I sat for the June 2026 Digital SAT to experience the exam firsthand and identify trends that may help our students prepare more effectively. Overall, the test felt fair and consistent with recent administrations, though there were a few notable patterns worth highlighting.
Testing Center Experience
The testing day began less smoothly than previous SAT administrations. In prior test dates, room assignments had been clearly posted outside the testing area. This time, that information was missing, and many students had to determine their room assignments on the spot. The result was a noticeable amount of confusion before testing even began.
There was also a delay before the room was supervised, with students waiting several minutes before a proctor arrived and instructions could begin. While these logistical issues did not ultimately affect the exam’s administration, they served as a good reminder that students should arrive early and be prepared for factors outside of their control.
Reading & Writing
Overall, the Reading & Writing section felt somewhat easier than the May administration. The vocabulary remained accessible, and nothing stood out as especially surprising or unusually difficult.
The most demanding questions appeared in the middle portion of Module 2. Rather than testing simple information retrieval, these questions required students to carefully evaluate subtle relationships between ideas and distinguish between closely related answer choices.
One strategy continues to prove especially valuable on the digital SAT: don’t get stuck.
Because questions within a module vary considerably in difficulty, students should feel comfortable skipping particularly time-consuming questions and returning to them later. Often, several quicker points can be earned farther into the module before revisiting the more challenging items.
Overall, Reading & Writing felt balanced, predictable, and representative of the current Digital SAT.
Math
The Math section also felt generally manageable, although several of the more difficult questions were concentrated in geometry.
One challenging problem required students to apply relationships between the volumes and surface areas of similar three-dimensional figures. While the underlying mathematics was not especially advanced, the problem demanded careful multi-step reasoning and a strong understanding of geometric scaling relationships.
Another notable question involved factoring a higher-degree polynomial, reinforcing the importance of practicing less familiar algebraic structures in addition to the more common quadratic problems.
Geometry appeared to be the primary source of difficulty throughout the section. One problem involved multiple right triangles embedded within a larger figure. Although the calculations themselves were relatively straightforward, the diagram required students to carefully identify relationships between similar triangles before solving.
This highlights an important strategy we emphasize with our students: redraw complex diagrams. Organizing information visually often reduces cognitive load and makes otherwise intimidating geometry problems significantly more approachable.
Several other challenging geometry questions appeared as well, suggesting that students should not neglect this content area during their preparation.
Percentages also appeared frequently throughout the exam. Questions involving percent increase, percent decrease, and percentage calculations continue to be common despite representing concepts that many students consider elementary. Because these questions appear so consistently, percentage fluency remains one of the highest-return areas for preparation.
Finally, word problems once again demonstrated that understanding the language of a question is often more difficult than performing the mathematics itself. Many problems required students to translate lengthy verbal descriptions into mathematical relationships before calculations could even begin.
This is also an important reminder that Desmos is an incredibly powerful tool—but it is not a substitute for understanding the structure of a problem. Students who know what relationship they are trying to model can often solve problems much more efficiently than those who simply begin experimenting in the calculator.
Overall Takeaways
The clearest lesson from this administration is that success on the Digital SAT requires far more than content knowledge alone.
Students who perform at the highest level are able to maintain focus, manage their time strategically, recover quickly after difficult questions, and sustain their mental energy throughout the entire exam.
From a preparation standpoint, I’d recommend placing particular emphasis on:
- Building endurance through full-length practice tests.
- Becoming comfortable skipping and returning to difficult questions.
- Strengthening geometry fundamentals and visual problem-solving skills.
- Developing fluency with percentages and multi-step word problems.
- Learning to use Desmos strategically rather than relying on it as a shortcut.
Overall, the June administration felt fair, predictable, and well aligned with recent Digital SAT trends. Students who continue practicing with official Bluebook exams while focusing on strategy—not just content—should feel well prepared for upcoming administrations.