Do you get scratch paper on the digital SAT®?
Yes. On SAT® test day, testing staff hand out scratch paper and collect it at the end, and you bring your own pen or pencil. You can’t bring your own paper, and styluses, smart pens, highlighters and colored pencils aren’t allowed.
On this page
The test is on a screen, but the Math section still runs on handwriting. This guide covers what you get and what to bring, why writing your work down still matters, a way to lay out the page so mistakes are easy to find, and when to switch to the built-in Desmos calculator instead.
What you get, and what to bring
Here is what College Board’s testing rules and its 2026-27 student guide say about writing things down on test day.
| Item | On test day | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Scratch paper | Provided | Handed out at the test and collected at the end. Don’t bring your own: “papers of any kind” are on the list of items you can’t bring. |
| Pen or pencil | You bring it | Either one works for scratch work. |
| Stylus, Apple Pencil or smart pen | Not allowed | Banned, along with other electronic writing tools, even though you test on a device. |
| Highlighters and colored pencils | Not allowed | On the same list. |
| Calculator | Built in, or bring one | Bluebook™ has a Desmos calculator for the whole Math section, with scientific and graphing modes. You can bring an approved handheld calculator instead; check College Board’s calculator policy first. |
| Formula sheet | Built in | Bluebook has a reference sheet of common formulas in the Math section. |
The paper rule is the same on SAT School Day, the version some students take at their own school on a weekday: bring a pen or pencil, and the scratch paper is provided.
Why write it down when the test is on a screen?
Bluebook has tools for marking up the screen: Highlights & Notes for passages, an option eliminator to cross out answer choices, and Mark for Review to flag a question. But College Board’s student guide says Highlights & Notes works on non-math questions. On the Math section, scratch paper is the only place to write out your steps.
That matters, because lots of wrong answers come from math you already know: a dropped negative sign, a number copied wrong from the screen, or a correct answer to a slightly different question than the one asked. Done in your head, those slips are invisible. Written one step per line, they sit on the page where you can find them.
Paper also saves time when you come back to a question. The Math section is 44 questions in 70 minutes, split into two 35-minute modules, so you will skip and return. If you flag a question with Mark for Review, your half-finished work is still in its box when you get back, and you don’t start over.
A layout that makes your mistakes easy to find
- One box per question. Draw a quick box, write the question number in the corner, and keep that question’s work inside it.
- Write what they’re asking for first. A few words at the top of the box, like “find: original price”, keep you from solving for the wrong thing.
- One step per line, equals signs stacked. When each line changes one thing, a wrong line stands out.
- Box the answer you entered. If you change your answer in Bluebook, change it on paper too.
- Star anything you flag. When you use Mark for Review, put a star by the box so you can find your work fast.
One more habit: cross out with a single line instead of scribbling. A crossed-out step you can still read is a step you can check.
7
- find: original price
- 0.8p=80
- p=80 ÷ 0.8
- p=100
8
- Desmos: y = x² − 6x + 11
- and y = 2
- low point (3, 2)
- touches once
- solutions=1
9
- find: x
- 3(2x − 1)=4x + 7
- 6x − 3=4x + 7
- back later
Worked example: the sign that disappears
Here is a problem written for this guide (it isn’t from a real test), done the fast way first.
Problem
Solve for x: 5 − 2(x − 3) = 3x − 9
- 5 − 2(x − 3)=3x − 9
- 5 − 2x − 6 (circled: this should be plus 6)=3x − 9−2 × −3 is +6
- −1 − 2x=3x − 9
- 8=5x
- x=8/5
The fix is one line: −2 times −3 is +6. Done carefully, one change per line:
- 5 − 2(x − 3)=3x − 9Start
- 5 − 2x + 6=3x − 9Multiply −2 by both terms in the parentheses
- 11 − 2x=3x − 9Combine 5 and 6
- 20=5xAdd 2x and 9 to both sides
- x=4Divide both sides by 5
Check it by putting the answer back in. With x = 4, the left side is 5 − 2(4 − 3) = 3 and the right side is 3(4) − 9 = 3. They match. The wrong answer fails the same check: with x = 8/5, the left side is 7.8 and the right side is −4.2. A substitution check is short, and on paper it catches this kind of slip before you move on.
Worked example: answer the question they asked
Problem
After a 20% discount, a jacket costs $80. What was the price before the discount?
The tempting move is to add 20% back: 80 × 1.2 = 96. But the 20% came off the original price, not off $80, so the sale price is 80% of the original price, p.
- 0.8p=80The sale price is 80% of the original
- p=80 ÷ 0.8Divide both sides by 0.8
- p=100
Check: 20% of $100 is $20, and $100 − $20 = $80. The $96 answer fails: 20% off $96 leaves $76.80. Writing “find: original price” at the top of the box (box 7 in the sheet above) is what stops the slip, because you see that $80 is the after price before you touch it.
When to use Desmos instead
Bluebook’s Desmos calculator is there for the whole Math section, and some questions are faster on a graph than on paper. A rule of thumb: graph it when the question is about where two graphs meet, how many solutions a system has, or the shape of a function. Write it out when one or two steps of algebra get you there.
Problem
How many solutions does this system have? y = x² − 6x + 11 and y = 2
On a graph
Type both equations into Desmos. The parabola’s lowest point is (3, 2), so it touches the line y = 2 once: one solution.
On paper
Set them equal: x² − 6x + 11 = 2, so x² − 6x + 9 = 0, which is (x − 3)² = 0. Only x = 3 works: one solution.
Either way, jot what you typed into Desmos in that question’s box. Typing 11 as 1 is easy to do and hard to notice on a graph; a line on paper lets you check it.
Practice the way you test
Test day is the wrong time to start using scratch paper. When you do practice questions or a full practice test in Bluebook at home, keep a sheet next to you and use the same layout, so on test day it’s a habit.
Sixly is built around the same habit. At home, you write your work the way you always do: with an Apple Pencil, a drawing pad, a phone used as a pad, or by typing your steps. Sixly’s tutor sees your work and listens. When you’re stuck or ask for help, it points to the line where it went wrong (like line 2 above), talks you through it out loud and marks up your page. Its AI does the talking; answer keys and a math engine do the checking.
Questions people ask
Can I bring my own scratch paper?
No. College Board’s testing rules list “papers of any kind” among the items you can’t bring. Testing staff hand out scratch paper and collect it at the end.
Can I use a pen, or does it have to be a pencil?
Either. The rules allow a pen or pencil for scratch work. Highlighters and colored pencils are not allowed.
Can I use an Apple Pencil or a stylus on my tablet?
No. Stylus pens, Apple Pencils, smart pens and other electronic writing tools are on the prohibited list. Use the paper you're given and a regular pen or pencil.
Is my scratch work graded?
No. Your score is based on the answers you enter in Bluebook (College Board's student guide explains how they are scored). Staff collect the scratch paper at the end, but nothing on it is scored, so write whatever helps you think.
Sources
Checked on .
- College Board, SAT Testing Rules. Scratch paper provided by staff and collected at the end; a pen or pencil; the list of items you can't bring.
- College Board, 2026-27 SAT Weekend Student Guide (PDF). Bluebook tools: the Desmos calculator, the reference sheet, Mark for Review, the option eliminator, and Highlights & Notes on non-math questions only. How scores are based on your answers.
- College Board, What to Bring on Digital SAT Test Day. Pencils or pens for scratch work; the calculator's scientific and graphing options.
- College Board, Digital SAT: Bluebook for Students. Scratch paper is provided, so don't bring your own.
- College Board, What to Bring to SAT School Day. The same paper rule on SAT School Day.
- College Board, How the SAT Is Structured. The Math section: 44 questions in 70 minutes, as two 35-minute modules.
SAT® and Bluebook™ are trademarks registered or owned by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this site. Desmos is a trademark of Desmos Studio PBC, and Apple Pencil is a trademark of Apple Inc.; neither is affiliated with Sixly. The practice problems in this post were written for Sixly.