As the world goes digital, so are standardized tests. And the SAT is no exception. It has been upgraded to the ‘Digital SAT’ though the main aspects remain unchanged. It will still test your knowledge and evaluate how prepared you are for an undergraduate education abroad.
But what is the digital SAT and how has it changed? This post will tell you exactly what you need to know and what you can expect from the SAT’s new avatar.
In this blog, you will learn:
What is the Digital SAT’s New Format?
The new digital SAT has only two sections – Verbal and Math, where the old Reading and Writing sections have merged into one. These two sections are further broken down into smaller sections in separate stages administered as timed modules within which you need to answer all the questions.
How Many Questions Does the Digital SAT Have?
Each section is divided into 2 modules with a ten-minute break between the Verbal and Math sections. The first module of each section poses questions with a range of difficulties. Based on your performance, the questions in the second module will either be more or less difficult.
Each Verbal module has 25 operational and 2 pre-test questions, each Math section has 20 operational questions and 2 pre-test questions.
What are the timings for each Section?
The Verbal section is 64 minutes long, broken into two modules of 32 minutes each. The Math section is broken into two modules of 35 minutes each.
How is the Digital SAT Scored and What are the Question Formats?
The digital SAT is 134 minutes long and the total score is calculated on the total number of points you get in the Verbal and Math sections.
Each section of the SAT is scored on a 200-400 point scale, for a possible maximum total score of 1600.
The questions in the Verbal Section are four-option multiple choice questions, and in the Math Section, 75% of the questions are four-option multiple choice and 25% are Student-Produced Response (SPR) questions.
What Topics Are Covered in the Digital SAT?
The topics covered in the digital SAT can range from Literature, History, Humanities, Social Sciences, Science and even Technology and Current Affairs for both sections of the test with visual aids like graphs, tables and infographics that the students can refer to for their calculations and answers.
The Verbal section includes reading comprehension and grammar, sentence completion, identifying errors and correcting grammar usage, while the Math section tests students on basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry, statistics, and probability.
Digital SAT: In summary
The new digital SAT is just an abridged version of the old test which was four hours long and had mandatory essay questions. With the new digital version, each student is also given unique answer sheets which makes it more difficult to copy off others’ tests and makes the process more manageable. However, even with these changes, the concept and goals of the test have remained unchanged which still means that students need the right tools and preparations to be able to get a good score.
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