The SAT®
What is the SAT®?
While high school grades are a very useful indicator of how students will perform in college, there is great variation in grading standards and course rigor within and across high schools. More than 80 years ago the College Board created the first standardized college entrance test to help colleges and universities identify students who could succeed at their institutions and to connect students with educational opportunities beyond high school.
Today, the SAT is the benchmark standardized assessment of the critical reading, mathematical reasoning, and writing skills students have developed over time and that they need to be successful in college. Each year, more than two million students take the SAT. Nearly every college in America uses the test as a common and objective scale for evaluating a student's college readiness.
Educators trust the SAT as a useful part of the college application process because the SAT is:
- The most researched standardized admissions test
- The standard in reliability and validity
- An internationally recognized, accurate measure of college readiness and scholarship potential
Helping your students with the SAT
Taking the SAT is an important step in applying to college and making college dreams a reality. Help your students learn about and succeed on the test by assisting them to:
- Understand the SAT—what it measures, how it is developed, and why they should take it, including:
- Find the best ways to prepare for the SAT
- Access free and low-cost resources the College Board offers to educators and students
- Register for the test and find:
- Policies they need to know, including test accommodations
- Dates and deadlines
- Fees
- Find test day tips, such as:
- What to bring to the center
- Acceptable IDs
- Get, interpret, and send SAT scores. Learn more about:
- Multiple-choice and essay scoring
- Score cancellation
- When scores will be delivered