Number and operations questions
- Arithmetic word problems (including percent, ratio, and proportion)
- Properties of integers (even, odd, prime numbers, divisibility, and so forth)
- Rational numbers
- Sets (union, intersection, elements)
- Counting techniques
- Sequences and series (including exponential growth)
- Elementary number theory
Number and operations questions
- Substitution and simplifying algebraic expressions
- Properties of exponents
- Algebraic word problems
- Solutions of linear equations and inequalities
- Systems of equations and inequalities
- Quadratic equations
- Rational and radical equations
- Equations of lines
- Absolute value
- Direct and inverse variation
- Concepts of algebraic functions
- Newly defined symbols based on commonly used operations
Geometry and measurement questions
- Area and perimeter of a polygon
- Area and circumference of a circle
- Volume of a box, cube, and cylinder
- Pythagorean theorem and special properties of isosceles, equilateral, and right
triangles
- Properties of parallel and perpendicular lines
- Coordinate geometry
- Geometric visualization
- Slope
- Similarity
- Transformations
Data analysis, statistics, and probability questions
- Data interpretation (tables and graphs)
- Descriptive statistics (mean, median, and mode)
Passage-based reading questions
Reading passages are taken from different fields, including:
- Natural Sciences
- Humanities
- Social Sciences
Reading Passages:
- are literary fiction
- often have line numbers or numbered elements that are then referenced in the
- questions that follow
- range in length from 100 to about 850 words
- have narrative, argumentative, or expository elements
- may be paired with related passages on a shared theme or issue
Students will be asked to:
- determine the meanings of words from their context.
- demonstrate their understanding of information, including the main idea of a
passage.
- synthesize and analyze information, including: identify cause and effect, make
inferences, understanding the logic of analogies or arguments, evaluate the
author's assumptions and techniques.
Sentence-completion questions
Sentence-completion questions measure students:
Each sentence-completion question presents students with a sentence that has one or
more blanks, with each blank indicating that something has been omitted. The
students have to choose the word(s) to complete the sentence that best fit the
meaning of the sentence as a whole.
- knowledge of the meanings of words.
- understanding of how the different parts of a sentence fit together logically.
SAT Essay
The essay question is always the first question on the SAT. Students are given 25
minutes to respond to the question by writing an essay in longhand on the answer
sheet, using a No. 2 pencil.
The essay measures a student's ability to:
- develop a point of view on an issue presented in an excerpt.
- support a point of view using reasoning and examples from their reading,
studies, experience, or observations.
- follow the conventions of Standard Written English.
Students are given a prompt or assignment, which is a short (no more than 80 words
long) quotation or statement on an issue that is carefully selected in order to:
- enable students to react and respond quickly in a variety of ways.
- be easily accessible to the general test-taking population, including students
for whom English is a second language (ESL).
- be free of figurative, technical, or specific literary references.
Multiple-choice writing questions
The multiple-choice questions assess students' ability to:
- communicate ideas clearly and effectively.
- improve a piece of writing through revision and editing.
- recognize and identify sentence-level errors.
- understand grammatical elements and structures and how they relate to each other
in a sentence.
- recognize correctly formed grammatical structures.
- clearly express ideas through sentence-combining and use of transitional words
and phrases.
- improve coherence of ideas within and among paragraphs.
Multiple-choice writing questions are used in three areas:
- Improving sentences
This type of question presents a
sentence in which part or all of the sentence is underlined, followed by five
choices of phrasing to replace the underlined section.
- Assessment
This type of question presents a sentence with
four portions underlined. The student is asked to select which of the underlined
portions represents a grammatical or usage error, or, if no errors are present,
to select choice "E No error." The questions measure the ability to:
- recognize and correct faults in grammar and sentence structure.
- recognize effective sentences that follow the conventions of Standard
Written English identifying sentence errors.
- recognize faults in grammar and usage.
- recognize effective sentences that follow the conventions of Standard
Written English.
- Improving paragraphs
This type of question presents a
passage and asks questions about the passage. Some questions refer to particular
sentences or parts of sentences and ask the student to improve sentence
structure or word choice. Other questions ask the student to consider the
organization and development of ideas in the passage. This type of question
measures students' ability to:
- edit and revise sentences in the context of a paragraph or entire
essay.
- organize and develop paragraphs in a coherent and logical manner.
- apply the conventions of Standard Written English.
