<p>The SAT</p>
<p>Introduction to and Assessment of the Reasoning Test</p>
<p>The Basics</p>
<p>Edging out the newer ACT, the SAT Reasoning Test is the most widely taken standardized college-admissions test. It functions primarily as a factor in admission to American colleges and universities, though it is offered internationally as well. One’s score on the test can also affect his or her eligibility for merit-based scholarships (institutional or otherwise). The test is jointly developed and administered by professionals employed by two non-profit groups: the College Board and the Educational Testing Service (ETS).</p>
<p>Here is an overview of what is on the SAT Reasoning Test (adapted in part from [here](<a href=“http://sat.collegeboard.com/practice/sat-practice-questions]here[/url]):”>http://sat.collegeboard.com/practice/sat-practice-questions)):</a></p>
<p>The **Critical Reading<a href=“often%20abbreviated%20as%20CR”>/b</a> section of the SAT totals 70 minutes in length and comprises 67 questions, of which 48 are passage-based (they test your ability to read effectively) and 19 are sentence-completion questions (these test your applied vocabulary and ability to recognize words’ relationships within a sentence). The CR section breaks these questions into three sections: one of 20 minutes and two of 25 minutes. </p>
<p>The Math section of the SAT is also 70 minutes long and spread out over three sections; likewise, two of these are 25-minutes sections, and one is 20 minutes long. There are 54 questions: 44 multiple-choice questions and 10 free-response (i.e., grid-in) questions.</p>
<p>The SAT Writing section, added in 2005, is a slightly shorter 60 minutes, which is broken into three sections (one 25-minute essay section to commence the test, a 25-minute section, and a refreshingly brief 10-minute section to round out the SAT). There are 25 Improving Sentences questions, 18 Identifying Errors questions, 6 Improving Paragraphs questions, and the essay.</p>
<p>Also including an unscored experimental section of any subject, the SAT totals three hours and 45 minutes in length (plus a couple breaks); part of the test’s difficulty comes from the endurance required to maintain focus for this long.</p>