The SAT is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. It was first introduced in 1926, and was originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, then the Scholastic Assessment Test, then the SAT I: Reasoning Test, then the SAT Reasoning Test, and now simply the SAT.

The SAT was originally adapted from and Army IQ test and administered as a college admissions test for the first time in 1926.

Why Do People Take the SAT?

The SAT is a standardized test meant to show schools how prepared you are for college by measuring key skills like reading comprehension, computational ability, and clarity of expression. Because so many students take the test, it also provides schools with data about how you compare to your peers nationwide.

You’ll almost certainly need to take the SAT or ACT if you’re applying to any colleges or universities in the United States. Most require you to submit test scores with your application, depending on where you want to apply, your ACT or SAT score can account for as much as 50% of the admission decision, so a strong standardized test score is vital.

Here are some notable statistics about SAT:

• Nearly 1.65 million high school students from the class of 2011 took the SAT, which is a record.
• The College Board breaks down SAT test performance by states.
• The College Board developed a readiness benchmark that indicates that a score of 1550 (out of a 2400 scale) means students have a 65% likelihood of achieving a B- average or higher during their freshman year.
• More than 350,000 low-income students (21% of all test takers) obtained SAT fee waivers so they could take the test for free. If you know someone who could qualify for a fee waiver tell them.