A uniform test begins

In June nineteen twenty-six, the SAT exam was first administered to eight thousand high school students who hoped to attend elite universities. It had three hundred fifteen questions with a time limit of ninety-seven minutes.

Why the SAT was revolutionary

Before the SAT, each university had its own essay exam written and graded by professors. The new test could be quickly and objectively scored, and students no longer had to travel to campus to take it.

The test spreads after World War II

Starting after World War II, universities experienced a sharp increase in college applicants who benefited from the GI Bill. Universities began to rely more on the SAT to weed out some applicants.

The SAT becomes standard

The University of California system became the first and largest public system to require the SAT in nineteen sixty. Over the next few decades, more schools began requiring it as part of the standard admissions process.

The wealth gap emerges

Wealthier students are thirteen times more likely than low-income students to score one thousand three hundred or higher on the SAT, out of a maximum one thousand six hundred points.

“Wealthier students are 13 times more likely than low-income students to score a 1300 or higher on the SAT, out of a maximum 1,600 points.”

Why wealth matters on the test

The test costs money to take, and wealthier families can afford tutors and prep classes. Wealthier students also typically attend well-funded public or private high schools.

Colleges make the test optional

Around two thousand, about two hundred eighty colleges and universities moved to make the SAT optional. The COVID-nineteen pandemic in two thousand twenty served as a natural experiment when students could not sit for the test.

Test-optional becomes the norm

Today, approximately eighty-six percent of colleges and universities are test-optional. Six years after the pandemic, over two thousand colleges and universities are still test-optional, though some scholarships may depend on SAT scores.

The SAT gets shorter and digital

In two thousand twenty-four, the SAT was shortened from three hours to two hours and fifteen minutes and went fully digital. More than two million students, or approximately forty-seven percent of graduating high school students, took it in two thousand twenty-five.

A rite of passage persists

The SAT continues to be modified and remains the rite of passage that most high school students undertake as they look ahead to college, despite ongoing debate about whether it accurately measures academic potential.

“The exam isn't a perfect reflection of students' potential and skills, but it continues to be the rite of passage that most high school students undertake as they look ahead to college.”