SAT Intel Report · November 2026
November 2026 SAT: tricky vocab, a prism question and a sneaky table
Here are the seven kinds of questions that cost people the most points on the November test. For each one, you’ll see a real example, the wrong answer lots of people picked, and the right one.
Was the November 2026 SAT hard?
Reading was the hard part. Module 2 had long science passages, graphs and hard vocab, and lots of people ran out of time. Math felt easy to most people until the last few questions. Those were about a prism, a table and some angles. If you lost points, you probably lost them there.
Vocab: two words meant the same, but one was mean
- frugal
- stingy
- ameliorate
- dearth
- dissonance
- breadth
- precipitating
- monetizing
- discount
- denounce
- scrutinize
- magnify
- immaterial
- substantiate
- copious
- incipient
- caveat
- abate
Vocab was the hardest part of Reading. In the toughest questions, two answer choices meant almost the same thing. One was nice and one was mean, or one described a person and one described a thing.
What one looked like
One sentence praised someone for being careful with money. The choices included frugal, stingy and inexpensive.
Where people went wrong
Lots of people picked stingy. It does mean careful with money, so you can see why it’s tempting. But it’s an insult, and the sentence was saying something nice.
What it actually is
Frugal means careful with money in a good way. Inexpensive is wrong too, because it’s about things, not people. Another question was about not having enough of something. The answer was dearth, which means a shortage. Dissonance means a clash, and nothing was clashing.
How to prep it
When two choices mean about the same thing, ask yourself one question. Is the sentence saying something nice or something mean? Then check if the word fits a person or a thing. That usually gets you down to one answer.
Rewritten from the November 2026 SAT: same idea, new words and numbers
Historians have long debated how the earliest horse herders of the Central Asian steppe organized their seasonal migrations across enormous expanses of grassland. Progress on the question has been remarkably slow, however, because of a ______ of written documentation: the herders themselves produced no permanent records, and the few contemporary accounts composed by outside observers are fragmentary, secondhand, and frequently contradictory. Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Graph questions: the right answer compared both models
The graph and table questions in Module 2 were hard. The trickiest one was about two computer models of how much carbon a forest soaks up. Scientists said one model was too rough to be useful.
What one looked like
One model split the forest into small squares. The other used big squares. In one version, the small-square model gave 3.1, 5.8, 8.9 and 7.6 for four parts of the forest. The big-square model gave 6.4 for all four.
Where people went wrong
A choice comparing two parts of the forest in the small-square model, like 8.9 and 7.6. The numbers are right. But it never talks about the big-square model, so it can’t prove that model is too rough.
What it actually is
The choice that said the small-square model went from 3.1 to 8.9, while the big-square model said 6.4 every time. That shows the big squares hid real differences. Some people switched to a choice saying neither model was clear, and lost the point.
How to prep it
Before you read the choices, say what the claim is comparing. Here you had small squares against big squares. If a choice only talks about one side, cross it out, even if every number in it is right.
Finish-the-sentence questions: go with the new evidence
The hardest Reading questions made you finish the last sentence of a passage. In a few of them, new evidence showed that an old idea was wrong. The right answer followed the new evidence. The wrong answer repeated the old idea.
What one looked like
A passage was about giant animals that used to live on an island. Scientists used to think they were the ancestors of the animals living there now. Then a new study showed the fossils matched a different group.
Where people went wrong
The choice saying today’s animals came from the giants. It sounds like a normal story, and it’s what scientists used to believe. But the new study says the opposite.
What it actually is
The choice saying few, if any of the giants were related to today’s animals. Notice the careful wording. It doesn’t claim more than the evidence shows, and that’s usually a good sign.
How to prep it
Before you look at the choices, guess how the last sentence should end. Then ask yourself if the evidence really supports it. Pick careful words like may over choices that sound too sure.
Rewritten from the November 2026 SAT: same idea, new words and numbers
Fossil deposits on the Caribbean island of Isla Verde contain the remains of several extinct lizard species that were considerably larger than any lizard living on the island today. Early researchers assumed that these giants were simply oversized ancestors of the island's modern species. A recent analysis by herpetologist Tomas Arriaga, however, compared skeletal features of the fossils with those of present-day species and found that the giants share a set of distinctive skull characteristics with a group of lizards inhabiting distant mainland coastlines. The giants also lack the characteristics that unite the modern Isla Verde species, which suggests that ______ Which choice most logically completes the text?
Prism question: they gave four sides, you needed one
A box-shaped prism question gave you the area of all four sides added together. It asked which volume was possible. All the lengths were whole numbers, so you had to test the choices.
What one looked like
In one version, the top and bottom were squares. The four sides added up to 4,588 square centimeters. Every length was a whole number bigger than 1.
Where people went wrong
Picking 4,588, or just guessing a big choice. It’s the only big number in the question, so it looks right. But 4,588 is an area, not a volume.
What it actually is
Split it into one side: 4,588 divided by 4 is 1,147. One side is width times height, so the volume is 1,147 times the width. And 1,147 is 31 times 37. So the volume is 35,557 or 42,439. Only 42,439 was a choice.
- four equal sides divide the total by 4 first. A total of 4,588 means one side is 1,147.
- the third side of a triangle it has to be between the other two sides' difference and their sum. Sides of 7 and 12 mean it's between 5 and 19.
- two lines through the middle of a circle opposite arcs are the same length, and two arcs side by side make half the circle. If the whole circle is 160 pi and one arc is 3 times the other, the small one is 20 pi.
- a 45-45-90 triangle the longest side is a short side times root 2. A short side of 97 over root 2 gives a longest side of 97.
- an angle with sine 1/2 the side across from it is half the longest side. Half of 97 is 48.5.
How to prep it
Learn those five by heart. When a question says the lengths are whole numbers, find the one number you can, like 1,147. Then divide each choice by it and keep the one that comes out even.
Rewritten from the November 2026 SAT: same idea, new words and numbers
A right rectangular prism has two congruent square bases and four congruent rectangular lateral faces. The sum of the areas of the four lateral faces is 4,588 square centimeters. The length of each edge of the prism, in centimeters, is an integer greater than 1, and the height of the prism is not equal to the side length of its base. Which of the following could be the volume, in cubic centimeters, of the prism?
Parallel lines: turn four angles into one
A late Math question showed a zigzag line crossing parallel lines, with four angles called w, x, y and z. It gave you a range and asked what w − y could be. It looked scary, but it came down to one angle.
What one looked like
In one version, the figure gave w = x + y and y + z = 180. It said x + y + z was between 197 and 206. You had to decide if w − y could be 17, 23, both, or neither.
Where people went wrong
Saying both. The number 17 is right at the edge, so it feels like it counts. Other people said there wasn’t enough information, since there are four letters.
What it actually is
Since w = x + y, w − y is just x. And x + y + z is x + 180. So x + 180 is between 197 and 206, which puts x between 17 and 26. The question said between, not equal to, so 17 doesn’t count. Only 23 works.
How to prep it
When you have more letters than equations, swap them out until you have one letter left. Then check the edges. If the question says less than, the edge number doesn’t count.
Rewritten from the November 2026 SAT: same idea, new words and numbers
In a figure, three parallel lines are crossed by a zigzag path, forming angles with measures w degrees, x degrees, y degrees, and z degrees. Based on the parallel lines, w=x+y and y+z=180. If 197<x+y+z<206, which of the following could be the value of w-y ? I. 17 II. 23
Table questions: the table wasn't f(x), so fix it first
One of the last Math questions gave you a table. But the table wasn’t f(x). It was f(x) plus or minus a number, and the question asked where f itself crosses the y-axis.
What one looked like
In one version, the table was f(x) − 5. It had three points: (14, −40), (19, 10) and (24, −40).
Where people went wrong
Finding the curve through the table and using its y-intercept, −712. That’s the answer for the table, not for f. Some people also subtracted 5 instead of adding it and got −717.
What it actually is
The table’s curve crosses the y-axis at −712. The table is f minus 5, so f is 5 higher. Add 5 and you get −707. Desmos can find the curve for you if you type the three points in.
How to prep it
Before you do anything, write down what the table really shows. Let Desmos find the curve. Then ask yourself which way to move it, up or down, before you type your answer.
Ratio questions: write it as a fraction first
A Math question was about mixing sand and cement. It gave you a ratio and a total, and you had to pick the right pair of equations. The total was easy. Lots of people flipped the ratio.
What one looked like
In one version, the ratio of sand to cement was 2 to 5, and the total was 3,640 cubic inches. The choices had x + y = 3,640 with either 2x = 5y or 5x = 2y.
Where people went wrong
Picking 2x = 5y. It keeps the 2 with the sand and the 5 with the cement, so it looks right. But it actually means there’s more sand than cement, 2.5 times more.
What it actually is
Write it as a fraction: sand over cement is 2 over 5. Cross-multiply and you get 5x = 2y. Check it with x = 2 and y = 5. Both sides equal 10, so it works.
How to prep it
Don’t turn a ratio into an equation in your head. Write it as a fraction, then cross-multiply. Then plug in the ratio’s numbers to make sure you didn’t flip it.
Rewritten from the November 2026 SAT: same idea, new words and numbers
A contractor prepares a mortar mix that contains only sand and cement. The ratio of the volume of sand to the volume of cement in the mix is 2 to 5, and the total volume of the mix is 3,640 cubic inches. Which system of equations can be used to find the volume of sand, x, in cubic inches, and the volume of cement, y, in cubic inches, in the mix?
What to work on before your next test
- Words in Context, make a list of word pairs like frugal and stingy, and mark which one is nice and which one is mean. Back to the example
- Command of Evidence (Data), do timed graph questions and jot down what the claim compares before you look at the choices. Back to the example
- Inferences, practice finish-the-sentence questions and guess the ending before you read the choices. Back to the example
- Area & Volume, learn the five geometry facts, then try volume questions where you divide the choices to test them. Back to the example
- Nonlinear Graphs, type five tables into Desmos and practice moving the curve the right way. Back to the example
Check what they gave you before you start
Most of the traps on this test came from using a number or word without checking what it really meant. The total area instead of one side. The table instead of f. The ratio flipped around. The word that meant the right thing but had the wrong feel.
So before you start each question, ask yourself what they gave you and what they want. It takes ten seconds, and it would have saved a lot of points on this test.
Practise the 55 questions modeled on the November 2026 SAT
Original questions written around what the November 2026 exam tested, tagged by skill and difficulty, each with a worked solution.
Students told us most about Reading Module 2 and the last few Math questions, so those get the most space.The reading of it is ours. We hold no scoring data, we can’t identify unscored questions, and every practice question here is written from scratch.
Questions about what was on this test
What math was on the November 2026 SAT?
Lots of geometry, plus ratios, quadratics and percents. You saw a box-shaped prism, angles on parallel lines, a circle with two lines through the middle and right triangles. The hardest questions were at the end of Module 2, including a table that wasn't quite f(x).
What vocab words were on the November 2026 SAT?
People told us about frugal, stingy, ameliorate, dearth, dissonance, breadth, precipitating, monetizing, discount, denounce, scrutinize, magnify, immaterial, substantiate and caveat. The hard part was that two choices often meant almost the same thing, but only one fit the feel of the sentence.
How do I prepare for geometry questions like the ones on the November 2026 SAT?
Learn the five facts in the prism section and practice turning a picture into one simple equation. Most of the hard ones needed just one step first, like turning four sides into one, before the math got easy.