The 25-minute essay will always be the first section of the SAT I , and the 10-minute multiple-choice writing section will always be the final section. The remaining six 25-minute sections can appear in any order, as can the two 20-minute sections. Test takers sitting next to each other in the same testing session may have test books with entirely different sections.

The SAT I is a three-hour test that measures verbal and mathematical reasoning skills students have developed over time and skills they need to be successful academically. Many colleges and universities use the SAT I as one indicator among others-class rank, high school GPA, extracurricular activities, personal essay, and teacher recommendations-of a student's readiness to do college-level work. SAT I scores are compared with the scores of other applicants, and the accepted scores at an institution, and can be used as a basis for awarding merit-based financial aid.

All of the SAT I is multiple-choice except for 10 student-produced response math questions. These questions ask you to fill in or "grid-in" your own answers using a special section of the answer sheet.