United States Test Preparation

SAT

 
 

College Board first introduced the SAT in the United States in 1926. In March 2016, College Board revised the SAT passages, question types and essay format. Difficult and unpredictable reading passages, fill-in math questions and an additional math test with no calculator, have all made the SAT more challenging. In July 2021, College Board discontinued the SAT Essay. High school students are encouraged to complete our free SAT Diagnostic Tests (DTs) to get started!

 

Format

The SAT contains four (4) multiple-choice question (MCQ) tests:

Dates and Deadlines

Please review the latest SAT schedule updates for US and international students.

Tips for Students

The SAT MCQs were revised in March 2016; the SAT Essay was discontinued in July 2021:

  • Reading Test contains five (5) passages, including two (2) with supplementary material (charts, tables, maps, or data), in random order with four (4) answer choices

  • Writing and Language Test contains four (4) passages, including two (2) with supplementary material (charts, tables, maps, or data), with four (4) answer choices

  • Math Test-No Calculator contains 15 MCQs and five (5) fill-in questions that must be manually written

  • Math Test-Calculator contains 30 MCQs and eight (8) fill-in questions that must be manually written and allows calculators

  • No penalty for incorrect MCQ answers

  • Essay Test was discontinued in July 2021

Free and Updated SAT Practice Tests

 

Note: College Board removed SAT practice tests 2 and 4, and are currently unavailable.

 

SAT Total Score Percentages

Year 1600-1400 1390-1200 1190-1000 990-800 790-600 590-400 SAT Mean Score Global Students
2023 7% 17% 29% 31% 16% 0%* 1,028 1,913,742
2022 8% 18% 31% 32% 12% 0%* 1,050 1,737,678
2021 8% 20% 32% 29% 12% 0%* 1,060 1,509,133
2020 7% 19% 33% 30% 12% 0%* 1,051 2,198,460
2019 7% 19% 33% 30% 11% 0%* 1,059 2,220,087
2018 7% 20% 35% 29% 9% 0%* 1,068 2,136,539
2017 5% 20% 36% 30% 9% 0%* 1,060 1,715,481
*There are students who obtained scores within these ranges but are less than 1%, which is presented as 0% in the tables. Source: College Board 2017-2023
 
 

SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (ERW) Section Score Percentages

Year 800-700 690-600 590-500 490-400 390-300 290-200 SAT ERW Mean Score Global Students
2023 7% 19% 29% 31% 13% 0%* 520 1,913,742
2022 8% 20% 31% 31% 10% 0%* 529 1,737,678
2021 8% 22% 31% 29% 10% 0%* 533 1,509,133
2020 7% 21% 32% 30% 10% 0%* 528 2,198,460
2019 7% 22% 32% 29% 9% 0%* 531 2,220,087
2018 7% 23% 34% 28% 8% 0%* 536 2,136,539
2017 6% 23% 35% 28% 8% 0%* 533 1,715,481
*There are students who obtained scores within these ranges but are less than 1%, which is presented as 0% in the tables. Source: College Board 2017-2023
 
 

SAT Math Section Score Percentages

Year 800-700 690-600 590-500 490-400 390-300 290-200 SAT Math Mean Score Global Students
2023 9% 15% 28% 28% 19% 0%* 508 1,913,742
2022 10% 16% 30% 29% 15% 0%* 521 1,737,678
2021 10% 17% 31% 26% 14% 0%* 528 1,509,133
2020 9% 17% 32% 27% 14% 0%* 523 2,198,460
2019 10% 17% 33% 27% 13% 0%* 531 2,220,087
2018 9% 17% 35% 27% 11% 0%* 531 2,136,539
2017 7% 18% 36% 28% 11% 0%* 527 1,715,481
*There are students who obtained scores within these ranges but are less than 1%, which is presented as 0% in the tables. Source: College Board 2017-2023

Hyeryn, High School Student

SAT ESSAY 

Ryan mainly helped me clean up my writing to make it more concise and smooth. Many of my sentences were choppy, and some word choices were redundant. He helped me cut down word count and create smoother transitions. The SAT Essay requires rhetorical analysis, so Ryan helped me break down the passage and figure out how to identify various rhetorical tools to implement in my writing. Ryan always sent a follow-up email after a class to remind me of what we discussed and my areas of improvement. He was very direct and honest for clarity, and the feedback was detailed and helpful. The homework load was manageable, since homework was usually just a draft rewrite. The training was difficult at times because it seemed like I wasn’t making progress and my confidence dropped, but I was encouraged by Ryan’s motivation. He’s very accessible because he checks his emails and chats frequently to be as prompt as possible.