What Does the SAT Measure?

SAT Reasoning Test Overview

The SAT Reasoning Test is also known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test or the Scholastic Assessment Test. The test scores are used by admissions departments at colleges and universities to make determinations about acceptance of student applications. It is owned by a nonprofit called the College Board. A separate company, the Educational Testing Service, used to own the SAT Reasoning Test but now controls only the administration of the test. It is designed to measure how well students can think critically in the same manner that will be required of them in college. The SAT Reasoning Test is made of three sections: math, writing and critical reading.

Math

The math section is also called the Quantitative section. It has three parts. Two parts have a 25-minute time limit. The third part has a 20-minute time limit. The first 25-minute part is made of 20 multiple-choice questions. The other 25-minute part is made of eight multiple-choice sections and 10 questions that require a grid to be filled in. The last 20-minute section is entirely multiple choice and contains 16 questions.

Critical Reading

The Critical Reading portion of the SAT Reasoning Test used to be called the Verbal section. It is made of three parts. Two parts have a 25-minute time limit, and one part lasts 20 minutes. Students must read paragraphs of varying lengths and answer questions related to word choice, vocabulary and sentence structure. The questions are on a wide variety of topics.

Writing

The writing portion of the SAT Reasoning Test is made of multiple-choice questions and one essay question. In this portion of the test, questions require students to select an answer that identifies errors, improves sentences and improves paragraphs. The questions require that students have a grasp of grammar and how ideas should be organized. The essay question is given at the beginning of the writing section of the SAT Reasoning Test. The essay question is written so that it isn't biased according to any student's culture and background. The essay must be written in response to a broad question that is provided.

Scoring

Scoring of the SAT Reasoning Test is done in two ways: raw and scaled. The raw score is a tabulation of questions answered correctly or incorrectly. Students are encouraged not to leave answers blank because they are not penalized for wrong or blank answers in a student-produced answer section. Students receive 1 point for a correct answer and have 1/4, 1/3, or 1/2 point deducted for wrong answers to a multiple-choice question only. The amount of points deducted depends on how many options there are for that particular multiple-choice question. The more multiple-choice question options there are, the smaller the fraction of a point deducted. Students are not penalized for wrong answers on other types of questions.

The scaled score normalizes for different forms of the test taken by different students at different times. Students receive test scores by mail within 3 to 6 weeks of taking the test. They are given their raw score as well as their percentile that ranks how many other test-takers got a lower score. For example, scoring in the 90th percentile means that student scored higher than 90 percent of everyone else. The highest possible score for the SAT Reasoning Test is 2400.

Resources

• Wikipedia: SAT Reasoning Test
• College Board: How the SAT Reasoning Test Is Scored