The SAT at 100: Expanding Access and Opportunity

As we get ready to launch the first SAT administration of the new school year this weekend, we are also marking a much larger milestone: the 100th anniversary of the SAT! 

We look forward to celebrating and reflecting on the SAT centennial throughout this school year, as we continue to build on the test’s legacy of expanding access and opportunity for students.

The first SAT was administered on June 23, 1926, at a time when only about 4% of Americans completed college. It was taken by some 8,040 students from across the U.S.—significantly, about 40% of them were women—who were looking to break through the legacy-dominated college admissions systems of the day. 

At the time, College Board—then known as the College Entrance Examination Board—ran a series of subject-area essay exams. It adopted the new test to create a more standardized way to compare the qualifications of students from different high schools and backgrounds.

Of course, the SAT has changed profoundly since those early days. That first test included a whopping 315 questions and gave students only 97 minutes to finish. (They weren’t expected to get through all the questions.) More troublingly, the test originally focused on measuring fixed, inherited aptitude, which reflected the flawed conventional thinking of the era. 

The SAT long ago evolved past that problematic foundation while retaining its emphasis on breaking down barriers to life-changing opportunity. For the better part of its history—through ongoing research, commitment to student opportunity, and intentional improvements in test design—the SAT has provided a validated measure of students’ developed readiness and learned knowledge and skills. It has served as a powerful platform for all students, regardless of zip code or background, to show what they know and strengthen their paths to college and career. 

Today, that translates to 98 questions in a format designed for precise measurement and accessibility.

A Searchlight for Talent and Opportunity 

As a common, research-backed signal of student readiness, the SAT played a significant role in the democratization of higher education and in helping to boost social mobility in the U.S. This was particularly true in the periods following World War II and the civil rights era, when ground-breaking legislation and changing public attitudes broadened access to educational opportunities. As more students sought a college education, the SAT served as a searchlight for talent that ranged across regions and backgrounds and made it possible for colleges to identify, admit, and support students at greater scale. The number of students taking the SAT grew from around 10,000 in the early 1940s to 1.4 million in 1976. 

As the SAT grew in influence, it became a rite of passage for generations of students—a shared symbol of ambition, hard work, achievement, and opportunity.  Many people, including myself, have stories of how the SAT opened new possibilities for them and created generational opportunity through access to college and the scholarships that so many need to pay for college. Many also remember taking the SAT—or the day they got their scores—in the way they remember other momentous occasions in their lives, both the nerve-racking and the rewarding. 

Yet, while it provided indelible memories, the SAT never became stuck in time. The test has constantly evolved in response to shifts in education, evidence, and technology. It has gone through dozens of redesigns and refinements—even eschewing its famed analogy questions—to maintain fairness and relevance to students, schools, and higher education institutions as a measure of the skills that matter most for student success after high school and as a stepping-stone to opportunity. It is a credential that is deeply research driven—particularly in terms of its validity as a tool for predicting student success, regardless of race or socioeconomic background. 

Making Readiness Accessible and Actionable

Some of the biggest changes to the SAT have come in recent years, during my tenure at College Board. In 2024, the test transitioned to an all-digital format, delivered on our state-of-the-art Bluebook platform. We’ve also taken steps to align students’ performance to insights on career readiness and potential career pathways. The SAT School Day program has grown dramatically, with most students (68%) now taking the SAT in school, on a school day, at no cost to them or their families. And we’ve invested heavily in the development of free practice resources, including free live tutoring, so that all students have access to high-quality test preparation and skill-building tools, regardless of their ability to pay.  

While these changes emerged for different reasons, they all reflect what I see as the most powerful aspects of SAT history—its ability to empower more students and make readiness more accessible and actionable.

Today, 2 million students take the SAT each year, and roughly 39% of U.S. adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. These numbers are not unrelated. They are reflective of the role the SAT has played in leveling the playing field for admissions, illuminating talent, and increasing access and social mobility.  

They are also a reflection of the test’s enduring relevance. With increasing grade inflation in high schools and AI tools making it more difficult to determine the authenticity of student work, the SAT remains a reliable, high-value signal of students’ core literacy, numeracy, and analytical skills and readiness. Even in test-optional environments, it can give colleges a more precise understanding of students’ strengths and needs and help them better support students’ success.  

And it remains, after 100 years, the most powerful way for students to step up, raise their hand, and say, “Here’s what I can do.”