I’ve been taking them, and getting dangerously low scores. However, in my prep books (Princeton, Kaplan), I have been geting high 80 percentiles to 90s. Whereas with the online ones, im getting mid 70’s to low 80’s.
Is this the prep book or the online practice tests
I actually have experience with this – but this is my experience, so I don’t know if this holds true for everyone.
I used the Princeton Review’s Official Guide, and I got scores in the mid to high 90s across all sections, but I also purchased the online practice tests from SSAT. I did okay with the math online but freaked out when I took the reading as I got less than 30 correct and more than 10 incorrect. I took almost all the section tests and was super nervous before the test day. I didn’t even try the verbal section tests because I focused so much on the reading.
I got my test scores back a few days ago, and I somehow ended up getting a score 99th percentile for reading, so for me, the SSAT practice test was definitely harder than the actual test. I got roughly the same scores for the math section across the different practice tests and the real test, but my reading score was closer to that of the practice tests from Princeton Review.
I’d say don’t stress too much – I was super worried but I’m definitely happy with my final score 
thanks for sharing ur experience! makes me feel a lot better!
On the other hand, I know of a kid who took the paid tests from SSAT and got a single question wrong on one of three and perfect scores on two of three tests, along with perfect or near perfect scores from two other prep book practice tests, about 10 tests total, and that kid got a 61st percentile overall on the real test. The test was so bad that I actually think the kid may have had the answer sheet upside down or something. Needless to say, the A+ student and potential impact athlete (not swimming) and their family were crushed and completely broken by the experience; they didn’t even bother to submit any applications as their score guaranteed rejections from every school due to FA needs. And yes, schools were contacted before the deadline and the situation explained to AOs, but none of it mattered. They were told to not bother as not even another test with a significantly better score would help. None of that mattered as the family couldn’t afford another test at that late date and did not have the energy to scramble for a fee waiver after such an unexpected defeat–I even offered to cover the cost of the retest but the kid had no belief they’d do any better the second time since they had no idea what happened the first time after doing so well on the prep. And no, the kid did not reapply this year. The entire family had no desire to go through that humiliation again.
I highly recommend trying “Ivy Global”'s SSAT prep books. They are expensive (~$50 rather than $15) but are the best available.
@GnarWhail I am sorry for the family and I am sorry for your helplessness you might have experienced. That’s what poverty does. The family probably had had their will crushed many times over the years already, and had barely enough will left for that one test.
I also purchased the SSAT Practice Pass and I found the verbal and reading to be easier on the real test, but math to be on par of the difficulty of the practice tests.
Per three students we spoke with after the most recent test — the Reading section (does everyone get the same version?) was more difficult than the paid SSAT practice tests online. The passages were longer than online and book versions. Kali tychi! Einai ola elinika gia mena :-?
The official online ssat tests were, IMO, definitely far more difficult than the actual ssat. I never managed to get more than half right on the verbal, and my reading scores never went over 25/40.