There are several different private school admission tests, but perhaps the most common is the SSAT. Roughly 55,000 students take the test each year as a required part of their application to private day or boarding schools. Geared to fifth through eleventh graders, the SSAT evaluates the same skill sets that many standardized tests evaluate, such as math, reading comprehension, and verbal skills. Schools use your scores to make an admission decision as well as to determine your curricular needs for the future.
When and where:
You can register to take the SSAT in the United States at National Administration sites about eight times a year, or at more convenient times for you with FLEX test dates available throughout the year through educational consultants and private schools. If you're not sure of which option is best for you, you can search schools and get further information about the registration process at the official site of the SSAT. Regardless of when or where you test, you can register online, although for FLEX test dates, you must make an appointment directly with the site or agency prior to completing your registration online. SSAT officials also advise that if you plan to take the test at an official test center in October, make sure you register online well in advance. October test dates are usually administered at only a limited amount of U.S. centers and testing capacity is limited. The only way to be sure you get a seat is to register online.
The format:
The SSAT is administered at grades 8-11 and comes in many different versions to ensure that repeat test-takers don't take the same test twice.
There are five sections to the test:
- A 25-minute essay segment
- A 40-minute reading comprehension portion
- Two 30-minute quantitative (math) sections
- A 30-minute verbal section with synonyms and analogies.
Everything on the test is based on skills you've learned in school, so if you're up to par on your studies, you've got everything covered.
Scoring:
Most of the time, scores come out about two weeks after testing is completed, via regular and electronic mail. Your score report comes complete with a detailed explanation of your scores and how they compare to the last three years' test-takers. Students in grades 5–9 will also receive an estimate on how they compare to the overall national student population. If you're in grades 7–10, your report will include an estimate of how you might score on the SAT when you take it.
On the SSAT, all questions are considered equal. You won't be graded down by not answering a question, but you will lose points for incorrect or multiple answers to a question. You'll earn points for each correct answer and lose ¼ point for each incorrect response. Your essay isn't a part of all the number crunching, though — it is used by schools to evaluate your writing skills.
The other sections are scored by SSAT and add up to the following:
Verbal, Quantitative, and Reading scores for grades 8–11: 500–800 (1500–2400 total)
No comments:
Post a Comment