The SAT exam, which was previously administered on paper, has recently transitioned to a fully digital format. This change in format has raised many questions among students regarding the structure and difficulty level of the exam. Let’s compare the previous version of the SAT with the digital version and explore what changes students should expect.
What Hasn’t Changed?
First, let’s look at the features that have remained the same. The exam will still be scored on a 400–1600 scale. In addition, the skills being assessed and the methods of assessment remain unchanged. Students are still required to attend official test centers to take the exam.
Test Center and Equipment
While students can now take the exam on their own devices, they still must be present at a designated test center and cannot take the exam from home. The only change is the replacement of paper and pencil with a computer or tablet. Students must bring a device suitable for testing rather than traditional materials like pens or erasers. If a student is unable to provide the required equipment, they may submit a request to receive a device for test day. Taking the Digital SAT on a phone is not permitted.
Adaptive Testing Based on Performance
In previous SAT exams, all students were given the same set of questions, regardless of their performance. In the Digital SAT, however, the difficulty level of questions adjusts based on a student’s performance during the test. Although each section still contains two modules, the second module is tailored based on how well the student performed in the first. This means the questions in the next module will vary in difficulty depending on your earlier answers.
Number of Questions and Timing
Previously, the SAT lasted 3 hours. Now, in digital format, the test lasts 2 hours and 14 minutes. In the paper-based version, the Math section had 2 parts, totaling 80 minutes and 58 questions. In the digital version, the Math modules include 44 questions in total and last 70 minutes. Additionally, each section’s time and number of questions are evenly split across the two modules. Similarly, the Reading section, which used to be 65 minutes with 52 questions, and the Writing and Language section, which was 35 minutes with 44 questions, are now combined into two 32-minute Reading and Writing modules, each containing 27 questions.
Score Release Time
In the past, students had to wait weeks to receive their SAT scores. With the Digital SAT, results are available much faster, in some cases on the same day. This quick access to results is one of the advantages of the digital format.
Math Section
The math skills tested in the new SAT are the same as those in the old version. You will still see topics like algebra, geometry, and data analysis. However, the proportion of multiple-choice questions is slightly lower in the digital format. In the old version, about 80% of the math questions were multiple choice, while 20% were student-produced responses. In the Digital SAT, the ratio is roughly 75% to 25%. So, with 44 math questions on the digital test, you can expect around 33 multiple-choice questions and 11 student-produced questions. In the digital version, unlike the paper test, you don’t need to fill in a grid for student-produced answers—you simply type your answer into a box on the screen. Additionally, unlike before, answers may now include negative numbers.
Use of Calculators
In the old SAT, calculators were only allowed in one of the two math sections. With the transition to the digital format, calculators are now permitted in both math modules.
The changes outlined above do not make the exam inherently more difficult or affect how students should prepare. Students familiar with the traditional SAT should take time to understand the new features introduced through digitization and form an accurate understanding of the exam.
