If a school you're applying to asked for the SSAT, this guide is for you. It explains what the test is, what the questions look like (you can try some below), how the scoring works, and what happens on test day. Parents, there's a separate guide for you.
SSAT stands for Secondary School Admission Test. Many private, independent and boarding schools ask students to take it as part of applying. It's a multiple-choice test of vocabulary, reading and math, plus a short piece of writing.
The SSAT is not a test of what you learned in one class, and it isn't graded like a school test. Instead, it shows how you did compared with other students in your grade who took it. Schools look at that alongside your report cards, teacher recommendations, interview and application.
There are three versions. Which one you take depends on the grade you're in now, not the grade you're applying to.
| If you're in | You take | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 or 4 | Elementary Level | 2 hours 5 minutes |
| Grade 5, 6 or 7 | Middle Level | 3 hours 10 minutes |
| Grade 8, 9, 10 or 11 | Upper Level | 3 hours 10 minutes |
Those times include the breaks. The full schedule shows exactly when each section starts.
The Middle and Upper Level SSAT has four kinds of multiple-choice questions, every one with five answer choices. The sample questions below come from a Middle Level practice test on Test Ninjas. Try each one, then check your answer.
You see one word in capital letters and pick the choice closest to it in meaning. There are 30 of these on the Middle and Upper Levels, and they go fast.
An analogy compares two pairs of words. The trick is to say how the first two words are related in a short sentence, then find the pair that fits the same sentence. There are 30 analogies on the Middle and Upper Levels.
Want more? Try SSAT synonym practice and SSAT analogy practice.
There are two math sections of 25 questions each on the Middle and Upper Levels: arithmetic, fractions and percents, ratios, basic algebra, geometry and reading graphs. You can't use a calculator, so the numbers are chosen to work out by hand.
You read short passages (stories, poems, and articles about science or history) and answer questions about them. On the Middle and Upper Levels there are 40 reading questions in 40 minutes, and the passages are a bit longer than this one.
On the Middle and Upper Levels the test starts with a 25-minute writing sample: you choose between two prompts and write a story or a short essay. On the Elementary Level you write a story about a picture in 15 minutes. The writing sample isn't scored, but the schools you apply to receive it, so neat, clear writing matters.
The last section is an experimental section of about 16 questions. It doesn't count toward your score; the test makers use it to try out new questions. You won't know which questions are new, so just do your best and keep going.
You get a score for each of three areas: Verbal, Quantitative (both math sections together) and Reading. Each one comes as a scaled score and a percentile.
Want the exact definitions? The SSAT glossary explains every scoring term in plain English.
On the Middle and Upper Levels, the SSAT uses a guessing penalty: a right answer earns 1 point, a blank answer earns 0, and a wrong answer loses a quarter point. That's why random guessing doesn't help, but a smart guess does. If you can cross out even one answer you know is wrong, guessing earns you points on average.
Pick how many answer choices you're sure are wrong. This works for the Middle and Upper Levels, where a wrong answer costs a quarter point.
You'll take the SSAT in one of three places: on paper at a test site, on a computer at home with an online proctor watching through your webcam, or on a computer at a Prometric test center. The questions and the time limits are the same everywhere.
| Part of the day | What happens |
|---|---|
| Before the test | You check in. Paper tests start at 9 a.m., and you should arrive 30–45 minutes early, because late students can't get in once testing begins. At home, you start the test 30 minutes early to check in with an online proctor. |
| Writing sample | 25 minutes (Middle and Upper Levels). It comes first. |
| Break | 10 minutes. Stretch, use the bathroom, have a snack and some water. |
| Math, then reading | 30 minutes of math, then 40 minutes of reading. |
| Break | Another 10 minutes. |
| Verbal, math, experimental | 30 minutes of synonyms and analogies, 30 more minutes of math, then the 15-minute experimental section. |
Phones and calculators stay away during the test. Bring a snack and a water bottle for the breaks; you'll be glad you did, because the Middle and Upper Level test is more than three hours long.
It is meant to be challenging, because it compares you with other students in your grade who are applying to independent schools. Most students do not answer every question, and that is normal. A score in the middle of the range (the 50th percentile) means you did as well as a typical student in your grade who took the test.
No. There is no passing or failing score. You get scaled scores and percentiles that show how you did compared with other students in your grade, and each school decides how to use them along with your grades, recommendations, interview and writing sample.
No. Calculators are not allowed on any SSAT math section unless a calculator was approved as an accommodation. The math is designed to be done by hand, and you get scratch paper (or a dry-erase board at a Prometric center).
Nothing terrible. On the Middle and Upper Levels, a blank answer scores zero, the same as a question you skip on purpose, and a wrong answer costs a quarter point. So it is better to leave a question blank than to fill in random answers in the last seconds. On the Elementary Level there is no penalty, so answer every question.
Yes. Middle and Upper Level students can take up to six paper Standard tests and one Flex test in a testing year, plus the SSAT at Home or at a Prometric center a limited number of times. Your family chooses which score reports go to which schools.
It helps a lot. Half of the Middle and Upper Level verbal section is synonyms and half is analogies, and both depend on knowing what words mean. Reading every day and learning common word roots are the two best ways to build vocabulary.