Thanks for the helpful advice from some great parents and kids. We are unsophisticated about boarding schools and nobody in our area attends BS, so forgive the newbie question. Our child took the real SSAT in 7th as a baseline with scores of V 779; Q;715; R:715. This is without prep. Does she need to prepare for the real test that will count coming up to apply this year in 8th for freshman year? I’m mostly worried about quantitative. We are not aiming for merit scholarships or FA and I don’t know if the schools that are the most difficult for admissions are a possibility or otherwise the best choice. If this kind of score is OK I don’t want to waste time with unnecessary work but also don’t want to make a mistake by not taking this seriously enough.
Without knowing what schools you are targeting (nor the percentiles of the score you mention), I would say that they are all fine (including the quant) and would NOT be the reason junior is not accepted to a selective BS.
Thank you for your kind and quick reply, I have enjoyed and expect to benefit from your wise posts. This is low 90s percentile-wise, but relative to 8th graders as a 7th grader taking the upper level test as far as I know.
@cupajo - Those are really good scores. I think that there can be a paradox that can occur with very very high scores (i.e. 98-99%) at the most selective schools. Almost like extra scrutiny is paid on how well rounded or interesting a student is. I wouldn’t advise retaking them.
I would suggest having her take the test early in the fall with no prep. If she takes, say, the October sitting of the test and scores in the low 90s for percentile, then you’re done. If by some chance she scores in the 70s or 80s, then I would probably have her do some actual prep work and retake it in Nov or Dec. Not that scores in the 70th or 80th percentile range are bad scores – far from it! – but if you have a child who you think is capable of scoring in the 90s, it would be a shame not to hit that mark. But once you’re in the 90s, there’s no meaningful difference (in terms of effect on admission) between low 90s and high 90s.
Also worth noting that I’m speaking here of the overall percentile. Perfectly fine for a kid who doesn’t self-identify as being a math/science kid to score lower on the quantitative section. My daughter was in the low 70s for quantitative, but in the low 90s overall, and the lower quant score was a complete non-issue in admissions.
@soxmom…that’s an interesting point. My DD was in the low 70’s in quant and high 90’s for R/V and we were told be a few schools that it was an issue…even though her overall score was 93. From my experience, some schools are concerned that an uneven candidate may have trouble with the work.
All I can tell you is that it wasn’t an issue for my daughter at all – she got in everywhere she applied (and the same can not be said for her older brother who scored in the 90s on all sections of the SSAT). But I really don’t think any school – even the very most selective – would have a legitimate concern that a kid who scores in the 70th percentile on quant would be unable to do the work. Is that kid going to be placed into an advanced math class? No, of course not. But is that kid going to be just fine doing standard freshman algebra and the like? Yes.
What I’ve heard from a lot of admissions officers and the educational consultant we used is that schools are much more concerned about low verbal/reading scores than low quant scores. So much of what kids do in a selective boarding school requires strong reading and writing skills (even the math and science courses) that low verbal/reading scores can be cause for concern. But the quantitative section of the SSAT is largely testing kids on what they’re learned thus far in math, so an 8th grader who has done no geometry yet, for instance, is almost certain to score lower than one who has. At least to some extent, the verbal and reading sections test aptitude for those subjects more than the quant section does. Schools are also concerned where the scores don’t match up with what a kid says his or her interests are.
The proof of all of this is in the fact that a relatively low quant score doesn’t bring down the overall SSAT score by very much, particularly for girls. If you can get a quant score in the 70s and still end up with an overall score in the 90s, that tells you that lots of other kids are in the same boat.
Again I appreciate the enlightening conversation. I will have my daughter work a bit on the quant part given comments above and because I think it is helpful to have had positive experiences with tests since there are quite a few in the future. She has not studied geometry or I suspect some of the other topics.
Hi, your child’s score sound very good and I don’t see issue (assuming they are high 95% altogether). However, if I am not mistaken, majority(if not all) of the schools will entertain the scores from the current school year cycle… i.e. if you are applying for fall of 2016, the score need to be from August 2015 on wards… I could be wrong but this is my understanding…
Thanks @CaringMom11 I haven’t checked but assume as you do that scores from the current year’s test are needed. Word to the wise, I got the new practice book that you order from the SSAT organization and see that the practice test(s)? are the same as the previous year’s book. Good news I think that must mean that the test doesn’t change much year to year and bad news, I just wasted $25.
You are absolutely right… practice tests from the same publisher don’t change much… however try all different publishers and you will have a good mix… some are too easy… not that your kid needs much practice. He/She seems to be doing pretty good as is. And if you are thinking of prep schools and paying full tuition… then brace yourself… very soon you will say… eh!! it’s only $25… whats the harm… just telling you about the expenses to come your way… I am in sticker shock these days… :-/
Amen to this. That $50K price tag ended up being closer to $58K for us each year when you include books, spring training trips, unis and other sports-related costs, and cross-country travel. And FormerCK did his own laundry! As I always say, the school website figures are merely a suggestion.
I had bought every SSAT prep book available (each has only few practice tests anyway. Used only practice tests. Who reads the text in a prep book anyway? Still some were barely used by DS, sigh ) My rational was that it was still cheaper if he doesn’t need another test taking due to better prep. SSAT costs now $127 plus $45 late fee if you sign up after finding out the result of a previous test.
For prep, I had DS spend 25 min a day once or twice a week doing only one section of the test, verbal, reading or quant. First doing a test, next time reviewing only incorrect answers for 25 minutes.
DS took June upper test (8th grade test) as a 7th grader and took one fall upper test and was done. Both times low-mid 90s in total %.
DS was in afterschool math club. I think that helped a lot in Quant so working out some of middle school competition math problems help both SSAT and SAT quants (problems/solutions are freely available on internet for both AMC8 and MathCounts.)
What Head of Admissions at top Boarding School told me they look for in the SSAT’s:
For what it’s worth, when my son and I did the boarding school tours this fall, I was told by the Head of Admissions, at a school that is consistently considered to be among the top 3 hardest boarding schools to get into, that the Math scores for the SSAT’s are what they look at the most closely.
This was in response to my candidly saying to her that I was concerned about our son’s lower V/R scores. That he scores high in math- (based on previous testing) but his vocab/reading comp are lower and not truly indicative of his ability. I think he was in the 70th and 80th percentiles…it’s been a couple of years…
She said that they look more at the Math scores because these scores speak more to a child’s raw intelligence level and that if they are strong in math- they have a good indication that the child can be taught the other subjects.
-I personally would be out of the running the minute they saw my math scores!-
So, based on what this Head of Admissions told me, high math scores and lower V & R scores (in the 70’s or higher), are permissible in terms of what they will consider for SSAT’s.
Obviously this was just one school that said this, but it does make some sense in terms of raw intelligence. It seems to me you are either someone who ‘gets’ math or not…with seriously hard work most kids can conquer reading, comprehension, vocab and writing. Math, in my opinion, isn’t such an easy conquer.
That is intriguing. I thought that received wisdom was that relative to verbal skills, math is highly teachable and easier to improve. If that is right, and I don’t know that it is, that would make that score a pretty poor proxy for raw, or general intelligence. It is certainly easy to imagine that low math aptitude and interest is a real limitation in specific classes.
That surprises me. Seems like with a little work, any halfway intelligent kid could learn math up to the level tested on the SSAT. Word lists notwithstanding, it is probably harder to instill verbal ability and reasoning skills.
The SSAT verbal section includes analogies, which the SAT dropped long ago. That moves it closer to an IQ test. It’s important to gauge your child’s strengths and weaknesses relative to the student body of the schools you’re visiting.
It’s also important to be realistic about your child’s eventual standing in his or her class. If he scores in the mid-80s at a school with an average in the mid-90s, don’t expect him to land at the top of his prep school class. It could happen, but it’s unlikely.
The only school that outright told us that they care most about the Math section score was Exeter. All of the other schools (and I’ve done this process three times now - ugh!) said that they look at all of them and don’t weigh one more than the other. Friends who have used consultants were told that the Reading Comprehension score is very important, because it’s more difficult to prep for.
Interesting. That’s what Exeter says? But SSAT math just like SAT math is too easy even for those who are moderately good at math. Math strong students can hardly be differentiated through SSAT math. And the scores tend to curve down a lot, which means one careless mistake can drag you down by tens of points. In contrast, with a few wrongs in vocab, one may still end up getting 800.