SAT Glossary

By Luke Finigan. Updated October 1, 2026. Dates, fees, and deadlines were checked against College Board on October 5, 2026.

Test format

Adaptive testing

Also called Multistage adaptive testing, Section-level adaptive

Adaptive testing means the test changes based on how you perform. The SAT is section-level adaptive: your Module 1 performance in a section decides whether Module 2 in that section is easier or harder, and the test does not change question by question.

Do this: Treat Module 1 as the module that sets your path, and practice in full adaptive modules so the pacing and routing are familiar before test day.

Bluebook

Also called Bluebook app

Bluebook is College Board's free digital testing app and the only platform the SAT runs on. It also delivers the PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, and PSAT 8/9.

Do this: Install it on the device you will test with, sign in with your College Board account, and finish one full practice test in it before test day.

Cross-out

Cross-out is a Bluebook tool that strikes through an answer choice you have eliminated without removing it permanently.

Do this: Cross out each choice as soon as you can name why it is wrong, and try the tool in a Bluebook practice test before test day.

Bluebook app guide

Desmos graphing calculator

Also called Desmos, Built-in calculator

Desmos is the graphing calculator built into Bluebook, available on every Math question; the SAT has no no-calculator section. It graphs equations, builds tables, fits regressions, and computes statistics.

Do this: For an equation, type each side as its own graph and read the x-value where they cross, and repeat the move until it is automatic.

Digital SAT

The digital SAT is the version of the test delivered on a computer or tablet in Bluebook; every SAT administration since spring 2024 has been digital. It has two sections, Reading and Writing and Math, with 2 hours 14 minutes of testing time and one 10-minute break.

Do this: Use paper-era practice only for content. Take timed modules in the digital format to practice short passages, adaptive pacing, and Desmos.

Flag for review

Also called Flag

Flag is a Bluebook tool that marks a question so you can find it again. Flagged questions appear on the review screen at the end of a module.

Do this: On your first pass, choose an answer for a hard question, flag it, and return to it from the review screen after the easier questions are done.

Module

A module is a timed block of questions, and each section has two. Reading and Writing modules have 27 questions in 32 minutes, and Math modules have 22 questions in 35 minutes; inside a module you can move between questions, flag items, and change answers until time runs out, but you cannot return after you submit.

Do this: Before you submit, open the review screen, return to every flagged question, and fill in any blank answer.

Module 2 routing

Also called Easier Module 2, Harder Module 2

Routing is the step after Module 1 that sends you to the easier or the harder Module 2 in that section. Only the harder Module 2 gives access to the full 200–800 section score range.

Do this: In every practice module, write down which Module 2 you reached next to the section score, and review the Module 1 misses first when you land in the easier one.

Pretest question

Also called Experimental question, Unscored question

A pretest question is an experimental question placed in a module that does not count toward your score. Nothing on screen tells you which questions they are.

Do this: Answer every question as if it counts, because you cannot pick out the unscored ones and skipping a scored one costs a point.

How many questions are on the SAT

Reference sheet

The reference sheet is a Math-only pop-up in Bluebook with area and volume formulas, the Pythagorean theorem $a^{2} + b^{2} = c^{2}$ , special right triangle ratios, and angle totals.

Do this: Memorize what it leaves out: slope, the quadratic formula, circle equations, and trig ratios.

Student-produced response

Also called Grid-in

A student-produced response is a Math question where you enter your own answer instead of choosing one; roughly 25% of Math questions are this type and the rest are multiple choice. It accepts integers, decimals, fractions, and negatives, but not plus/minus expressions or mixed numbers.

Do this: Write your answer as an integer, decimal, or fraction before entering it, converting a mixed number such as $2 \frac{1}{2}$ to $\frac{5}{2}$ or $2.5$ .

Scoring

Equating

Equating is the statistical process that adjusts the raw-to-scaled conversion for the difficulty of each test form, so a given score means the same level of ability on every test date. It is not a curve against the students who test on the same day.

Do this: Judge your progress by scaled scores across practice tests, not by raw counts, because the conversion differs from form to form.

Free score reports

Also called Free score sends

The first four score reports are free if you order them within 9 days after your test date, which is before scores are released. Each report after that costs $15.

Do this: Decide before test day whether to use the free reports now or skip them so you can send only your best result later.

Middle 50% range

Also called 25th–75th percentile range, College SAT range

A college's middle 50% range is the span of SAT scores between the 25th and 75th percentiles of its enrolled students. It is context, not a cutoff: students below the range are admitted, and students above it are not guaranteed admission.

Do this: Find each college's current range in its Common Data Set or admissions statistics page, and set your target near the 75th percentile for reach and target schools.

Nationally representative percentile

A nationally representative percentile comes from a College Board research study of U.S. students in 11th and 12th grade, weighted to represent all students in those grades whether or not they take the SAT. Its percentiles are not interchangeable with SAT user percentiles.

Do this: If a percentile you find does not match the SAT percentile calculator, check whether its source used this table.

SAT percentile calculator

Source College Board: understanding SAT scores (verified October 1, 2026)

Percentile

A percentile is the percent of test takers who scored at or below your score, so a 94th percentile score means 94% scored at or below it. College Board publishes more than one percentile table, so a percentile only has meaning together with its reference group.

Do this: Check which group a percentile uses before comparing two sources; the percentile pages on this site use College Board's SAT user table.

Source College Board: understanding SAT scores (verified October 1, 2026)

Raw score

Your raw score is the number of questions you answered correctly. Wrong and blank answers both earn zero, and there is no guessing penalty.

Do this: Answer every question, including any left at the end of a module, then enter your correct counts in the score calculator to estimate a scaled score.

SAT user percentile

Also called User group percentile

An SAT user percentile compares your score with the actual SAT scores of students who graduated in the past three school years.

Do this: Look up your total score in the percentile calculator to read its SAT user percentile.

Source College Board: understanding SAT scores (verified October 1, 2026)

Scaled score

A scaled score is your raw score converted onto the 200–800 section scale with a conversion specific to your test form. The same raw score can convert differently depending on the form and on whether you reached the harder Module 2.

Do this: Treat any raw-to-scaled estimate as a planning number, and confirm it with a Bluebook practice test.

Score Choice

Score Choice lets you pick which test dates' scores to send to a college. Some colleges require all of your scores, so it does not apply everywhere.

Do this: Read each school's score-reporting policy before you send; where a school requires all scores, Score Choice does not let you hold one back.

Score release

Also called Score release date

Score release is the date College Board posts your scores to your account. For fall 2026 weekend tests, College Board lists scores as available 13 days after test day, and it says most weekend scores are released 2–4 weeks after test day.

Do this: Look up your test date on the release calendar and compare it with the next test's registration deadline before you decide on a retake.

Source College Board: score release dates (verified October 5, 2026)

Score report

Your score report is the results page in your College Board account once College Board releases your scores. It shows your total score and your two section scores.

Do this: Enter both section scores in the study plan generator, which also accepts an uploaded score report, to turn them into a daily schedule.

Section score

A section score is your result for Reading and Writing or for Math, each reported from 200 to 800 in 10-point steps.

Do this: Write down both section scores and put your next practice block into the lower one.

Superscore

Also called Superscoring

Superscoring is when a college combines your highest Math section score and your highest Reading and Writing section score across all of your test dates. A test with 780 Reading and Writing and 620 Math, and another with 640 and 740, superscore to 1520.

Do this: Check whether each college on your list superscores before you plan a retake; if it does, aim the retake at your weaker section and beat only your prior high there.

Total score

Your total score is the sum of your two section scores, from 400 to 1600. A 1600, which is 800 in each section, is the maximum.

Do this: Compare your total with the middle 50% range at each college on your list rather than with a national label.

Reading and Writing

Boundaries

Also called Punctuation and sentence structure

Boundaries questions test the punctuation that joins or divides clauses: commas, semicolons, colons, and dashes.

Do this: Before you choose, check that both sides of a semicolon can stand alone as complete sentences.

Central Ideas and Details

Central Ideas and Details questions ask for the main point of a short passage or for the specific detail that answers the prompt. The correct answer is directly supported by the text.

Do this: Paraphrase the passage in your own words before you read the choices, and eliminate choices that are true in the real world but not supported by this passage.

Command of Evidence

Command of Evidence questions give a claim or hypothesis and ask which data point, quote, or finding most directly supports it, including questions built on a table or figure.

Do this: Restate the claim in your own words, then match specific numbers in the table to specific wording in the claim.

Craft and Structure

Craft and Structure is the Reading and Writing domain for Words in Context, Text Structure and Purpose, and Cross-Text Connections. Its questions come first in the loose order of a module.

Do this: In all three skills, predict the word or the author's job in your own words before you read the choices.

Cross-Text Connections

Cross-Text Connections questions pair two short passages and ask how one author would respond to the other, or where the two agree or disagree.

Do this: Summarize each author's core claim in one sentence before you read the choices, and drop any choice that needs an agreement the texts do not state.

Expression of Ideas

Expression of Ideas is the Reading and Writing domain for Transitions and Rhetorical Synthesis. Its questions come last in the loose order of a module.

Do this: Name the logical relationship between two sentences, or reread the stated goal of the notes, before you read the choices.

Form, Structure, and Sense

Form, Structure, and Sense questions test grammar: subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, verb tense consistency, and parallel structure in lists.

Do this: Find the true subject by crossing out prepositional phrases before you check the verb.

Inferences

Also called Inference questions

Inferences questions ask which choice best completes the text. The correct choice is the logical continuation of the passage's argument, not a leap beyond the evidence.

Do this: Cross out any choice that needs outside information to be true.

Information and Ideas

Information and Ideas is the Reading and Writing domain for Central Ideas and Details, Command of Evidence, and Inferences. Its questions come second in the loose order of a module.

Do this: State the main point or the claim in your own words before you read the choices, then pick the choice the text directly supports.

Rhetorical Synthesis

Rhetorical Synthesis questions give a bulleted list of notes and a goal, and ask for the sentence that accomplishes that goal using the notes.

Do this: Read the goal twice, and eliminate choices that are true to the notes but do not accomplish the stated goal.

Standard English Conventions

Standard English Conventions is the Reading and Writing domain for Boundaries and Form, Structure, and Sense, the punctuation and grammar skills. Its questions come third in the loose order of a module.

Do this: Find the true subject of the sentence and test whether each side of a semicolon could stand alone as a sentence.

Text Structure and Purpose

Text Structure and Purpose questions ask how a passage is organized or what the passage, or one sentence in it, does for the author's goal.

Do this: Name the author's job in one verb, such as contrasts or qualifies, before you read the choices.

Transitions

Transitions questions ask which transition word or phrase matches the logical relationship between two sentences, such as contrast, cause and effect, addition, example, or sequence.

Do this: Label the relationship between the two sentences before you read the choices.

Words in Context

Words in Context questions ask which word or phrase best fits a blank in a short academic passage, judged by meaning and tone.

Do this: Predict a word in your own language before you look at the choices, then eliminate choices that are close in meaning but carry the wrong connotation.

Math

Advanced Math

Advanced Math is the Math domain for nonlinear equations and systems, nonlinear functions, and equivalent expressions, including quadratics and exponentials.

Do this: Memorize vertex form $y = a (x - h)^{2} + k$ , which shows the vertex $(h, k)$ directly.

Algebra

Algebra is the Math domain for linear relationships: linear equations in one variable, linear functions, linear equations in two variables, systems of linear equations, and linear inequalities.

Do this: After you solve a linear equation, substitute the answer back into the original equation to check it.

Geometry and Trigonometry

Geometry and Trigonometry is the Math domain for area and volume, lines, angles, and triangles, right triangles and trigonometry, and circles.

Do this: Memorize the circle equation $(x - h)^{2} + (y - k)^{2} = r^{2}$ , which gives the center $(h, k)$ and the radius $r$ and is not on the reference sheet.

Problem-Solving and Data Analysis

Problem-Solving and Data Analysis is the Math domain for ratios, rates, percentages, probability, one- and two-variable data, sample statistics and margin of error, and evaluating statistical claims.

Do this: Write units beside every number and cancel them like variables before you set up a proportion.

PSAT and National Merit

National Merit Commended

Also called Commended

Commended is the National Merit level with one national Selection Index cutoff instead of state cutoffs. It is 208 for the class of 2027, checked October 2, 2026.

Do this: Compare your Selection Index with 208, then with your state's Semifinalist cutoff.

National Merit Semifinalist cutoff

National Merit Semifinalist cutoffs are Selection Index scores set state by state so that about 16,000 juniors qualify nationally each year. For the class of 2027 they range from 208 to 223, checked October 2, 2026.

Do this: Find your state in the cutoffs table and subtract its cutoff from your Selection Index to see how far you are from Semifinalist.

PSAT 10 and PSAT 8/9

PSAT 10 and PSAT 8/9 are other PSAT-family tests delivered in Bluebook. The PSAT to SAT predictor accepts PSAT 10 scores as well as PSAT/NMSQT scores.

Do this: If you have a PSAT 10 score, enter it in the predictor to see a likely SAT range.

PSAT/NMSQT

Also called PSAT

The PSAT/NMSQT is the PSAT-family test used to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program. It uses the same digital format as the SAT, is delivered in Bluebook, and tops out at 1520 instead of 1600.

Do this: Convert your PSAT score to a projected SAT range with the predictor, and compute your Selection Index from the two section scores.

SAT School Day

SAT School Day is the SAT given in school rather than on a weekend test date. The fall 2026 in-school testing window, shared with the PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 8/9, is October 1–30.

Do this: Ask your counselor which date your school uses; your score release date depends on when your school submits answers, and a state program can set a different date.

Selection Index

Also called National Merit Selection Index

The Selection Index is $\frac{2 \times RW + M}{10}$ , where RW is your PSAT/NMSQT Reading and Writing score and M is your Math score, so Reading and Writing counts twice. Each section runs from 160 to 760, so the index runs from 48 to 228.

Do this: Compute yours: 720 Reading and Writing and 710 Math give $\frac{1440 + 710}{10} = 215$ .

Registration and test day

Accommodations

Also called SSD accommodations

Accommodations are College Board services that help students with disabilities take the SAT. You must request them and be approved by College Board's Services for Students with Disabilities before testing, and College Board recommends requesting through your school.

Do this: Ask your counselor how your school submits requests, and confirm approval before test day.

SAT test countdown

Admission ticket

The admission ticket is the document you bring on test day, printed or on your phone, together with a valid government-issued photo ID.

Do this: The night before, check that the name on your ticket matches your ID exactly.

Cancel registration

You can cancel an SAT registration in your College Board account until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the Thursday before test day. The registration fee is refunded minus a cancellation fee, which is higher after the change deadline.

Do this: If you want a different date, register for the new date first, then cancel the old registration.

Source College Board: SAT fees (verified October 5, 2026)

College Board account

Also called My SAT

Your College Board account is the login you use to register for the SAT, sign in to Bluebook, and see your scores. You have to register yourself; a parent or counselor cannot do it for you.

Do this: Sign in before registration for your date and enter your name exactly as it appears on the ID you will bring.

Device lending

Device lending is College Board's program for students who need to borrow a device to take the SAT in Bluebook.

Do this: Register first, then request the device at least 30 days before test day.

Source College Board: SAT device lending (verified October 5, 2026)

Fee waiver

An SAT fee waiver covers two free SAT registrations, unlimited free score sends, and college application fee waivers for eligible US low-income 11th and 12th graders.

Do this: Ask your school counselor for a waiver code before the registration deadline, then confirm the benefits appear in your College Board account before you assume the fee is covered.

Source College Board: fee waiver benefits (verified October 5, 2026)

Late registration

Late registration is registering after the regular deadline and before the late deadline, and it adds a $38 fee. In the 2026–27 schedule each late deadline is four days after the regular one.

Do this: Register by the regular deadline to avoid the $38, and if you are already in the late window, check your date's late deadline on the countdown page.

Registration deadline

The registration deadline is the last day to register for a test date, and it closes at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. In the 2026–27 schedule it falls 15 days before test day.

Do this: Look up the deadline for your date on the countdown page and register at least a day early, because the cutoff is Eastern Time wherever you live.

Source College Board: SAT dates and deadlines (verified October 5, 2026)

College policies

Common Data Set

A college's Common Data Set is the report where it publishes admissions statistics, including the SAT range of its enrolled students.

Do this: Search for the college's name with Common Data Set and read its current SAT range there, because ranges and testing policies change.

Test-blind

A test-blind college does not consider test scores in admissions, even if you submit them.

Do this: Check the school's policy before you order a score report for it.

Test-optional

A test-optional college lets you choose whether to submit SAT scores. It is not test-blind, so a submitted score can still help your application.

Do this: Compare your score with the college's middle 50% range; at or above it, submitting helps, and below it you can choose not to submit.

Test-required

A test-required college requires applicants to submit test scores. Several selective schools have reinstated that requirement, so a policy can change from one application cycle to the next.

Do this: Check each school's admissions page for its current policy before you pick test dates.

Sources

College Board: SAT dates and deadlines, verified October 5, 2026
College Board: SAT fees, verified October 5, 2026
College Board: score release dates, verified October 5, 2026
College Board: fee waiver benefits, verified October 5, 2026
College Board: SAT device lending, verified October 5, 2026
College Board: understanding SAT scores, verified October 1, 2026
College Board: accommodations for students with disabilities, verified October 1, 2026

Other definitions are drawn from the SAT FAQ, skill guides, and Digital SAT guide.