The SAT in an Eggshell

Of several internationally accepted standard aptitude and assessment tests as a prerequisite to college admission, the SAT occupies nearly two-thirds of the sphere in the United States and eighty-four other countries including Canada, Japan, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Austria, and Singapore. 

The SAT stands for Scholastic ((Aptitude): previously, i.e., before 2016) Assessment Test. In an eggshell, we may understand this test as an entrance examination administered by the College board, an independent and not-for-profit organization established to design and administer the entrance test as per the requirements of the programs in colleges for undergrad programs. Each year, it connects millions of school graduates, to over 6000 colleges across the world.

Unlike ACT, the SAT is basically a paper-based objective test aimed at measuring high school students' proficiency to enter an undergrad program. Those students who were good at school in their Maths and English easily do well in the SAT, In other words, it tests your skill and the knowledge that you gained at Secondary/High school and what is required to succeed in college.

The SAT scores alone are not the absolute measuring parameters for college admission, the C/GPA in the school transcripts, recommendation letters from teachers, mentors, the ECA credentials, and the final interview with the college admission officers collectively decide whether or not a student should be admitted. So, students must have a good track record in their Secondary and High schools.

There are no hard and fast rules with regard to the minimum requirement of the SAT scores. They vary from one college to another, depending upon the courses and programs of the colleges. However, the higher the scores out of 1600, the better opportunities there are for admission to the desired college.

Unlike IELTS, The SAT tests are offered in March, May, June, August, October, November, and December, thereby making it quite convenient for students to choose a day in any one of these seven months. Test takers are allowed to have a preparation duration of 5 weeks after the test registration date. Let's look at the following tables to faster get the clues about the SAT contents, cost, and format.

 

SN	Subject	Tasks/ Items	Time(minutes)
1	Evidence-based reading	52	65
	Evidence-based writing	44	35
2	Maths with calculator	38 ( 8 Grid-in)	55
	Maths without  calculator	20 (5 Grid-in)	25
3	SAT Essay (Optional)	1 task	50
Total Note: Essay scores are released after 10 days of the major results.		154  MCQ items + 1 Essay (optional)	180+50 = 230 minutes

What can assure and guarantee you a better SAT score
SN	Proven practices, tips, and tricks for you to best score in the test.
1	Be a responsible and goal-centered learner right from the beginning (Grade-6 onward).
2	Learn to solve the same problems differently, especially Maths and Science numerical.
3	Study and learn beyond the syllabuses prescribed by your board or school.
4	Practice critical thinking and keep asking why and how things happen/are performed.
5	Regularly and proactively practice and prepare for tests, quizzes, debates, and essays.
6	Always try to submit your assignments and projects before or on the due date at school.
7	Take challenging courses like IBDP and equivalents like C /ICSE in your High school.
8	Learn to take the unexpected in an expected manner.
9	Watch documentaries about US political history, burning global discourses on freedom, justice, and human dignity.
10	Develop a habit of reading well-acclaimed American and international fiction like short stories and novels.

What does the SAT intend to assess in the reading portion of the test?

1. Understanding: As your most reading tests at school, the SAT also assesses how well you understand a piece of information, expression, or intention of text in its context. This is also the ability to question why and how things/ events and incidents happen and occur the way they do. For this, you need to have a strong command of English vocabulary.  As per Benjamin Bloom, some of the actions if involves are to describe, discuss, identity, recognize, locate, select, report, explain or translate the information in a meaningful way.

2. Perceiving: Perceiving is to decipher the meaning of an expression beyond the limits of the words. It is reading between the lines to best understand the mood, tone, and attitude of the writer/speaker as well.

3. Application: It refers to how you see the information and understanding being processed and used in simplifying or solving a problem. Application of the information is in fact the test of your understanding of information or concepts/ideas and how well you fit it/them in a real-life situation or while solving a problem.

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