​SAT (USA)

The coronavirus global pandemic has created new challenges for schools and students. Visit pages.collegeboard.org/sat-covid-19-updates for most recent updates and newly added SAT Administrations dates globally.

The SAT® is taken by millions of students each year and helps them achieve their dreams of studying in the US and elsewhere. The SAT measures the skills that students develop in secondary school.

The SAT is designed to predict a student’s likely academic performance at a particular college or university in their first year and beyond. The SAT covers content areas deemed critical for success in college and SAT performance data illustrate that success on the SAT is linked to the type and rigor of course work completed during high school.

Over four million students take the SAT each academic year via nearly 7,000 test centers in more than 180 countries and territories. SAT questions are prescreened on students from around the world to ensure fairness. Before any test question appears on a scored section of the SAT, it is included on one of the unscored test forms that are included in every SAT administration. By pretesting questions in this way, College Board researchers can be sure that each question is fair and valid for all students regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, country of origin or socio-economic status. The SAT is the only college entrance exam that prescreens test questions on a global population of test-takers. The SAT is currently offered five times a year outside the United States.

Dates for international test administrations, registrations requirements and deadlines can be found at:  sat.org/international

The SAT Suite of Assessments

College Board announced in January 2022 that the SAT® Suite of Assessments will be delivered digitally. While the transition to digital will bring a number of student- and educator-friendly changes, many important features of the SAT Suite (SAT, PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, PSAT™ 8/9) will stay the same. The SAT Suite will continue to measure the knowledge and skills that students are learning in high school and that matter most for college and career readiness. The SAT will still be scored on a 1600 scale, and educators and students can continue to track growth across the SAT Suite of Assessments over time. The assessments will continue to be administered in a school or in a test center with a proctor present—not at home. Students will still have access to free practice resources on  Khan Academy. And students taking the SAT Suite will continue to connect to scholarships.

The Digital SAT

Beginning in 2023, the SAT® Suite of Assessments will be delivered digitally. While the transition to digital will bring a number of student- and educator-friendly changes, many important features of the SAT Suite will stay the same.

  • The SAT Suite (SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, PSAT 8/9) will continue to measure the knowledge and skills that students are learning in high school and that matter most for college and career readiness.
  • The SAT will still be scored on a 1600 scale, and educators and students can continue to track growth across the suite over time.
  • Where the SAT is given isn’t changing. The digital SAT will continue to be administered in a school or in a test center with a proctor present—not at home.
  • Practice resources will be even more closely linked to the test day experience. Students will still have access to free practice resources on Khan Academy, plus new practice resources will be available directly on the digital testing application.
  • Students will still connect directly to scholarships and the College Board National Recognition Programs.
  • College Board will continue to support all students, including those who receive accommodations on test day.

College Board will make the transition from paper and pencil to digital at international test centers in spring of 2023 and at U.S. schools and test centers in spring of 2024.

  • Most students who take the SAT for the first time do so in the spring of their junior year. (For students testing internationally, those in the class of 2024 will be the first to take the digital SAT. In the U.S., students in the high school class of 2025 will be the first class to take the digital test.)
  • All students will take the digital PSAT 8/9 and PSAT/NMSQT starting in fall 2023, followed by the digital PSAT 10 in spring 2024.

What’s changing?

  • The digital SAT Suite will be shorter, about two hours instead of three, with more time per question.
  • Reading and Writing passages will be shorter, with one question tied to each.
    • College Board’s intention is to create a test experience that is less stressful for all students, particularly English learners.
    • More than 80% of students who participated in the recent digital SAT pilot said the test experience was less stressful than the paper-and-pencil test.
  • Students and educators will see scores in a matter of days: Students get the information they need to make key college decisions, and educators get the information they need to support students and inform instruction. 

The digital SAT Suite will be more secure

Currently, if one test form is compromised, it can mean canceling scores for whole groups of students. Going digital allows College Board to give every student a virtually unique test form, so it will be practically impossible to share answers.

The SAT will be more relevant for students

  • Students are now doing more of their learning and testing digitally, and taking the SAT shouldn’t be the exception.
    • A digital test means no more bubble sheets and no more #2 pencils.
    • Calculators will be allowed on the entire Math section. A graphing calculator and other tools will be built into the digital testing application, or students can bring their own calculator.
  • Featuring many shorter Reading and Writing passages instead of a few long texts means students will see a wider range of topics that represent the works they read in college.
  • The digital SAT will be a useful tool for more students as the digital SAT score reports will connect students to information and resources about local two-year college and workforce training programs.

Watch this video to learn more about the Digital SAT Suite of Assessments.

PSAT 8/9

PSAT™ 8/9 can be administered in the fall or spring of U.S.-equivalent eighth and/or ninth grade, depending on the goals of districts and schools. The test serves as a foundation for understanding student progress as they enter secondary school and ensuring that they are on target for being university and career ready by the time they leave secondary school

PSAT 10 and PSAT/NMSQT

Both exams cover the same content domain and serve as a “check-in” on student progress and pinpoint areas for focused practice. Students can take the PSAT/NMSQT in the fall of U.S.-equivalent tenth and/or eleventh grade (though only eleventh graders who are U.S. citizens are eligible for the National Merit Scholarship Program). Instead of delivering the PSAT/NMSQT to tenth graders in the fall, some schools may instead deliver the PSAT™ 10 in the spring.

Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT ®)

The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) is a standardized test that measures the skills that students will need for higher education and careers after secondary school. The redesigned PSAT/NMSQT is aligned with the new SAT and launched in October 2015. Like the SAT, the digital PSAT/NMSQT measures the skills and knowledge that are essential for university readiness and success.

For more information visit: http://sat.org/digital

Student Search Service®

The College Board's Student Search Service is a free, voluntary program that connects students with information about educational and financial aid opportunities from more than 1,500 eligible colleges and universities, and over 300 Million scholarship dollars and other educational programs.

When students take the SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, and PSAT 10, they’re asked if they want to participate. Students can also opt in online at any time. By opting in, they give the College Board permission to share their names and limited information with colleges and scholarship programs looking for students like them.

Learn more about Student Search Service.