The SAT Subject Tests, once called achievement tests, measure student knowledge in a specific area. According to The College Board, there are 20 tests in five subject areas: American and world history, literature, mathematics level 1 and 2, biology, chemistry and physics. There are also foreign language tests in French, Italian, Latin, Modern Hebrew, Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. Each subject test takes one hour to complete. Although The College Board states that most students should take subject tests, in reality not all colleges and universities use the tests. Some universities use the subject tests to place students in high demand majors, such as engineering.
According to The College Board, the SAT Subject Test in Literature consists of 60 multiple choice questions, with a 60 minute time limit. Forty to fifty percent of the test will be American Literature, forty percent will be British Literature and around 10 percent will be world literature. The test is evenly divided between poetry and prose. The student must know literary terms, figurative language, meaning and context of words and voice. The test is broken into six to eight sections with reading passages and questions following. The foreign language tests are broken into two classes: reading only, and listening. The language tests measure knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, as well as the student's ability to read and interpret a passage and answer questions.
There are two mathematics tests, according to The College Board. Mathematics level one has 50 multiple choice questions with a 60 minute time limit. The level one math test covers numbers and operations, algebra and functions, geometry and measurement, data analysis, statistics and probability. The test is split, with algebra and geometry accounting for 40 percent each of information, and the other 20 percent is numbers and operations, and statistics and probability. Mathematics level two also has 50 questions with a 60 minute time limit. The mathematics level two test covers much of the same material as the level one test, with the addition of trigonometry and pre-calculus problems. The science tests include 70 to 85 questions covering basic concepts in biology, chemistry, and physics.
There are two history subject tests. The first, an American history test, has 90 multiple choice questions with a 60 minute time limit. Questions may be asked singly or in groups with a chart, graph, or document to read. The largest percentage of questions on the American history test is political history, followed by social history, and the rest -- all about 15 percent each -- cover economic history, foreign policy and cultural history. The world history test is structured like the American history test, with twenty-five percent of the test covering pre-Cambrian history to A.D. 500 and twenty-five percent of the test covering the period from 1500-1900. The other 50 percent of the test covers the years 500-1500, after 1900, and questions that ask about more than one time period.