How long is the SAT?
The digital SAT takes 2 hours and 14 minutes of testing: 64 minutes of Reading and Writing and 70 minutes of Math. Add the 10-minute break and you sit for 2 hours and 24 minutes. With check-in and instructions, plan on about 3 hours at the test center. There are 98 questions in total, and there is no essay.
Each section is split into two equal modules. Reading and Writing has two 32-minute modules with 54 questions in total. Math has two 35-minute modules with 44 questions. The test is adaptive: how you do on the first module of a section decides whether the second module is easier or harder. You cannot go back to the first module once you move on.
That works out to roughly 71 seconds per Reading and Writing question and about 95 seconds per Math question. A calculator is allowed for the whole Math section, and the testing app has a built-in graphing calculator. The old paper SAT ran about 3 hours, so the digital test is much shorter.
On a typical test day, doors open at 7:45 a.m. and close at 8:00. Testing starts between 8:15 and 8:30, and standard-time testing ends between 10:45 and 11:00. Students with approved extra time finish later: time and one-half ends around noon, double time around 1 p.m. Check your admission ticket for your exact times.
| Part | Modules | Time | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and Writing | 2 x 32 min | 64 min | 54 |
| Break | - | 10 min | - |
| Math | 2 x 35 min | 70 min | 44 |
| Total testing | 4 modules | 2 h 14 min | 98 |
| Total with break | - | 2 h 24 min | 98 |
- 1Take one full practice test in a single sitting: 64 minutes, a 10-minute break, then 70 minutes.
- 2Note where you ran short on time, module by module.
- 3Practice pacing: about 71 seconds per Reading and Writing question and 95 seconds per Math question.
- 4Drill the question types that cost you the most time or points.
- 5Take at least two more timed practice tests before test day, at the same morning hour as the real test.
- 6The night before, check your start time, charge your device and pack your admission ticket and ID.