The SAT® is changing in spring 2024. While many aspects of the test will remain the same as the current paper-and-pencil SAT, there will also be some changes. Continue reading to learn more about the Digital SAT math section.
Digital SAT Math Module Structure
The Digital SAT includes two math modules. Each module has 22 questions to be completed in 35 minutes. This gives you, on average, more than a minute and a half per question. The first module will be a baseline module with a mix of easy, medium, and hard questions. Your performance on this baseline module will determine whether your second module is harder or easier than the first. If you are placed into an easier module, your maximum score will be capped, so to earn a top score, you need to excel on that first module and tackle the hardest second module.
The math modules will follow a predictable structure. They will present you with the easiest questions first, giving you progressively harder questions until you reach the end. The reading and writing modules are different; they group questions first by learning area and then by difficulty. That’s not the case with the math modules: they mix all the different learning areas together so that the progresses from easy to hard.
Math Question Types on the Digital SAT
There are two types of questions on the math module. About 75% of questions are multiple choice and about 25% of the questions are student-generated response questions. If you’re familiar with the current paper-and-pencil SAT, this is the equivalent of the grid-in questions. While the current SAT lumps these questions together at the end of each math section, the Digital SAT math module mixes these student-generated response questions in among the multiple choice questions.
Math Learning Areas on the Digital SAT
There are four learning areas on the Digital SAT math modules: Algebra, Advanced Math, Problem-Solving and Data Analysis, and Geometry and Trigonometry.
The majority of the questions on the test will be from those first two learning areas: Algebra and Advanced Math each make up about 35% of the test. The remaining questions are evenly roughly split between the other two learning areas.
- Algebra questions ask you to create and solve problems using linear equations, functions, and inequalities.
- Advanced Math questions cover nonlinear equations, including absolute value, quadratic, exponential, polynomial, rational, and radical equations and functions.
- Problem-Solving and Data Analysis questions involve ratios, rates, proportions, percentages, and units. They’ll also ask you to interpret data, so you’ll need to have a good grasp of distributions and measures of center and spread, as well as scatterplots and data models.
- Geometry and Trigonometry: If you’re taking the digital SAT before you’ve taken trig in school, some of these questions might be particularly difficult, but you’ll likely only see a small handful of trig-focused questions across both modules.
Digital SAT Math Webinar
Watch our webinar below to learn more about the Digital SAT math module and try out some practice questions.
Want to learn more about Digital SAT changes? Visit our Digital SAT Resource Hub.
