How the Digital SAT works
The adaptive format, the two sections and what it means for how you prepare.
, 5 minute read
The SAT is now taken on a device through College Board's Bluebook app. It has two sections, Reading and Writing, and Math, and each section is split into two modules.
The test is adaptive by section. How you do on the first module determines whether the second module is easier or harder. That matters: careless errors early in a section cost more than they appear to, because they can change which second module you see.
What this means for preparation
Accuracy in the first module is worth protecting. Practice should include full modules under time, not only isolated questions.
A graphing calculator is built into the testing app for the whole Math section. Students who learn to use it well can solve some questions far faster than by hand.
Start with a full diagnostic in the official app. It shows which question types are costing points, and that should drive everything that follows.