Guides / Never leave a blank
Never leave a question blank on the SAT or ACT
Neither test deducts points for a wrong answer. A blank always scores zero. A guess never scores less.
Neither the digital SAT nor the ACT deducts points for wrong answers. A blank question always scores zero. A guess never scores less than zero, and has roughly a 25% chance of scoring points on a four-choice question. There is no version of this math where skipping a question is the safer move.
Why this used to be different advice
The paper SAT, before 2016, subtracted a quarter point for every wrong answer, which made blind guessing genuinely risky on questions you had zero information about. That penalty is gone. Both the current digital SAT and the ACT use rights-only scoring: your raw score is simply the count of correct answers, full stop. A lot of outdated advice floating around still assumes the old penalty exists. It doesn't.
How to guess when time is running out
- Eliminate anything you can first, even one obviously wrong choice. Removing one option takes a guess from 25% to 33% on a four-choice question.
- Pick one letter and stick with it for a batch of remaining questions if you're truly out of time and out of information. Consistency doesn't change the odds per question, but it's faster than deliberating on each one.
- Sweep back through anything left blank in the final seconds of a module and fill in something, before the timer ends. An unanswered question left when time runs out is the one guaranteed zero on the entire test.
A survey of 240 students found that 60% preferred online classes. How many students preferred online classes?
60% of 240 is 0.6 times 240, which equals 144. Even without doing the exact multiplication under time pressure, 60% is a little over half, so the answer should be a little over 120, which eliminates A and points straight at B.
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