This page gives you all the essential information on the New SAT, but if you have further questions, visit the New SAT section of our college admissions community.

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SAT Changes in a Nutshell

	Current SAT	Changes for new SAT
Verbal	Critical Reading (long passages), Sentence Completions, Analogies	Analogies eliminated, Short Critical Reading passage added, section renamed "Critical Reading"
Math	5-Answer Multiple Choice, Quantitative Comparisons, Grid-Ins	Quantitative Comparisons eliminated, Advanced Algebra added
Writing	Does not exist	Multiple-Choice Grammar, 25 minute essay
Time	3 hours	Now 3 hours and 45 minutes
Scoring	Math: 200-800  Verbal: 200-800	Math: 200-800  Critical Reading: 200-800  Writing: 200-800

The chart below reflects a typical distribution of questions. The number of questions per question type and per section will remain constant, but the number of questions per passage within the Critical Reading section may vary.

New SAT Section By Section

New SAT Sections	Question Type	Number of Questions
Math	Multiple-Choice	44
(two 25-minute sections, one 20-minute section)	Grid-In	10
Critical Reading	Sentence Completion	19
(two 25-minute sections, one 20-minute section)	Short Passage: Single	4 (2 passages)
	Short Passage: Paired	4 (1 passage)
	Long Passage: Single	27 (3 passages)
	Long Passage: Paired	13 (1 passage)
Writing	Improving Sentences	25
(one 25-minute section, one 10-minute section)	Identifying Sentence Errors	18
	Improving Paragraphs	6 (1 passage)
Essay (one 25-minute section)	Essay Prompt	-
Total Number of Questions		170

In addition to these nine sections on the New SAT, there will be an additional 25-minute experimental section. This section can consist of math, critical reading, or writing content.

Your Timeline for the New SAT

First Class Affected: Class of 2006

First New SAT Test Date: March 2005

First New PSAT Test Date: October 2004

2004

2005

2006

Summer

Fall

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Spring

Fall

Class of 2006

Start your test prep at the end of your sophomore year

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Class of 2007

Start your test prep at the end of your sophomore year

Take the new PSAT

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Take the new SAT again if you don't have the score you want

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