SAT Program Results Show Increased Participation for the Class of 2022

New York—As schools and communities continue to recover from impacts of the pandemic, SAT^® testing capacity and SAT test-taking have increased. The 2022 SAT Suite of Assessments Annual Report shows that 1.7 million students in the high school class of 2022 took the SAT at least once, up from 1.5 million in the class of 2021. Most of these students took the SAT through SAT School Day, the in-school program that dramatically expands access and equity. And as SAT test-taking rebounds, College Board survey results continue to show more than 80% of students want to be able to send their scores to colleges.

SAT School Day

Nearly 1.1 million students in the class of 2022 took the SAT through the SAT School Day program, which provides schools, districts, and states a way to offer the SAT to juniors and seniors in school, on a weekday, often at no cost to students. Overall, more than 63% of SAT takers in the class of 2022 took the SAT on a school day, the highest percentage to date, compared to 62% of the class of 2021, and 49% of the class of 2020. SAT School Day participation has increased more than 18% over the past year, up from 930,000 in the class of 2021.

“Students want to take the SAT to show what they’ve learned and to connect with scholarships and colleges,” said Priscilla Rodriguez, senior vice president, College Readiness Assessments at College Board. “Thanks to partnerships with schools, districts, and states, and with the vital support of educators, SAT School Day helps make it possible for students from all backgrounds to access the SAT to raise their hands and be seen.”

Mean Scores

The average SAT total score declined slightly for the class of 2022—1050 compared to 1060 for the class of 2021. In the class of 2022, 43% of SAT takers met or exceeded both the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (ERW) and Math college readiness benchmarks, which indicate a high likelihood for success in credit-bearing college coursework.

Participation for the class of 2022 continues to be impacted by lingering effects of the pandemic, so we caution comparing these performance results to previous classes.

PSAT/NMSQT

Approximately 3.6 million students participated in the PSAT/NMSQT^® in the 2021-22 school year, up from 2.06 million in the 2020-21 school year which was greatly affected by the pandemic.

The PSAT/NMSQT is the only qualifying test for the National Merit^® Scholarship Program, an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. PSAT-related assessments also provide students with benefits like connection to free, personalized SAT practice on Khan Academy^®; more than $350 million in scholarship opportunities; and information about their potential to succeed in Advanced Placement^®.

Digital SAT

As announced earlier this year, students testing in international test centers in March 2023 will take the digital SAT. Students in the U.S. will take the digital SAT starting in March 2024.

“The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, more secure, and more relevant,” said Priscilla Rodriguez. “We’re not simply putting the current SAT on a digital platform—we’re taking full advantage of what delivering an assessment digitally makes possible. We’re listening to educators and students and we’re adapting to meet their evolving needs.”

The digital SAT will be far shorter, closer to two hours than three, and despite the reduced length of the test, students will have more time per question. Reading and writing passages will be shorter, with one question tied to each—which is particularly meaningful for English language learners and students with disabilities.

The digital SAT has been piloted and studied with thousands of students around the world, and more than 80% of students said the test experience was better than the paper-and-pencil test, and nearly 90% of testing staff said administering the digital SAT was as good or better than the paper-and-pencil version.​

The digital SAT will also be more secure. Right now, if one test form is compromised, it can mean canceling scores for whole groups of students. A digital SAT means every student will have a unique test form, making it practically impossible to share answers.​

With the transition to digital tests, College Board is addressing inequities in access to technology. Students will be able to use their own laptop or tablet, or a school issued device. If a student doesn’t have a device to use to take the SAT on a weekend, College Board will lend them one for use on test day. College Board’s new digital testing application was built with access in mind. The app works even if the internet drops, and a student won’t lose work or time if their battery dies.

As part of the digital SAT score report, every student will get information about careers as well as two-year and four-year college options.

Students will still have access to free practice resources on Khan Academy. And students taking the SAT Suite will continue to connect to scholarships and the College Board National Recognition Programs.