<p>I thought I would start a new thread so we don't hijack Expx92's thread with an off-topic discussion:</p>
<pre><code> "I have yet another question (sorry). One of the schools my son looked at said that he would need to score in the top 15% for his grade on the SSAT. When I see averages and what some other kids scored, I get a little confused. Are they saying that they scored 44%, 80%, 99% for their grade or on the test overall? Some of the boarding schools seemed to have some pretty low percentages if it is for their grade. I guess I was assuming that boarding schools would all have pretty high SSAT average scores."
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<p>SSAT scores are compared to other SSAT testers of the same sex over the last 3 years. This is a very competitive group. I am guessing that the school you are referring to meant as well as 15% of SSAT test takers for that grade -- not normed to the national population. Starting last year, the SSAT also provides projected SAT scores, and the scores for each test are scaled to look like an SAT score. Last year, a friend of mine whose son took the test told me that the good news was that her son scored in the very low 600s. The bad news was that he only scored in the 20s as a percentile of SSAT test takers. As you probably know, low 600s are well above the national average for SAT test takers, but if what she told me is true (maybe she exaggerated and he didn't get all low 600s), then it is well below the average for SSAT test takers. BTW, these are projected SAT scores for 12th grade testers -- not predicted scores if your child took the test today.</p>