"SAT math syllabus" is what students type when they want the list: which topics, how many questions on each, and what they can safely skip. The College Board publishes the content domains and the topics under each, and this page sets them out with the weights, the format of the digital test, the school course that teaches each topic, what is not tested, and a twelve-week plan that works through the domains in the order of their weight. The printable checklist has every topic as a tick box with its domain and weight.
Download the SAT math syllabus checklist (PDF) (the four domains, every topic with its approximate share of questions, the format in one table, which course covers what, and the twelve-week plan; two pages, free).
The format of the digital SAT math section
| Questions | 44, in two modules of 22 |
| Time | 70 minutes: 35 per module, about 95 seconds a question |
| Adaptive | The second module is harder or easier depending on performance in the first; the harder second module is the only route to the top scores |
| Question types | About 75 percent multiple choice (four options), about 25 percent student-produced response (you type the number, including negatives and decimals) |
| Calculator | Allowed on every question; the Desmos graphing calculator is built into the app, and you may bring your own approved one |
| Context | About 30 percent of questions are set in a real-world context (word problems); the rest are purely mathematical |
| Score | 200 to 800, combined with Reading and Writing for the 400 to 1600 total |
| Reference sheet | Area, volume and special-triangle formulas are given on screen; the SAT math formula sheet lists what is given and what you must memorise |
The four content domains, every topic, with weights
The weights are the College Board's published ranges (about 13 to 15 questions for the two large domains, 5 to 7 for the two small ones).
Algebra: about 35 percent, 13 to 15 questions
| Topic | What it looks like on the test | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Linear equations in one variable | Solve for x; equations with no solution or infinitely many; what value of a constant makes it so | Algebra 1 |
| Linear equations in two variables | Equations of lines from points, slope and intercepts; parallel and perpendicular; interpreting slope and intercept in context | Algebra 1 |
| Linear functions | Function notation; tables, graphs and equations of the same line; rate of change | Algebra 1 |
| Systems of two linear equations | Solve; how many solutions; the constant that makes a system have none | Algebra 1 |
| Linear inequalities in one or two variables | Solve; graph; which point satisfies the system; the inequality that models a situation | Algebra 1 |
Advanced Math: about 35 percent, 13 to 15 questions
| Topic | What it looks like on the test | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Equivalent expressions | Factoring, expanding, rewriting rational expressions, exponent rules, rewriting radicals | Algebra 1 and 2 |
| Nonlinear equations in one variable, and systems with one nonlinear equation | Solving quadratics (factoring, formula, discriminant); radical and rational equations; a line and a parabola; the number of solutions | Algebra 2 |
| Nonlinear functions | Quadratic, exponential, polynomial, rational and absolute-value functions; vertex form; zeros and end behaviour; transformations; exponential growth and decay; interpreting constants in context | Algebra 2 |
Problem-Solving and Data Analysis: about 15 percent, 5 to 7 questions
| Topic | What it looks like on the test | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Ratios, rates, proportional relationships and units | Unit conversions; rates in context; scale | Grade 6 to 7 |
| Percentages | Percent change; percent of; reverse percentages | Grade 7 |
| One-variable data: distributions and measures of centre and spread | Mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation (compared, not calculated); reading dot plots, histograms and box plots; the effect of an outlier | Algebra 1 and 2 |
| Two-variable data: models and scatterplots | Line of best fit; interpreting slope and intercept; linear versus exponential growth; residuals in simple form | Algebra 1 |
| Probability and conditional probability | From two-way tables; from a described situation | Geometry or Algebra 2 |
| Inference from sample statistics and margin of error | What a margin of error means; what a sample allows you to conclude | Algebra 2 or Statistics |
| Evaluating statistical claims | Observational studies versus experiments; random sampling and random assignment; what each allows | Algebra 2 or Statistics |
Geometry and Trigonometry: about 15 percent, 5 to 7 questions
| Topic | What it looks like on the test | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Area and volume | Composite figures; the volume formulas (given on the reference sheet) in context; scale factors | Geometry |
| Lines, angles and triangles | Parallel lines and transversals; triangle angle sum; similar and congruent triangles; the Pythagorean theorem | Geometry |
| Right triangles and trigonometry | Sine, cosine and tangent; special right triangles; complementary angles (sin x = cos(90° − x)); radians and degrees | Geometry |
| Circles | The equation of a circle (including completing the square); arc length, sector area, central and inscribed angles | Geometry and Algebra 2 |
What is not on the SAT math section
Calculus of any kind; logarithms beyond recognising them; matrices and vectors; sequences and series formulas; complex numbers (removed in the digital test); conic sections other than circles; proofs; constructions; the law of sines and cosines; statistics beyond what is listed above (no hypothesis tests, no regression formulas). A student who has finished Algebra 2 and Geometry has met every topic; Pre-Calculus adds comfort, not content.
Which course teaches what: the timing problem
Seventy percent of the test is the Algebra and Advanced Math domains, and Advanced Math is Algebra 2, which most students on the standard track are in during 11th grade, the year the SAT is taken. That is the timing problem: a junior in Algebra 2 is learning the test's largest domain and sitting the test in the same year. The practical answer is to take the PSAT in October of 11th grade as a diagnostic, work the plan below from January, and sit the SAT in May or June once the quadratic and exponential units are done. A student on the accelerated track (Algebra 2 in 10th) has a full year and finds the test content easy; the work for them is speed and the student-produced responses.
A twelve-week plan
| Weeks | Do |
|---|---|
| 1 | A full timed practice test in Bluebook (the College Board app); score it; list every wrong question by domain |
| 2 to 4 | Algebra domain: linear equations, functions, systems, inequalities; ten questions a day from the question bank, each wrong one redone the next day |
| 5 to 8 | Advanced Math: quadratics first (factoring, vertex form, the discriminant), then exponentials, then rational and radical expressions; this is where most points are gained |
| 9 | Problem-Solving and Data Analysis: percentages and ratios one day, statistics and data interpretation the next three; the margin-of-error and study-design questions are learnable in an afternoon |
| 10 | Geometry and Trigonometry: the reference sheet, special right triangles, circles and completing the square |
| 11 | Two timed sections; Desmos practice (graph both sides of an equation, find intersections and zeros, regression for scatterplot questions) |
| 12 | A full practice test, then the wrong-question list from week 1 redone: the questions missed twice are the ones to take to a tutor |
Thirty to forty minutes a day. The question bank on the College Board site is free and sorted by domain and difficulty; a student who works the "hard" filter in Advanced Math for four weeks moves the score more than any amount of full tests.
Download the SAT math syllabus checklist (PDF)
Where to get help
A 1-on-1 online class with a tutor who holds a master's in mathematics and teaches the digital SAT: a diagnostic test in the first week, the domains in weight order, the Desmos techniques, and the student-produced responses practised until the arithmetic is clean. After school or weekends, US time; the recording and notes after every class; the same tutor through the test date. US$10 to $13 an hour, billed monthly. The SAT tutoring page has the course outline; the free 30-minute class is a real lesson on the domain the diagnostic shows is weakest.
Questions parents ask
1What is on the SAT math section?
2How many questions are on the SAT math section and how long is it?
3Is calculus or pre-calculus on the SAT?
4Which school courses cover the SAT math syllabus?
5What score do you need in SAT math?
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