<p>I was really stunned that anyone prepped for the SSAT. My girls had already taken the SAT through gifted programs twice, and PSAT in ninth grade, so I just assumed that no one would prep for the SSAT. Very interesting. I'm just glad in hindsight that my daughter was able to just walk in and get a good score.</p>
<p>Better safe than sorry, especially if it affects such an important thing.</p>
<p>Everyone's different - some kids excel at test taking. Others don't and benefit from some extra work. Some kids, even after prep, won't be scoring in the 90s but may turn out to be attractive candidates because of other attributes and skill sets they bring to the admissions table.</p>
<p>Why are you stunned? The SSAT is a test; just like the SAT or PSAT. Not everyone who applies to prep school for eighth grade has taken high school tests like the SAT, ACT, or PSAT.</p>
<p>I was stunned because I was not even aware that there would be materials to study for a test like that. Live and learn.</p>
<p>What did your daughter receive on the test?</p>
<p>I only know of three SSAT prep books; Barron's, Princetoni Review, and Peterson's.</p>
<p>She scored a 93rd percentile.</p>
<p>Oh, Ryanone, if you only knew. The money that people make off of private and prep school admissions is incredible. It is a multi-million dollar industry. There is prep for--I am not kidding--two-year-olds taking the ERBs to get into elite preschools.</p>
<p>the ssat is not at all a measure of intelligence, but a measure of how well you take ssat - as for prepping, it will obviously work, because it helps you learn how to take the test:
(9th grade male applying to Boarding schools)
december scores no prep - 93rd percentile (M-80, V-95, R-86)
January scores after doing some prep - 99th percentile (M-99, V-99, R-97)</p>
<p>Preparation can benefit both smart and less-smart kids.</p>
<p>I think they should come up with a new, better test--if they're going to use a test like that, it should at least be more accurate and less beatable.</p>
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it should at least be more accurate and less beatable.
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<p>I think it's pretty accurate. </p>
<p>You have to remember that not everyone get's 99%'s. CC is oddly full of people with super high scores.</p>
<p>I mean I don't think it measures intelligence and knowledge terribly well. I think it can measure fairly accurately sometimes, on some people, but that's not good enough for a test that's a major factor in such an important decision. What exactly is it that the SSAT is supposed to measure again? Intelligence, knowledge, or one or the other, or something else?</p>
<p>I think the time limits play a really important part in the test. I'm sure I could have done much better in the reading section if I had more time. I was just so nervous that I didn't even remember what I had just read, so I read it again. </p>
<p>I did great on the practice tests, though. 80 - 90%.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what it's supposed to measure? Sorry, now I'm kind of curious.
I didn't mind the time limits on the SSAT, but you have my greatest sympathies, Jonathan. We have maths tests that are really insane--we had a test yesterday that had fourteen questions that all took really figure--not quite arithmatic or definitions, but ones where you really had to the take the problem apart to solve, and we had to finish in fifty-five minutes. We always have to finish in fifty-five minutes, but this test was exceptionally long. Three kids finished. Our teacher might curve our grades. We hear our fate, along with our final grades before the final (which, I might add, will be twelve pages in almost two hours), on Monday. :eek:</p>
<p>hm i think ssat is for measuring how much you have learned.
when i interviewed at lawrenceville, i asked how the ssat were used, and she said it gave indication into how well the applicant would do in the school.</p>
<p>hope that gave u insight :)</p>
<p>I finished all of the sections of the SSAT, it's just that I wished I had more time to double check all of my answers.</p>
<p>Thanks, shikashakegurl. Perhaps different schools have different reasons. I wonder, though.</p>
<p>My son has been studying on and off for the past year. He took the SSAT last year, and only scored in the high 80%tiles. </p>
<p>The school he's trying for is extremely competitive, with hundreds of kids vying for 60 slots a year. (30 girls and 30 boys) At the schools informational meeting, they squarely say that to have a real chance at admissions, you need to score firmly in the 90s.</p>
<p>Its disheartening to think that he's so close, and he still might not even have a chance at consideration.</p>
<p>what school is he trying to get into?</p>