Rachel Kapelke-Dale

SAT Diagnostic Test: How Will You Score on the SAT?

SAT Diagnostic Test - image by Magoosh

Welcome to the Magoosh SAT diagnostic test!

What’s an SAT Diagnostic Test, and Why Should I Take One?

A diagnostic test is a test that one takes without any preparation to see where they stand on the material to be tested. If you’re thinking of taking the SAT sometime in the future, you should definitely take an SAT diagnostic test if you haven’t already.

Even if you are an excellent test taker, an SAT diagnostic test can either give you some peace of mind about your test taking abilities, or reveal potential weaknesses that you might not have realized. For most students, some sort of SAT diagnostic test is absolutely necessary for setting the foundation for your SAT preparation, particularly in knowing which areas are your strengths and weaknesses.

On this SAT diagnostic test, you’ll find 30 questions, 10 in each category: English, Writing, and Math. Instructions for each prompt will appear above the question.

While the quiz won’t act as an SAT score predictor, it will tell you how strong your preparation has been and how to get your score where you want it to be.

The absolute BEST way to measure how prepared you are for the SAT is to take a timed, full-length practice test and see how well you score under test-like conditions. But, since you probably don’t have 3-4 hours to spare right this minute, let’s start with a 30-question quiz.

Ready to take the SAT diagnostic test? Let’s go!

Magoosh’s SAT Diagnostic Test


Quiz Starts Here:

This quiz has one page for each SAT section (3 total): Writing and Language (“English”), Math, and Reading.

This quiz will take about 30-60 minutes to complete, so grab some scratch paper and a calculator, and do your best!

  • English
  • Math
  • Reading
 33%

Improve your SAT score; start your Magoosh SAT prep today

Page 1 of 3

English

Instructions

After reading the passage below, choose the answer to each question that most effectively improves the quality of writing in the passage or that makes the passage conform to the conventions of standard written English. Many questions include a “NO CHANGE” option. Choose that option if you think the best choice is to leave the relevant portion of the passage as it is. 
 
[1]

Lately, a small but 1 annoying group of scholars, writers, and students have been questioning William Shakespeare’s place in the literary pantheon. For several hundred years, Shakespeare has been the undisputed master of English literature. Finally, his super-human status has turned against him. Now, people are beginning to ask whether an uneducated man raised by illiterate parents could truly have written these great plays. 2 These skeptics, known as “Oxfordians,” believe that William Shakespeare of Stratford-Upon-Avon, the figure to whom history has ascribed the plays, was not actually a writer, but the stand-in for an anonymous playwright. A wide variety of possible “true authors” have been proposed.

[2]

Much of the argument revolves around the lack of records surrounding William Shakespeare of Stratford. There are no records from the Stratford Grammar School, so his earliest education is undocumented. Additionally, no personal letters from Shakespeare remain. The only examples of his writing are six signatures that appear sloppy. His parents signed their names with an “X.” So did his daughters. 3 Despite all of this evidence suggesting that Shakespeare may have been illiterate.

[3]

Yet, the traditional Shakespeare scholars (called “Stratfordians”) have little patience with these theories. In terms of Shakespeare’s literacy, scholars point to reports written by the man’s friends. The famous author Ben Johnson, for one, knew Shakespeare personally. He wrote often about Shakespeare’s work, although his reviews rarely flattered his friend. Thomas Haywood noted that his friend of the “enchanted quill” 4 was liking to go by the nickname “Will.” 5 These are only two of many examples. Thus, on the one hand, the Oxfordian’s denial of Shakespeare’s literacy makes arguments from lack of 6 information, on the other, the Stratfordian’s argument rests on the reports of people who knew Shakespeare personally.

[4]

Additionally, Shakespeare’s plays reveal a dizzying number of details regarding contemporary manners among royalty and foreign cultures. The historical Shakespeare grew up in a small town, and never traveled abroad. The Oxfordians ask, “How could such a sheltered man have written so well about these matters of high culture and other lands?” The true author, they suggest, must have 7 been one of the most wealthy people in England. 
 
[5]

As for the questions about Shakespeare’s lack of cultural exposure, historical examination debunks the skeptics’ claims. In Shakespeare’s time, the standard grammar school curriculum included quite a bit of the information contained in the plays. 8 Nevertheless, records reveal a book containing most of the allusions that show up in Shakespeare’s plays 9 was donated by a private benefactor to Stratford’s grammar school a few years after William’s birth. Despite his genius, Shakespeare made quite a few mistakes in his descriptions. As he wrote boldly about places he had never visited, 10 except he made major geographical and political blunders in these descriptions. So, Shakespeare’s lack of travel is consistent with the content of his plays.
 

1.

The writer wants to convey an attitude of respectful disagreement. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

2.

These skeptics, known as “Oxfordians,” believe that

3.

Despite all of this evidence suggesting

4.

was liking to go by

5.

The writer is considering deleting the underlined sentence (#5). Should the sentence be kept or deleted?

6.

information, on the other,

7.

 
For sentence 7, which choice provides the most relevant hypothesis?

8.

Nevertheless,

9.

 
At this point (marker 9), the writer is considering adding the following information.

“—as well as several of the mistakes that Shakespeare makes—”

Should the writer make this addition here?

10.

except he






 











Author

  • Rachel Kapelke-Dale

    Rachel is a Magoosh Content Creator. She writes and updates content on our High School and GRE Blogs to ensure students are equipped with the best information during their test prep journey. As a test-prep instructor for more than five years in there different countries, Rachel has helped students around the world prepare for various standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT, and she is one of the authors of our Magoosh ACT Prep Book. Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University, an MA in Cinematography from the Université de Paris VII, and a Ph.D. in Film Studies from University College London. For over a decade, Rachel has honed her craft as a fiction and memoir writer and public speaker. Her novel, THE BALLERINAS, is forthcoming in December 2021 from St. Martin’s Press, while her memoir, GRADUATES IN WONDERLAND, co-written with Jessica Pan, was published in 2014 by Penguin Random House. Her work has appeared in over a dozen online and print publications, including Vanity Fair Hollywood. When she isn’t strategically stringing words together at Magoosh, you can find Rachel riding horses or with her nose in a book. Join her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!

More from Magoosh