The Scholastic Aptitude Test is a Standardized test that measures verbal, mathematical and analytical skills. It is intended to help the graduate schools (of all fields other than business) assess the potential of applicants for advanced study. The Board is a national nonprofit membership association whose mission is to prepare, inspire, and connect students to college and opportunity, with a commitment to excellence and equity. The Board is composed of more than 4,200 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves more than three million students and their parents, 22,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. A board of trustees composed of 31 members, seven of whom are ex officio, governs the College Board. The SAT is given seven times a year at thousands of testing centers throughout the world.

Most students take the SAT during their junior or senior year of high school. About half the students who take the SAT do so twice in the spring of their junior year and fall of their senior year. Today, nearly 80 percent of four-year colleges and universities use test scores in admissions decisions. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that the best way to predict freshman year grade point average is to use a combination of SAT scores and the high school grade point average.