 points, with an 800 as the top score on each of the two multiple-choice sections (reading and writing, and math). Only .03% of test takers score a 1600 in a given year. Median SAT scores typically range from 1470 to 1580 at premier universities and liberal arts colleges and from 1360 to 1500 at top state schools.
READING
The best way to improve on the Reading section is to read as much as possible! Students who are resistant to reading or who feel they don’t have time to read can focus on shorter articles from The New Yorker or The New York Times. They should ensure that they read a wide variety of material, from fiction, nonfiction, science, and technology to arts, business, and history.
ENGLISH
Questions on the SAT Writing and Language test are broken into two general categories: grammar and style. Each short passage contains multiple underlined portions, and students are required to fix incorrect grammar, reorder sentences or paragraphs in the passage, or improve the style of the passage.
MATH
SAT Math questions are 7th to 11th grade level. Calculators are not allowed on the first math section, but they are allowed on the second math section. The questions in the math sections tend toward a “brain teaser” format and look less like the traditional questions found on the ACT or in the classroom. Students taking the SAT must familiarize themselves with the question types and learn how to quickly recognize what they are being tested on and how to solve problems in the most efficient manner. They will, of course, still need to spend a great deal of time learning the content on which they will be tested!
The last section of the SAT is a 50-minute essay that requires students to read, comprehend, and analyze an essay or speech. Students are given a score between 2 to 8 on Reading, Analysis, and Writing. We recommend that your student takes the SAT with Writing - completing the essay is viewed favorably by colleges.