First post, have been lurking for awhile. We did not consider private school for DD until fall, so we were late in getting started. 8th grade DD took the SSAT for the first time in December and did not do well. Her scores: 620V 26%/692Q 58%/602R 18%. Overall she scored a 1914 and 31%. She did very little prep for the exam-- she took a mini practice test (scored 26/30) and did a little quizlet work. She was killed in the analogies and obviously reading. We are not considering the top schools, we are considering 2 local all girls bs and a local independent day school. SSAT averages at 2 schools are 60% & 68% with her top choice school not reporting an average on boarding school review (but reported here to be 60-65%). Would it be worth it to get her a prep book and study over the holiday break and retake the test in January? How much could her scores go up in less than 3 weeks? The rest of her application should be great. She is an honors/high honors student throughout middle school, will have good recommendations, and she would be an impact player for her top choice in a sport they are looking to build. The coach seems very interested in her and the school overall seems like a perfect fit for her. Any other advice?
I would have her take it again in January with some prep over the next 3 weeks. With so little time I would get an SSAT practice book so she can get more practice on analogies and the reading section. The good news is that she is applying to single sex schools, which generally have a harder time recruiting students. As such, they will probably not place much emphasis on her score. It sounds like the rest of her application is strong, so I wouldn’t stress too much if her January score does not improve by a significant amount.
My daughter took it twice and improved more than the range they note as possible improvement. I purchased the SSAT study tests and quizzes online (at the SSAT site) and she did those. I think they helped a ton with the analogies, etc. Yes, I think your daughter should retake in January. It might also help if she has a lesson with an SSAT tutor to explain how to guess/skip questions. There is a definite strategy which if she screws up will make her test much worse than her potential.
I totally agree with @dogsmama1997 that a short course with a tutor could help. If she’s the high achieving student you describe, she may just need guidance on how to take the test. Students this young do not always know how to learn using self-study methods, and given the short time frame, this could make the most of it.
I think it’d be helpful if for no other reason than for her to say “I wanted to see if I could do better.”
Agreed totally. Get the SSAT official test book and online materials, at least one prep book from Amazon etc, and get a good tutor if you can (they are available all over the US and can do Skype sessions, which is what my D did).
There are tricks and traps, and these materials and consultation will help her through.
Make a calendar between now and your D’s application deadline of the things to work on. Do PLENTY of practice questions. The biggest issue that I can see right now is time, and when is the last possible date to take the SSAT to qualify for the schools to which your D is applying.
We did this, and my D got in the 90s.