50% Extended Time Testing on the SAT
By far the most common accommodation received by College Board students—regardless of whether they are taking the PSAT, SAT, SAT Subject Tests, or AP Exams—is 50% extended time. This blog post is designed to help students and parents understand how this widespread accommodation is implemented on the SAT.
50% extended time, widely called “time-and-a-half,” is designed to provide students with general learning disabilities extra-time on each of the SAT sections: Reading, Writing & Language, Math (non-calculator), Math (calculator), and—if applicable—the Essay. However, given the standard length of the Reading, Math (calculator), and Essay sections, breaks on these three sections are given half-way through each section.
The following table describes the format of the SAT with the optional Essay component when a student receives 50% extended time.
Section Name
Time Allotted
49 Minutes
Break
5 Minutes
49 Minutes
Break
5 Minutes
Section 2: Writing
53 Minutes
Break
5 Minutes
Section 3: Math (non-Calculator)
38 Minutes
Break
5 Minutes
Section 4: Math w/ Calculator (1st half)
42 Minutes
Break
5 Minutes
Section 4: Math w/ Calculator (2nd half)
41 Minutes
Break
5 Minutes
Section 5: Essay (1st half)
38 Minutes
Break
5 Minutes
Section 5: Essay (2nd half)
37 Minutes
TOTAL TESTING TIME (INCLUDING BREAKS)
6 Hours, 22 Minutes
We strongly encourage students that receive this accommodation to simulate the exam as closely as possible by taking timed practice tests according to this strict schedule. Anything a student can do to mimic the actual testing environment should be done. While we generally find that students who need extra time do better when given it, the length of the test as a whole and the mental stamina required to sit through a standardized test that is over 6 hours in length should not be underestimated.
If you have questions about SAT accommodations generally or best practices for preparing for the SAT with extended time specifically, please call our team at (720) 605-6622 or contact us via email at info@mosereducational.com.