I was hoping we would not have a need for super scoring but we have too. My son took the test in October and got sick during the test. He spent some time I the restroom and returned to start a math section with only 15 minutes remaining. He completed the rest of the test. He scored a 39% in the math section with a 93 in reading and a 81 in verbal. He retook the test in November and scored a 87 in math. There was such a big difference in his math score between the two tests. How should he try to explain that he was sick and missed a good potion on the math test during the first sitting?
Re: Character Skills Assessment-- Choate is not part of the beta testing on this. Their Director of Admission in fact helped to develop it with Yale researchers–first as a means to gauge success in BS for inner-city, full financial aid recipients. They found in a longitudinal study using this tool that certain character traits do = greater success at BS. So they then offered it to the entire applicant population (as an optional test), and have found the same results there. The SSAT and other schools are beta-testing Choate’s CSA. :-*
@gueenmother. Your superscoring issue should not be a problem at all. I would have DS write a note to all AO’s of schools he is interested in and have him explain that he was sick the first time he took it.
Thanks for the advice. I was not sure how the difference in scores would be perceived. I didn’t want him to appear as inconsistent.
If his verbal was as good in November you can just send the Nov scores and disregard October. They will see that he took it multiple times, but just as an asterisk. Then no need to explain anything or be concerned about superscoring.
I am curious about the “asterisk” for multiple tests. I just spoke with SSATB, and they assured me that schools receive no notifications regarding the number of tests taken or whether accommodations were granted.
@itcannotbtrue, the Character Skills Assessment sounds very fish. Feels like another “there is no right or wrong answers but we will hire you only if you score high enough” type of “survey.”
They used to mark this. Perhaps they changed that last year - they are now keeping scores for an additional year which was a change this summer. They would say that the SSAT was taken
more than once but only send requested scores. If one is allowed to type the essay then that accommodation will be known to the recipient but I don’t think they reported additional time or any other kind of accommodation to a school.
Now I’m wondering whether the information provided over the phone by SSATB is always accurate. For example, the last time I spoke with them (regarding the asterisk for multiple tests), I was also told that the SSATB covers the cost of fee waivers for the test. In speaking with them today, I was told that the school picks up the tab–which would seem to make sense, as some schools will ask for tax forms before granting the waiver. It just goes to show you can’t always trust what you’re told, even when you go to the ostensible source. I would say that the SSATB should lose a quarter point for a wrong answer!
@DonFefe I was wondering the same thing. They do NOT asterisk (they used to) anymore:
http://www.ssat.org/scores/reporting-scores
About Multiple Scores and “Super Scoring”
A student may test on any or all of the eight Standard SSAT administrations, plus one Flex test, per testing year (August 1 - July 31), for a total of nine testing opportunities. SSAT will send official score reports only to those schools you designate with each exam. Score reports do not list the number of times the SSAT was taken or the number of score reports on file.