The Digital SAT® represents a quantum leap from the traditional SAT evaluation system — with everything from the format and length to pattern and interface changing.
What Is the Digital SAT?
The Digital SAT is an adaptive standardized online test that is widely used for college admissions in the United States and India. The Digital SAT is designed to assess your readiness for college and provide universities with a common data point that can be used to compare the qualifications of applicants. You will take the test online through Bluebook, an app set up by the College Board®. You must install the app on your Mac or Windows device, Chromebook, or iPad to take the SAT online. If you do not have access to an accepted device, you can request to borrow a school-managed Chromebook from the College Board when you register for the test.
The Digital SAT is shorter than the traditional paper-and-pencil version and improves test quality, security, delivery, and student access worldwide.
Why Has the SAT Gone Digital?
The transition of the SAT from paper and pencil to digital enables students worldwide to participate in a standardized college readiness evaluation. It will be easier to administer and take.
A survey conducted by the College Board in 2021 found that 80% of students want to submit their SAT scores with their college applications. Keeping this in mind, the College Board has introduced a host of features to the Digital SAT.
- The digital format offers much faster score releases. Students typically receive scores in a matter of days rather than weeks. The new Digital SAT score reports link students to resources on local 2-year colleges, training programs, and career options.
- The College Board has enhanced security measures to encourage more students to take the SAT. With the SAT going digital, every student now gets a highly comparable but unique test form, making it practically impossible to share answers.
- The digital SAT offers more flexibility to schools and districts in administering the test.
How Is the Digital SAT Different from the Paper-and-Pencil SAT?
The first obvious change is that the digital test is on a computer or tablet. The College Board also has introduced some significant changes that you should be aware of. Below is the list of changes from the old SAT to the new SAT:
1. Testing App and Devices
To take the Digital SAT, you need a device that connects to Wi-Fi. You have to download and install the latest version of the Bluebook testing application on a Mac or Windows device, an iPad, or a school-managed Chromebook. You must sign in to the app using your College Board online account username and password. For more information about device and OS compatibility, check out this page on Digital SAT device readiness here.
To make the testing experience convenient and hassle-free, the Bluebook app comes with the following handy features.
- Mark for review feature helps you flag and return to any question within the test module if you wish to review later.
- Timer has been included to count down the remaining time in each module. You can choose to hide the timer, but you will be notified when five minutes remain for the module.
- Built-in graphing calculator to use for the Math section.
- Reference sheet helps you access standard formulas you might need during the test.
- Annotation allows you to highlight any part of a question and make notes.
- Option eliminator will help you strike through the answer choices to a question you feel are not correct.
The “Help” section of the testing app also includes a list of keyboard shortcuts to help you navigate the application easily.
Note: The Digital SAT cannot be taken on a mobile phone but can be accessed on school-managed or personal iPads that meet the College Board device specifications.
2. Test-Level Changes
The Digital SAT is a considerably shorter test than its predecessor. While the traditional paper-and-pencil test took 3 hours to complete, the Digital SAT only lasts 2 hours and 14 minutes. The table below compares the testing times of the old SAT vs. the Digital SAT:
| Paper SAT | Digital SAT | |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and Writing | 1 hour 40 minutes | 1 hour 4 minutes |
| Math | 1 hour 20 minutes | 1 hour 10 minutes |
| Total | 3 hours | 2 hours 14 minutes |
This change does not decrease the time you have per question. Instead, the average time per question has increased to 1.19 minutes per reading and writing question and 1.59 minutes per math question.
3. Reading and Writing Section Changes
The Digital SAT features a single Reading and Writing (RW) section instead of the 2 separate tests for the Evidence-based Reading and Writing (EBRW) section that was on the paper SAT.
According to the College Board, this change helps to measure subject knowledge and skills more efficiently than the paper-and-pencil SAT Reading and Writing assessments. The number of questions has also been dramatically cut down. Additionally, questions in this section are jumbled and do not appear in sequential order, as they do on the paper-and-pencil SAT.
| Paper SAT | Digital SAT | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | Writing and Language | Reading and Writing | |
| No. of Questions | 52 multiple-choice (MCQs) | 44 MCQs | 54 MCQs |
| Time | 1 hour 5 minutes | 35 minutes | 1 hour 4 minutes |
4. Math Section Changes
The math portion has also been replaced with a single math section instead of the 2 separate sections that we’ve seen in the paper-and-pencil SAT test format. Unlike the old SAT, which has always included no-calculator and calculator-permitted sections, the Digital SAT allows you to use a calculator throughout the entire Math section. The Digital SAT also provides you with an embedded Desmos graphing calculator, so you no longer have to bring your own calculator to the test.
| Paper SAT | Digital SAT | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Questions | 58 | 44 | |
| Time | 25 minutes | 55 minutes | 1 hour 10 minutes |
| Calculator Usage | No | Yes | Yes |
Per the College Board, this transition reflects the usage of calculators in schools and real-world scenarios more accurately than the SAT’s paper-and-pencil version. If you do choose to bring your own calculator to the test, you need to make sure the College Board approves it.
5. Multistage Adaptive Testing Changes
The Digital SAT consists of 2 equal-length and separately timed sections (Reading and Writing and Math). However, each section has been split into 2 modules, running for about 32-35 minutes each.
While the topics covered by both modules are identical, the first module contains a mix of easy, average, and difficult questions. Based on your performance in the first module, the SAT app determines the difficulty of the questions you get in the second module. The multistage adaptive testing (MST) technology built inside the Digital SAT app makes it possible for the test to be considerably shorter than traditional SAT while maintaining a similar difficulty level.
6. Scoring Changes
The College Board has not introduced any changes to the new SAT scoring policies. Like its predecessor, the Digital SAT gives you 3 kinds of scores: a total score and 2 section scores (Reading and Writing and Math). Our SAT scoring guide can help you learn more about the SAT’s scoring policies. Although the scoring policy remains the same, the Digital SAT score report has minor changes. Subscores and cross-test scores are not reported.
The revamped SAT score report helps you connect your Digital SAT scores with colleges, training programs, and other career options.
The Digital SAT: What Has Stayed the Same?
No matter the format, the SAT tests how ready you are for college and a career. Almost all of the tested domains and how they relate to college and career readiness standards are the same. Here's a list of things that the Digital SAT shares with its paper-and-pencil predecessor:
- The Reading and Writing section of the SAT continues to organize questions into the 4 domains the paper-and-pencil SAT used. This means you can still expect a strong emphasis on questions about the meaning of words in context, the best evidence for an argument, and the appropriate punctuation or part of speech for a given text.
- Math questions continue to focus on algebra, problem-solving and data analysis, advanced math, geometry, and trigonometry. The Math section also continues to include short word problems with multiple-choice questions and student-produced response problems.
- On an even more basic level, the SAT continues to be primarily made up of 4 answer-choice questions, continues to be graded on a scale of 400-1600, and is proctored in the same schools and test centers where the paper and pencil tests were administered. Those administrations also allow comparable accommodations to any students who require them.
- While the format of the Digital SAT is designed to make the test experience simpler, the difficulty levels of both the SATs are comparable. Therefore, any given score on the Digital SAT is just as effective in securing college admissions or scholarships as the paper-and-pencil format.
How Can You Practice for the New Digital SAT?
The College Board has released the Bluebook application to help students get familiar with the Digital SAT testing interface. The Bluebook app comes with a few full-length practice tests that you can practice. The College Board also provides a downloadable pdf of the Digital SAT sample questions.
You can also take SAT practice tests in the traditional format to sharpen your skills and enhance your subject knowledge. UWorld's SAT prep course includes an extensive QBank with hundreds of exam-like questions and a study guide with in-depth answer explanations and self-assessment tools to help you develop a baseline for your SAT and learn the content of the test.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which devices can students use for the Digital SAT test?
To take the Digital SAT, you have to download the Bluebook testing application on a Mac or Windows device, an iPad, or a school-managed Chromebook.
What if a student doesn't have a device for the SAT?
If you cannot access a personal device, you can borrow one from the College Board while registering for the test. They can also use school-managed Chromebooks to take the Digital SAT.
How is the Digital SAT more secure?
The Digital SAT app has adaptive testing technology, which means that it creates a module by randomly picking questions from the SAT database. This makes it extremely difficult for test takers to share answers among themselves. In addition, the College Board has implemented various SAT policies to keep the testing experience secure and convenient.
Are homeschooled students able to take the Digital SAT?
Yes. Homeschooled students can take the Digital SAT.
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References
- Digital SAT Overview. (2022). satsuite.collegeboard.org. Retrieved April 14, 2025, from https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/digital-sat-suite-overview.pdf
- Digital SAT Sample Questions and Explanations. (n.d.). satsuite.collegeboard.org. Retrieved April 14, 2025, from https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/digital-sat-sample-questions.pdf
- The Digital SAT Suite of Assessments Specifications Overview. (2022). satsuite.collegeboard.org. Retrieved April 14, 2025, from https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/digital-sat-test-spec-overview.pdf
- SAT Suite of Assessments–Educator Guide. (n.d.). satsuite.collegeboard.org. Retrieved April 14, 2025, from https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/sat-suite-of-assessments-overview-brochure.pdf
- What's on the SAT. (n.d.). satsuite.collegeboard.org. Retrieved April 14, 2025, from https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/digital/whats-on-the-test
- What to Expect on Test Day. (n.d.). satsuite.collegeboard.org. Retrieved April 14, 2025, from https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/digital/what-to-bring-do/what-to-expect
- Accommodations for SAT Testing. (n.d.). satsuite.collegeboard.org. Retrieved April 14, 2025, from https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/digital/accommodations-digital-testing
- SAT Terms and Conditions. (n.d.). satsuite.collegeboard.org. Retrieved April 14, 2025, from https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/terms-conditions
