We received DD’s SSAT Score today. She did really well in verbal (87) and reading (94) but took a hit in math (51) which surprised me because she has a 98 I think in her math class. Overall was an 81, now we just need to decide if she will take them again in January or not, since we will be near a testing site for Christmas holidays.
What do you think, should she take them again? She wants to apply at Chatham Hall, Exeter, Mercersburg, Emma Willard, and maybe Loomis.
Don’t forget there’s a fair amount of algebra and geometry on the test and if she’s in a public school she may have yet to have been exposed to that material. Take a look at the averages for your target schools and if you require financial aid (which I think I recall you stating), then your DD should aim for at or above the average. The averages are not a steadfast rule, especially if your daughter has a hook (e.g. athlete, URM, musician, etc.). You can find the school-reported averages on BoardingSchoolReview. I believe Loomis is 78% and Exeter is 90%. The verbal and reading scores are very good!
I would take them again. It could have been nerves. The good news is that math is much easier to improve…
IF she’s willing to put in the work. If yes, have her look at it each night. Did she finish the SSAT math sections? The first step would be to make sure she finishes. Take a couple math practice tests to determine her holes. Is anyone in your family strong in math or can a teacher or family friend help? Have them go over the wrong answers- khan academy (online) can help her practice. You can chose just those weaknesses to work on. If it takes her longer than a couple of minutes per question she is doing it wrong. About 1/3 of the questions can be answered without actually doing the work. Spend the first couple of weeks working to fill in those holes- depending on her math level it will most likely be geometry and more advanced algebra. Have her correct all math questions she missed. Math can only be asked in so many ways… She will start to recognize the types of questions- which will help with confidence and speed. As she nears the test have her practice taking just the math sections for speed. You can find practice tests online or SSAT books used on Amazon. Good luck!
Thanks, she actually skipped about half of the math questions. She said it was types they haven’t learned yet. She was worried about the verbal going in so that was where her focus was. If she takes it again it will be the January test.
And yes, we need financial aid, and she does have a hook as an under represented minority
Would you mind saying what the scaled score is to get a 51 percentile in quantitative? Thanks.
677 for quantitative
Your local library will have the books or can get them through interlibrary loan. Free!
Your daughter sounds wonderful and her scores are quite strong considering she is only 12 years old! Most 12 year olds are still in 7th grade and do not expect to score so well on the Upper Level SSAT.
Math is indeed the easiest to remedy. There is much in there that isn’t taught yet in many schools. You should assume that some number of questions will be missed by misreading the question or silly mathematical errors versus knowledge of how to solve it. Teaching how to underline and circle key parts of the question can help on that.
By going through a few practice tests you can identify weakness in knowledge, like figuring out the pythagorean theorem or the equation for a line. They will present the same concept from different angles to try to see how deep your daughter’s knowledge is, and she may get it in a form that she under the pressure of the test can’t see at that moment.
Also understand that 50% by absolute standards is a great score. The grade is relative against a highly select and motivated group trying to get into elite private schools - hardly the norm. Further, math is an area where people study and test until they can get perfect scores (except for silly errors) since the knowledge domain is bounded.
For these reasons congratulate your daughter. But there is no harm in studying and trying it again.
Thanks for the input. We have decided to totally leave it up to her if she wants to retest. I went through the last two years of the masterlist with her so she can see that you don’t NEED a 99 to get into a great school. I also told her that I think schools will see the 51 and look at her school grades and math teacher recommendation which will say she is the #1 student in her class. She has learned everything they have put in front of her, it’s not her fault that the class waits for others to catch up.