The SAT is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Introduced in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Scholastic Assessment Test, then SAT I: Reasoning Test, then the SAT Reasoning Test, and now simply the SAT.
The SAT is owned, developed and published by the College Board, a private, non-profit organization in the United States. It is administrated on behalf of the college board by the Educational Testing Service, which until recently developed the SAT as well.
The SAT is a 3 hour 50 minute exam (including an optional essay which takes 50 minutes), consisting of five sections: Reading, Writing, Math (with calculator), Math (no calculator) and essay (optional).