<p>Wondering if the strategies in taking the SSAT: best to guess or omit? I believe that my daughter will need to take it again. Reading through the postings, it's obvious that she needs to take it again. </p>
<p>Any insight as to how to increase her score is much appreciated. Other than signing up for a prep class.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>OMIT. I omitted more than I got wrong and got 800’s on verbal and math, and 98% on reading. However, it depends: if you can eliminate at least one (preferably two, obviously) choices, GUESS. But, the key is omitting. In all, I actually omitted a lot of questions.<br>
Also, it’s helpful to take the sat’s before ssats because then you can have confidence in taking an at level test. (Besides, you get college prep.) Since I got a pretty high score on Sat, it really helped me prep. Also, study vocab because that’s one of the hardest parts of the test. Tell her to read the questions before the passages, really helps!
Good luck! Hope she gets into the boarding skl of her choice!!</p>
<p>@deezee1980: </p>
<p>A few thoughts from a parent’s POV. First, I agree with the poster above regarding taking the SATs. Here’s an excerpt from my long-winded recap of our search and application process from last year:</p>
<p>'I would recommend taking the SATs in 7th grade to any kid considering boarding school, especially if you are considering one of the more selective schools. Since it is an “above level” test (meaning it is intended for high schoolers, not middle schoolers), it will be a challenge for most 7th graders. After which the “at level” SSAT should seem easier. Additionally, I know that my daughter went into the SSATs with a VERY high degree of confidence based on her experience with the SATs. It’s one thing to be a 7th grader walking into a room full of high schoolers, and another thing to walk into a room with people your own age.</p>
<p>In terms of prep, I did buy her the Princeton Review and McGraw-Hill SSAT books so she could take a few practice tests to familiarize herself with the format and length of the SSAT. She took all her practice tests (2 total, I think), with “test day” timing. Her practice test scores were actually lower than her real test scores, but still above 90th percentile. She never did any flashcards or drills or had any tutoring related to any testing. FWIW, My daughter highly recommends the SAT “strategy” book “Up Your Score”, which she had read before she took the SATs.'</p>
<p>Additionally, I would ask you to reconsider if the range of schools you are considering is right given your comment that you believe her scores are not where you’d both like them to be. While I don’t think 99th percentile scores are required, I was told by an AO at one of the most selective schools that “anything in the high 80s and up” is good enough. Again, maybe you need to add some schools where the median SSAT is closer to your daughter’s score range.</p>
<p>And finally, I want to add that I think stressing about the test/placing too much importance on it is not going to lead anywhere good…for you or your daughter. Remember that the SSAT is only one component of an application.</p>
<p>Best of luck. Lots of parents on the forum who have “been there, done that”, so don’t be afraid to ask questions via PMs.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to that long-winded recap of mine:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1174214-one-family-s-bs-search-application-process-start-finish.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-parents/1174214-one-family-s-bs-search-application-process-start-finish.html</a></p>
<p>Thanks for your feedback.</p>
<p>Yes, she did take the SAT as a 7th grader last year so taking the SSAT was done with a little higher level of confidence.</p>
<p>Depending on the feedback I get from the AO at the school of her choice, we will see what needs to be done. Her two older siblings graduated from her first choice boarding school. But there’s no guarantee of admission, hence my inquiries to strategies.</p>
<p>Again, thanks so much for taking the time to read my post and responding. Good luck to you, wishing nothing but admission to your first choice boarding school.</p>
<p>@deezee1980: Apologies for assuming you were a first-time parents (like I am!). Sorry I have no magic bullets to offer…I can only recommend going through the practice tests and using the results to determine where she’s having the most trouble. IIRC, one theme of that “Up Your Score Book” is that many of these tests are about time management…the faster you can get through each question, the better. You then use your spare time at the end of each section to go back to ones you left blank.</p>
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<p>First, the answer to this question is clearly covered in all the SSAT prep books. Doesn’t your daughter have one?</p>
<p>Second, why, oh why, are YOU asking this question? If your daughter is still uncertain, even after referring to her prep book, then why isn’t she on CC asking for advice?</p>
<p>It just seems very odd to me that a parent would be asking for advice on what techniques their student should use to improve a test score. By the time your student is old enough to apply to boarding school, how she prepares for tests should be up to her to figure out, not you.</p>
<p>I am just wondering who is steering this process . . . 
</p>
<p>@dodgersmom,</p>
<p>I find that middle school kids often don’t have the life experience to even know which are the right questions to ask. By “right questions” I mean the most EFFICIENT way to frame the problem and extract a focused answer.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That may be . . . but this wasn’t a more obscure strategy question such as “how many times should she take the test?” or “should we give her a break from piano lessons for a couple of weeks right before the test date?” This was an obvious question which is answered repeatedly<a href=“and%20probably%20in%20large,%20bold-faced%20type!”>/u</a> throughout each and every SSAT prep book out there! I stand by what I said previously. A student applying to boarding school has to take some responsibility for his or her own success in the process. I’m sorry, but this was but one of several indicators in the OP’s posts suggesting that this process may be a bit more parent-driven in their family than student-driven.</p>
<p>@Deezee1980, You could consider the ISEE. My son did much better on it vs. the ssat. We sent both test scores to schools even if their preference was the ssat.</p>
<p>@dodgersmom,</p>
<p>Sometimes the BS process is parent-driven-- why is that a necessarily problem? </p>
<p>I would hazard to guess that a fair number of kids from all walks of life are nudged into BS by parents, and the kids don’t appreciate the incredible opportunity they have there, until they are there.</p>
<p>GMTplus7 - I’ll stand by what I said. The kid who still needs his parents’ help to figure out how to take a test isn’t ready for boarding school.</p>
<p>muf123 - I’d go one step further and send the ISEE only to any school that will accept it! You probably have to check with the schools directly - most do not post on their websites that they accept the ISEE. But most schools will accept it . . . and, from what I’ve seen, it is a MUCH fairer test of the student’s abilities than the SSAT!</p>
<p>dodgermom- </p>
<p>I don’t see the big deal of asking for strategies. It is not like these kids are 18 and taking the SAT. They are 13 and 14 year olds. It doesn’t hurt for a parent to give a little guidance. I know they say to omit but my child omitted too many the first time and then he tried again the second time and tried narrowing it down to 2-3 and went with his gut. He improved dramatically.</p>
<p>I’m kind of on the fence with this one.</p>
<p>To the @deezee: With a little practice your daughter can raise her score a little but mostly she should look at strategies because the test is a bit less straight forward than an ACT and has it’s own quirks and nuances. Adcoms concede there are students who take “prep” courses who may skew the test scores. </p>
<p>Mostly I tell students to examine how many minutes they have per question and realize from that calculation that the test isn’t expecting knowledge of Einstein’s theory of relativity, but is testing knowledge of concepts. There are other clues - such as strategies for “guessing” if you can eliminate two of the obviously wrong answers. Or not reading entire English passages first but rather reading the first paragraph, then the first sentence of each subsequent paragraph, then looking at the questions - especially if the student is a slow reader or has time management issues. And yes, sometimes it does feel as if there is a “code” to the way the test is structured.</p>
<p>But mostly - what strategy works for one student may not work for another. So try working with a “timer”. And the book will tell you if they take away a 1/4 point for a wrong answer (if I remember correctly, they do) to prevent random guessing.</p>
<p>Don’t stress - most school realize not every child is a stellar test taker. Make sure the other ducks are in a row - grades, extracurriculars, recommendations.</p>
<p>But in defense of @dodgersmom - I do realize that some parents drive the boarding school process and get involved on the pretext that their children aren’t old enough. But we’re both seeing how that is playing out with students this year and last year and in too many cases it’s not generating the rosy “results” parents wished for. Some parents who pushed back about allowing their children to “drive” the process are now stressing because they’re still having to intervene on campus.</p>
<p>Being close to the forest (and close to a child) can sometimes blind parents to the fact that enrolling at BS is a lot different than sending a child to a local private school where the student will return home in the evening. They’re going to have to learn to advocate and navigate solo. It’s not the BS’s job to teach those skills, they’re expected to have them coming in.</p>
<p>So - I encourage you to have your daughter ask questions here, start the investigation herself, and get a taste of what her life is going to be like if she’s accepted and doesn’t have a parent back-up. In a sense, she’s got demonstrate she’s able to fly without a net given her competition for the limited spots is going to be populated with students who can. It’s the former, who don’t start early, that still have their parents driving them (or coming with them) to my college interviews years later and I hate to tell you, more often that not - given the competition - it’s not going to end well for them come admissions time.</p>
<p>But I do understand why you were asking and see the question as relatively benign and harmless example of a parent taking an interest. Good luck whatever happens.</p>
<p>few years since one of our child took the SSAT (five years). My question is to get collective experiences; see if taking the test again would be warranted and to give offer those experiences as food for thought.</p>
<p>SevenDad: no apologies needed; you wouldn’t have known that we are on our third child with regards to boarding school.</p>
<p>To all who have responded; thank you. </p>
<p>To dodgersmom: I’m with you to instill independence on a child who is considering boarding school. As previously stated, it’s been some time since one of our children took the ssat. We’ve gone through a few rounds of SATs (two older children now in college) and a round of GRE. Our last child is more independent now at 13 than the two we have who are in college. We believe that it is because of her experience with having siblings at boarding school. </p>
<p>Again, thank you to all for your comments.</p>