<p>Just got my 8th grade son's SSAT scores. I'm surprised at how the scores translate into percentiles. On math, he got a 716, which seemed like a pretty good score to me given that 800 is the highest. But that only translates to the 64th percentile. Seems like that must mean that scores are really tightly bunched in the 700s, which surprises me, especially for 8th graders as presumably they expect the older kids do do better on math. Is this normal for the scoring to translate to the percentiles this way? It's very different than on the reading and verbal (for instance, a 725 on reading was the 93d percentile).</p>
<p>Look at the What Does My SSAT Percentile Mean? on the score sheet for more details. The percentile is compared to other 8th grade boys who have taken the test in the past 3 years. Average Math=689 for 8th grade males. So 689 would be 50% and 800 would be 99%.</p>
<p>This test is not a nationally representative sample - just comparing 8th grade boys who are applying to private high schools.</p>
<p>@sox, that’s a great reading score, often considered the hardest part of the test. When looking at percentiles, it can be confusing - use the private secondary school distribution, not the “national percentages” to compare to most posters. Anything over 85 is very strong.</p>
<p>A re-take may be in order to bring up the math score. A question or two can make a difference when the distribution is so compact.</p>
<p>There was a thread on SSAT math scores a few season ago:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1074018-ssat-math-scores-skewed.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1074018-ssat-math-scores-skewed.html</a></p>