The SAT moved to a digital format in the United States in 2024. It is shorter than the old paper test, every Reading and Writing question comes with its own short passage, and the test adapts to how you are doing. If you know exactly how it is put together, test day holds far fewer surprises.
Two sections, four modules
The test has two sections, Reading and Writing and Math, and each one is split into two timed parts called modules. You finish a module, then move on. Once a module’s time is up you cannot go back to it.
| Section | Modules | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and Writing | 2 × 32 minutes | 54 (27 per module) | 64 minutes |
| Math | 2 × 35 minutes | 44 (22 per module) | 70 minutes |
| Total | 4 modules | 98 | 2 h 14 min |
There is a 10-minute break between the two sections, so plan on being in the room for longer than the testing time alone.
How the adaptive part works
In each section the first module has a broad mix of easy, medium and hard questions. How you do on it decides your second module: do well and Module 2 is harder, struggle and it is easier. This happens separately for Reading and Writing and for Math.
A harder second module is good news. The scoring accounts for the difficulty of the questions you saw, and the harder route is the one that leads to the top of the scale. The practical lesson is that careless slips in Module 1 cost more than they seem to, because they can send you down the easier route before the second half even starts.
What Reading and Writing tests
Every question has its own passage, usually a paragraph or two, sometimes a pair of short texts or a table. College Board groups the questions into four areas. The shares below are approximate and come from the official test specifications:
- Craft and Structure (about 28%): words in context, the purpose and structure of a text, and how two texts relate.
- Information and Ideas (about 26%): main ideas, evidence from text and from data, and inferences.
- Standard English Conventions (about 26%): sentence boundaries, punctuation and agreement.
- Expression of Ideas (about 20%): transitions and combining notes to meet a stated goal.
Within each module the questions appear grouped by type, so all the vocabulary questions come together, then structure, and so on.
What Math tests
- Algebra (about 35%): linear equations, functions, systems and inequalities.
- Advanced Math (about 35%): quadratics, exponentials, polynomials and equivalent expressions.
- Problem-Solving and Data Analysis (about 15%): ratios, percentages, statistics and probability.
- Geometry and Trigonometry (about 15%): area and volume, triangles, circles and right-triangle trig.
Roughly three quarters of Math questions are multiple choice. The rest ask you to type in your own answer. A calculator is allowed for the whole Math section, and the Desmos graphing calculator is built into the testing app. We cover it in our Desmos guide.
Questions that don’t count
Each module includes two pretest questions that College Board is trying out for future tests. They don’t affect your score, and you can’t tell which ones they are, so treat every question as if it counts.
What this means for how you prepare
- Practice in the real format. Take full-length practice tests in Bluebook so the modules, timing and tools feel familiar.
- Protect Module 1. Accuracy on the questions you know matters more than racing.
- Never leave a blank. There is no penalty for a wrong answer.
- Study by domain. Algebra and Advanced Math are about 70% of Math, so gaps there cost the most points.