ISEE OR SSAT??

[dongding123]

I’m planning to take the SSAT test this year but I was just wondering… what’s the difference between the ISEE and
SSAT?? Thanks!

[UIButton]

I’ve taken both! ISEE is best for me I would recommend taking both tbh… I felt like ISEE was better for creativity.

[NYCMomof3]

One thing I do know from when my daughter took them both…the ISEE can only be taken once per admission cycle and the SSAT could be taken more than once and you submit the highest score (they will still be able to tell that you took it more than once). Another difference is answering. In the ISEE you will be penalized for skipping and not answering questions. In the SSAT You can leave questions blank if you’re unsure without having it count against you. I hope I remembered this tidbit correctly…if not someone will chime in. My daughter liked the SSAT better. The only reason she took both is because here in NYC the ISEE is what the private day schools prefer.

[thelittleswimmer]

^^

Chiming in for a small correction: as to the point penalization, it is the other way around–for the ** SSAT, ** if you answer a question incorrectly, 1/4 of a point will be lost (http://www.ssat.org/test-prep/test-taking-strategies/guessing-strategy). Blank questions on the SSAT are worth 0 points (i.e. you lose no points, gain no points). For the ** ISEE, ** if you answer a question incorrectly OR leave a question blank, points are not lost or gained, so there is no point penalty. Therefore, test-takers should ALWAYS answer ** every ** question on the ISEE.

Another difference is that in the verbal sections, the SSAT has synonyms and analogies whereas the ISEE has synonyms and sentence completions. The ISEE is definitely less popular where I live–no test centers offered the ISEE in my state and in the surrounding states, so I ended up taking the SSAT.

Also, instead of having to BUY the SSAT’s Official Guide, the ISEE provides its online at no cost. There’s one real practice test included in this pdf file. http://isee.erblearn.org/pdf/03_Upper/guide.pdf

On the score report, the ISEE also includes “stanines”. Quoting from the ISEE’s website:

@ERB ISEE

"A stanine is a score from 1 to 9, with 5 as a midpoint. Stanines are derived by dividing the entire range of students scores into nine segments as the chart below indicates.

Percentile | Rank Stanine
1–3 | 1
4 –10 | 2
11–22 | 3
23–39 | 4
40–59 | 5
60–76 | 6
77–88 | 7
89–95 | 8
96–99 | 9 "

Here are also more differences between the SSAT/ISEE written by the Huffington Post:

@Alex Mallory

“Similarities aside, the differences between these two tests are significant and hard to ignore. Many have drawn parallels between the ISEE and the ACT and the SSAT and SAT. The ISEE, like the ACT, does not penalize guessing, meaning that a wrong answer and an omitted answer are weighed exactly the same. The ISEE is also widely viewed as the more straightforward test, focusing more on the depth of its content (especially in mathematics) than on the creative presentation of its questions. The SSAT, on the other hand, subtracts one-quarter of a point for each incorrect answer, meaning students must be more strategic about their guessing. The SSAT also demands that the student think more creatively, utilizing unconventional word problems, analogies, and various types of passages from nonfiction, fiction, and poetry (the ISEE’s reading is comprised of nonfiction only). While the SSAT may be retaken a number of times, the ISEE may only be taken once in each admissions cycle (and must coincide with outstanding applications to prevent students from taking the test early for practice). And then there are the scoring differences: the SSAT gives scores between 440 and 710 for lower and 500 and 800 for upper on verbal, reading, and math; the ISEE gives scores between 760 and 940 on verbal, reading, quantitative reasoning, and math achievement. More scrutinized for the ISEE, though, are the stanines – scores from 1 to 9 which indicate in which percentile the student has fallen.”

Link is here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-mallory/isee-or-ssat-choose-wisely_b_3853168.html?

To sum up the large block of text above:

the SSAT:
-penalizes 1/4 of a point for each incorrect answer. does not penalize for blank answers
-unconventional in a way, requires students to think more creatively
-reading passages include nonfiction, fiction, and ** poetry /b
-can be taken more than once (I think the limit was 8?)
-upper level scores are in the range of 500-800 for verbal, reading, and math

the ISEE:
-does not penalize for incorrect answers or blank answers
-more “straightforward”
-reading passages are all nonfiction
-can be only taken ONCE
-upper level scores are between 760 and 940 on verbal, reading, quantitative reasoning, and math achievement
-includes stanines (scores from 1-9)