Printable SAT Practice Tests PDFs: 18 FREE Official Tests

In this article, I’ll tell you where to find

all official, printable SAT practice tests and answer keys.

This comprehensive guide gives you access to more SAT practice tests than any other online guide. In addition, you’ll learn key strategies that’ll help you make big improvements on SAT practice tests you can print out.

UPDATE: College Board Ends the SAT Essay

In January 2021, the College Board announced that,

after the June 2021 test date, they would no longer be offering the SAT Essay.

The essay was previously an optional part of the SAT, and many students already chose not to take it. However, taking the SAT Essay will now no longer be an option.

The only possible way to take the SAT Essay is during an


SAT School Day


.

And even in these cases, your school has to choose to include the essay, and we expect many of them won’t.

Because this is such a new decision, official practice SATs still include an essay. The good news is that you don’t need to worry about them! Skip over any practice SAT Essays you come across and focus your studying on the remaining sections of the exam (Math, Reading, and Writing and Language).

You can also learn more about the ending of the SAT Essay here.

Free Printable SAT Tests (Current 1600 Format, 2016-Present)

Currently, there are 8

available practice tests

for the

redesigned SAT

, all of which have been provided by the maker of the SAT itself, the

College Board

. These tests are the absolute best ones to use for your SAT studies since they’re the most similar to the test.

Practice Test 1:


Questions

|

Answers

|

Answer Explanations

|

Essay

Practice Test 3:


Questions

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Answers

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Answer Explanations

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Essay

Practice Test 5:


Questions

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Answers

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Answer Explanations

|

Essay

Practice Test 6:


Questions

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Answers

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Answer Explanations

|

Essay

Practice Test 7:


Questions

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Answers

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Answer Explanations

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Essay

Practice Test 8:


Questions

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Answers

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Answer Explanations

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Essay

Practice Test 9:


Questions

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Answers

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Answer Explanations



|

Essay

Practice Test 10:


Questions

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Answers

|

Answer Explanations



|

Essay

Don’t forget to fill in your answers with the

SAT answer sheet

.

Where Are Practice Tests 2 and 4?

You probably noticed that Practice Test 2 and Practice Test 4 are missing from the section above.

That’s because the College Board has removed them from their list of officially available practice tests.

If you’ve already worked through the first eight official practice tests and want to keep working on

test-taking skills

like time management and strategy, then these exams are a great option!

Practice Test 2:


Questions

|

Answers

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Answer Explanations

|

Essay

Practice Test 4:


Questions

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Answers

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Answer Explanations

|

Essay

Free Printable SAT Tests (Old 2400 Format, 2005-2016)

These next tests follow the old 2400 format of the SAT, with separate Critical Reading, Math, and Writing sections. (By contrast, on the current SAT, your Reading and Writing scores are combined for a total Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score.)

Despite their somewhat out-of-date structure,

these tests can be useful for your studying.

Just keep in mind

all the major differences between the old and current SAT

. I recommend using these tests more as training sessions than as full-on practice for the SAT.

Official SAT Printable Practice Test 2013-14:


Questions

|

Answers

Official SAT Printable Practice Test 2012-13:


Questions

|

Answers

Official SAT Printable Practice Test 2007-08:


Questions

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Answers

Official SAT Printable Practice Test 2004-05:


Questions

|

Answers

It might look as though I’ve skipped a few years here, but I actually haven’t:

all the tests for the years not listed are repeats of those above,

including the 2011-12, 2010-11, 2009-10, 2008-09, 2006-07, and 2005-06 practice tests. So if you find these tests on other forums or websites, don’t waste your time taking them since they’re the

exact

same as the ones already listed.

We’re going way back into the past for this next set of SAT tests.

Free Printable SAT Tests (Very Old 1600 Format, Pre-2005)

Before the SAT underwent a redesign in 2016, the last time it had changed was in 2005, back when it jumped from a 1600-point scale to a 2400-point scale.

Despite this massive shift in scoring, only a few major differences could be found between the very old 1600 SAT and the old 2400 SAT. Other than those, most of the test remained the same.

As a result, these very old SAT practice tests are a

hidden gold mine

that few students know of. By taking these tests, then, you’ll have

that

much more of an edge over other test takers.

Before I give you the links, though, note a few important caveats:

• 
  You can skip the analogies questions on Reading.
  
  These are the questions that look like “CAR : ENGINE ::.” Since they’re no longer on the SAT, there’s no point in studying them.

• 
  You can skip the comparison questions on Math.
  
  This question type presents two boxes and asks you to decide whether A or B is greater. Again, these aren’t on the current SAT, so you don’t need to worry about these.

• 
  There is no Writing section on these tests.
  
  Therefore, make sure you use supplementary prep materials to study the
  
  grammar
  
  and question types you’ll need to know for the current SAT’s Writing and Language section.

Be grateful you don’t need to answer some of these old-format questions—analogies were the primary reason that the SAT had a bad reputation for forcing students to memorize vocab!

Official SAT Test 2004-05:


Questions

|

Answers

Official SAT Test 2003-04:


Questions

|

Answers

Official SAT Test 2002:


Questions + Answers

Official SAT Test 2001:


Questions + Answers

6 Tips for Getting the Most Out of SAT Practice Tests

Each SAT practice test requires over three hours of intense focus, so it’s important to utilize them effectively. Below are six critical strategies to follow each time you take a practice test.

#1: Print Out the Test and Take It on Paper

Because the SAT is a paper test (as opposed to a computer test), it’s best to take the practice tests on paper.

Also, make sure you

do your scratch work directly on the test.

Don’t get out separate pieces of scratch paper to use since on the actual test you won’t get any scratch paper (but

will

be allowed to

take notes directly in your test booklet

).

#2: Use Strict Timing on Each Section

Although time pressure can be intimidating,

it’s important to follow official SAT time limits

as closely as possible

on practice tests.

Why? If, for example, you spend just two extra minutes on a section, this could raise your score by hundreds of points, since the extra time allowed you to answer more questions than you would’ve been able to within the actual time limit. As a result, your practice SAT score becomes inflated and

doesn’t give you an accurate indicator of your actual scoring ability.

Here’s an overview of the official time limits for each SAT section as well as how long you should spend (roughly) per question:

SAT Section	Time	# of Questions	Time per Question
Reading	65 minutes	52	75 seconds
Writing and Language	35 minutes	44	48 seconds
Math No Calculator	25 minutes	20	75 seconds
Math Calculator	55 minutes	38	87 seconds

Make sure to


give yourself breaks

, too!

#3: Take the Test in One Sitting

The SAT is a marathon of a test, lasting around three hours on an early Saturday morning. Many of my students have told me how difficult it was to stay focused the entire time and keep themselves from making careless mistakes at the end.

Preparing for the SAT is like training for a marathon:

you need to ensure you have enough stamina to make it through the test.

And the best way to do this is to take each practice test in one sitting, as if you were taking the actual SAT.

If it’s too difficult for you to find the time to take a practice test in one sitting, go ahead and split it up over several days—just make sure you

adhere to the time limits for each section.

Ultimately, it’s better to do some SAT practice than none at all!

#4: Review Your Mistakes (and Your Correct Answers, Too)

Practice tests aren’t just good for getting to know the SAT format and sections—they’re also great for

learning from your mistakes

.

For every practice SAT test you take,

spend time reviewing both questions you got wrong and questions you got right.

If you don’t know why you missed a question, don’t just skip it and move on; doing this means you won’t learn what kind of mistake you made, which increases your risk of making it over and over again. This habit can affect your score pretty drastically.

So make sure to approach your SAT prep with this in mind:

quality over quantity.

I’d rather have you take three practice tests with detailed review than six practice tests with no review.

#5: Take At Least 4 Practice Tests Before the Actual SAT

From my experience with thousands of students, this magic number works best at getting students really comfortable with the SAT in all major respects, including timing and endurance.

If you want to take more than four tests, go ahead and try it out—just make sure that you

balance your prep with some focused studying on your weaknesses

so that you can make faster progress.

#6: Use Supplemental Resources If Necessary

Some students are great at learning the ins and outs of the SAT through practice tests alone—they recognize their mistakes, understand why they made them, and avoid making them in the future.

But most students need additional help

to pinpoint their weaknesses and teach them the skills and strategies needed for success on the SAT. If practice tests aren’t enough for you, download

our free guide to help you figure out which SAT prep method works best for you

.

What’s Next?

Want to get a perfect SAT score?

Take a look at

our famous guide to a 1600,

written by an expert SAT perfect-scorer.

Aiming high on each SAT section?

Then read our individual, in-depth strategy guides to help you reach an

800 on SAT Reading

,

SAT Math

, and

SAT Writing

.

Looking for expert strategies that can help you ace the exam?

No problem.

Check out our six expert tips

that can help you boost your score.