If you want to study in a prestigious institute, especially in the IVY league then you will need to opt for the SAT. While preparing for the SAT, you will get to know about the SAT section 5. This is commonly known as the Experimental SAT Section. The sole purpose of this section is to add new questions to the test and measure the difficulty level for aspiring students. If you are going to attempt the SAT then you should know about the SAT sections. In this post, we will discuss the SAT section 5 in the following.
What Is SAT Section 5 All About?
Students often search for what is SAT section 5 in the SAT Test. This section was introduced by the College Board. The purpose of the 5th section was to evaluate the student’s scores. They will have to prepare for extra questions in the exam. These questions can be available in any section. The SAT section 5 is also known as an Experimental SAT Section where they may add pretest questions. Students will also be given extra time to solve extra time. It would be assigned randomly to students taking the SAT.
There are 20 questions in this section, so you’ll have 20 extra minutes to answer them. In this Experimental SAT Section, all the questions will be aptitude or intelligence-based. Furthermore, the official SAT says it won’t total your SAT score for colleges and universities. Just like the other sections, section 5 will be focused on writing and language, reading comprehension, or mathematics. This section will help the college admission administration measure the students’ capability for college studies. The major goal of this section is to make the test more fair and balanced for the students.
If this has made you anxious about section 5 then you aren’t alone. Students panic knowing that there is no information about this from the officials of the College Board yet. Also, the questions in this section aren’t consistent either. One session may have easy questions but the next may have difficult ones. According to some records, the question in section 5 can be more demanding than the SAT. However, some records have also stated that students may need to have a different approach to solve them which most students may not be familiar with. This section is different from the rest of the SAT, even for inexperienced students. It’s hard to say how it’s different. Read also our guide on How long is the SAT Test.
An Overview of the SAT Sections
The SAT is one of the most familiar names for college aspirants. The SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) is the standardized test that assesses students’ college readiness for college studies. The test generally consists of four basic sections:
- Reading,
- Writing, and Language,
- Math with no calculator,
- Math with the calculator.
The reading section will assess the reading understanding capabilities while the language section will evaluate the grammar rules usage and punctuation proficiency. The math section is all about assessing their mathematical skills where you can use a calculator for one section and one without a calculator.
However, if you believe this is enough, enter the 5th section. This section is there to keep the students on their toes. This section is a mystery for most students opting for the SAT.
How to Prepare for This SAT Section 5?
The section 5 of the SAT is all about evaluating the reasoning abilities of the students as mentioned earlier, unlike other sections where the knowledge is evaluated for that specific subject. So relying solely on knowledge from books is not enough. You will need to perform well with a strategic approach. Here is how you can SAT Test Prep:
1. Build Your Test-Taking Stamina
This Experimental SAT Section will add 20 minutes to the test duration. So you will be in the exam hall for over three hours. Sitting for this long can be exhausting and may cause fatigue. It can affect your performance in both the earlier and section 5. You should work on your test-taking stamina in a simulated test environment. Gradually increase your focus during longer study sessions to build the stamina needed for test day.
2- Familiarize Yourself with the Test Material and Scope
If you don’t know about this section, you might get anxious during the test. We don’t know how hard this section is, but it’s important to know what it’s for assessing aptitude. Make sure you practice the core SAT sections, but also general problem-solving and reasoning to feel more comfortable. You’ll be able to approach questions logically if you know how the test works.
3- Commit to Attempting All Sections
The core focus of adding this section is to maintain the test integrity. This will assure fairness and minimize cheating. If you are planning to avoid this section then this can raise the red flags. So it would be better to complete it alongside the other sections. Even though this section may feel challenging make an effort to provide thoughtful answers. Keep in mind that this section is more about consistency and effort than perfection.
Does Section 5 on the SAT Count in 2024?
While the mystery and anxiety of the SAT section 5 is still there, there is good news too. It is completely optional for test takers in 2024. Also, it wouldn’t affect your score on the actual exam. However, it would be good for you to attempt this section for the maximum score. The college board has no confirmation about the inclusion of section 5 score in your overall SAT Score but there is no record showing the instances of questions in this section appearing in the scored and answered section. Read also our tips on how to improve SAT Scores.
Final Thoughts
This may have created an impression that SAT Section 5 is just there to increase the length of the test. It may seem unnecessary for the potential test-takers but it is still the part of SAT exam. It will play an important role in the quality assurance process. Section 5 in the SAT Exam will help the college board to test new question formats and experiment with new material to increase the efficiency of the test even better. If you want more tips, Ivy Learning professional teaching and counseling teams will help you.
