The Digital SAT

The specification at a glance

Awarding body

College Board

Total testing time

2 hours 14 minutes

Reading and Writing

2 modules × 32 minutes, 54 questions

Math

2 modules × 35 minutes, 44 questions

Adaptivity

Multistage — the second module adapts to performance on the first

Math question types

75% multiple choice, 25% student-produced response

Calculator

Allowed throughout Math; Desmos graphing calculator built into Bluebook

Total score

400–1600

Section scores

200–800 each

Delivery

Bluebook application

01

Two sections, four modules

Each section is delivered as two modules. Reading and Writing comes first, as two 32-minute modules of 27 questions each; Math follows as two 35-minute modules of 22 questions each. Of the questions in each module, two are unscored pretest items.

Reading and Writing questions are discrete: one question per passage, with texts running 25 to 150 words. That is a different reading task from the paper SAT's long passages with question sets, and it rewards a different kind of practice.

• Reading and Writing — 2 × 32 minutes, 27 questions per module, 54 total (50 scored)
• Math — 2 × 35 minutes, 22 questions per module, 44 total (40 scored)
• Average pace — 1.19 minutes per Reading and Writing question, 1.59 per Math question

02

How the adaptive stage works

The Digital SAT is multistage adaptive, which means it adapts between modules rather than question by question. Performance on the first module of a section determines the difficulty of the second module in that section.

The practical consequence is that the first module of each section carries disproportionate weight, because it decides which second module — and therefore which score band — becomes reachable. There is no benefit to rushing it, and considerable cost.

It also means a student cannot judge how they are doing from how hard the second module feels. A harder second module is the signal that the first one went well.

03

The Math section

A calculator is permitted throughout — there is no non-calculator module. Students may bring an approved calculator or use the Desmos graphing calculator built into the Bluebook application, and a reference sheet of common formulas is provided.

Three quarters of Math questions are four-option multiple choice; the remaining quarter are student-produced response, where the answer is typed rather than selected. Roughly 30% of questions are set in context, and most of those run to 50 words or fewer.

04

Scoring

The total score runs 400 to 1600 and is the sum of two section scores of 200 to 800 each. The two sections carry equal weight, so a student's total is as sensitive to Reading and Writing as it is to Math — which is not how most students allocate their preparation.

Scores are reported on a scaled basis; College Board does not publish a raw total-marks figure for the test.

05

How we prepare students for the Digital SAT

Our SAT preparation programme runs 90-minute sessions in groups of up to six, timed against the real module structure rather than against generic practice sets. Students who have only practised untimed do not discover their pacing problem until it costs them a module.

We spend deliberate time on the first module of each section, for the reason above, and on the Desmos tool — students who arrive fluent with it convert several Math questions from algebra into a graph read.