Find out What Calculators Are Allowed on the SAT

Luckily, the answer to the question of what calculators are allowed on the SAT is quite simple. Most graphing calculators, including the bulk of Texas Instrument calculators, all scientific calculators, and all four-function calculators will be permitted on the SAT.

The calculators that you have most likely used throughout your high school career are probably going to be allowed here as well.

You should also be aware that you will not be able to use your calculator app on your smartphone. You can't take cell phones, including smartphones, into the SAT. So you will need to bring your separate calculator.

This where we get into the specifics of the SAT rules and policies because it can be very confusing. To understand what calculators are allowed on the SAT, you should probably know why the rules are in place.

The SAT is a reasonably prestigious test that prides itself on giving everyone a fair chance at excellence, so some tools will not be able for such reason.

The calculators that have been banned are ones that feature a QWERTY keyboard, models that have access to the internet or have wireless access, and calculators that make excessive noise or have a stylus/pen-input.

There are specific reasons for the restrictions of those types of calculators. Reasons that probably make a whole lot of sense when you think about it.

THE REASON BEHIND THE RULE

While the official reason is not precisely stated, scholars discuss it often, and you can probably figure it out yourself. Teachers and moderators want to do everything they can to deter cheating on the test.

However, some of these new and advanced calculators have additional features that make cheating harder to catch.

An internet connection would give that person a pretty big advantage over another person. Not to mention it is plain cheating and doesn't involve any knowledge on your part in any way. Some newer calculators do have such capabilities and are banned.

There are also some calculators that can connect to other calculators. These often feature the QWERTY keyboard and double as a computer. So to reduce the chance of students cheating, you won't be able to use calculators with those features.

All in all, these regulations are in place so that the test can function correctly. The test is to determine your general knowledge level when applying to a university. Cheating in any form is grounds for immediate failure, and these rules make the chances of that happening much lower.

SPECIFIC CALCULATORS

Now there is the chance that you picked up a calculator for the SAT without even looking at the model number or additional features. You don't want to be asking what calculators are allowed on the SAT at the test itself. But as long as you have one of these, you are most likely in the clear.

• TEXAS INSTRUMENTS

While most of the TI calculators are allowed for the SAT, it is still best to go through them and lay out exactly which ones are available for use.

Everything from the TI-73 to the TI-89, including the Plus and Titanium versions, are all cleared for use on the SAT. That also includes the Nspire line and CAS line of calculators.

However, there are a few TI calculators that do not meet SAT regulations. They don't allow the TI-92 and TI-Voyage because of their touchscreen and QWERTY keyboard, respectively. Also, you can't use any of the other models with a touchpad.

• CASIO

Casio is in the same boat as Texas Instruments. The bulk of their calculators are also permitted for the SAT. That includes the FX-6000 through FX-9860, the Graph25 through 100, CFX-9800 through 9970, FX-CG-10 through 50, FX 1.0, and Algebra FX 2.0.

The SAT allows the FX-CG500, even though it has a touch screen, as long as you do not use the stylus. Currently, there are no Casio calculators that feature a QWERTY keyboard or internet access, so you should be safe here.

• HEWLETT-PACKARD

That's right -- HP makes calculators as well as laptops and computers. However, these are much more restricted. The only allowed calculators from HP include HP-9G, 28, 38G, 39, 40, 48, 49, 50, and Prime. Everything else does conflict with one or more the SAT rules for calculators.

• RADIO SHACK

If you're using one of the Radio Shack brand calculators, there are only three models that you can use on the test. They are the EC-4033, 4034, and 4037. Unfortunately, all others clash with one or more of the rules against calculators.

• SHARP

Here, we have the Sharp brand calculators. The allowed models for this brand are the EL-5200, 9200 series, 9300 series, and 9900 series. For the EL-9600 series, you can only use these without the stylus that is provided with this calculator.

The SATs are a massive part of getting into the university of your dreams. The last thing you want to do is screw it up by bringing a banned calculator.

Not only will you not have a calculator to use on the SAT, but you will also probably stress about that for the remainder of the test. As long as you understand the rules for the SAT, you'll go into this test with a clear head and nail it.

Luckily, the calculator policy is relatively straightforward, so it shouldn't be hard to find a calculator that is within those guidelines. However, if you're still struggling with what calculators are allowed on the SAT, just ask. After all, it is better to go in with as much information as possible.

What calculator do you plan to bring with you? Let us know your choice in the comments!