What the adaptive second module means for you

The SAT has a Reading and Writing section and then a Math section. Each section is split into two timed parts called modules. A Reading and Writing module has 27 questions and 32 minutes. A Math module has 22 questions and 35 minutes. Each module has its own clock.

Module 1 is a mix of easier and harder questions. When it ends, the test looks at how you did and decides whether your Module 2 will be the easier version or the harder one. Because the test changes based on how you're doing, it's called adaptiveChanging once per section: how you do on the first timed part decides which version of the second part you get.. It only changes once per section, in between the two modules.

Each section gets its own decision. How you do in Reading and Writing has nothing to do with which Math Module 2 you get. Both versions of Module 2 have the same number of questions and the same amount of time.

Nothing changes inside a module while you work. Every question in it was set before the module started, which is why you can skip ahead and come back. So if a hard question comes right after one you missed, the test isn't reacting to your miss. That question would have been there either way.

For what each section's modules look like inside, see the Reading and Writing guide and the Math guide.

The questions you get right in Module 1 count toward your score for that section. How you do on Module 1 also decides which Module 2 you get.

The harder Module 2 is the only way to the top scores in a section. The easier one limits how high your score for that section can go, even if you get every question in it right. College Board doesn't publish where that limit is, so you can't count on the easier version being enough for your goal.

So work carefully all the way through Module 1, right up to the last question. Don't rush it to save energy for Module 2. Module 2 gets its own full clock either way, and a weaker Module 1 can leave you with the easier version.

Module 1 ends when its clock runs out. On test day you can't end it sooner, and once it's over you can't go back to it. If you reach the end with time left, fill in any blanks first, then go back to your flags. Flag and move on has the order to take them in.

The test doesn't tell you which version of Module 2 you got. You can't tell from how hard it feels, either, because both versions mix questions you'll find easy with ones you'll find hard. In Math, both start with easier questions and get harder toward the end. In Reading and Writing, a hard question can turn up anywhere.

A brutal stretch in Module 2 can make it feel like the test is going badly, and an easy one can make you think you got the easier version. You can't trust either feeling, so don't try to work out your version during the test. Every second you spend comparing this module with the last one comes out of the questions in front of you.

With 2:00 left, put an answer in every blank, in Module 2 the same as in Module 1. A wrong answer and a blank both score zero, so a guess can only help. Pacing each module has the rest of the timing plan, and Guessing and the answer eliminator shows how to make a better guess.

Our practice tests choose Module 2 the same way the SAT does. When you take a full test or a single section, how you do on Module 1 decides whether you get the easier or the harder Module 2 in that section. When you practice one module on its own, you get Module 1, unless you click “Pick a Module 2 to practice” and choose the easier or harder version yourself.

After the test, the results page shows which version you got. Under each section score, next to the number you got right, it says “Module 2: easier version” or “Module 2: harder version.”

If a section shows the easier version, start your review with the Module 1 questions you missed in that section, since those are what decided it.

Every score on our results page is an estimate. Only College Board gives official SAT scores.