Repeated Passage in SSAT Reading

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
1

My daughter took the SSAT today and noted that one of the passages was identical to the practice test provided by the SSAT for an additional $50. Practice Tests 1 and 2 are available in print when registering. Practice test 3 is online only and available for the additional fee.

This seems incredibly unfair to those people who decided not to take the additional practice test. The passage was about baby boomers and millennials and the questions were identical except for one word (“predecessor” was used in one of the questions on the practice test and “parent” was used in the actual test). Was this done on purpose, I am sure that once word gets out, SSAT will be selling more of these additional practice tests.

2

Typically, at least some questions used in actual tests are put back to the database so there’s a chance that they may be re-used in another test in the future. That is why test takers are not allowed to keep the tests they have taken or discuss the details of the test questions. I don’t know if the practice tests from SSAT are randomly pulling some test questions from the database (sounds like that was the case in this scenario as you described), but I’d think it’s an “accident” in the sense that the chance of this happening should be very low.