SAT
The SAT (/ˌɛsˌeɪˈtiː/ ess-ay-TEE) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test and had two components, Verbal and Mathematical, each of which was scored on a range from 200 to 800. Later it was called the Scholastic Assessment Test, then the SAT I: Reasoning Test, then the SAT Reasoning Test, then simply the SAT.
Logo since 2017 | |
| Type | Paper-based standardized test |
|---|---|
| Developer / administrator | College Board, Educational Testing Service |
| Knowledge / skills tested | Writing, critical reading, mathematics |
| Purpose | Admission to undergraduate programs of universities or colleges |
| Year started | 1926 |
| Duration | 3 hours |
| Score / grade range | Test scored on scale of 200–800, (in 10-point increments), on each of two sections (total 400–1600). Essay scored on scale of 2–8, in 1-point increments, on each of three criteria. |
| Offered | 7 times annually |
| Countries / regions | Worldwide |
| Languages | English |
| Annual number of test takers | Over 1.9 million high school graduates in the class of 2023 |
| Prerequisites / eligibility criteria | No official prerequisite. Intended for high school students. Fluency in English assumed. |
| Fee | US$60.00 to US$108.00, depending on country. |
| Scores / grades used by | Most universities and colleges offering undergraduate programs in the U.S. |
| Website | sat |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Education in the United States |
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The SAT is wholly owned, developed, and published by the College Board, a private, not-for-profit organization in the United States. It is administered on behalf of the College Board by the Educational Testing Service, which until shortly before the 2016 redesign of the SAT developed the test and maintained a repository of items (test questions) as well. The test is intended to assess students' readiness for college. Originally designed not to be aligned with high school curricula, several adjustments were made for the version of the SAT introduced in 2016. College Board president David Coleman added that he wanted to make the test reflect more closely what students learn in high school with the new Common Core standards, which have been adopted by the District of Columbia and many states.
Starting with the 2015–16 school year, the College Board began working with Khan Academy to provide free SAT preparation. On January 19, 2021, the College Board announced the discontinuation of the optional essay section, as well as its SAT Subject Tests, after June 2021. In January 2022, the College Board announced that the test will be going digital. This change already occurred in March 2023 for international test-takers and will begin in March 2024 for U.S. test-takers.
While a considerable amount of research has been done on the SAT, many questions and misconceptions remain. Outside of college admissions, the SAT is also used by researchers studying human intelligence in general and intellectual precociousness in particular, and by some employers in the recruitment process.