Terri Karol of Prepped & Polished addresses the most frequent question that parents and students ask about the SSAT. What is a good enough score!
The most frequent question that parents and students ask me about the SSAT is what a good score is. I’ll answer that difficult question after I show you how the SSAT is scored. Firstly, let’s take a look at how the SSAT scored.
How is SSAT scored?
The SSAT raw scores for the middle level, which tests grades 5 through 7, and upper level, which tests grades 8 through 11, are determined by subtracting a percentage of wrong answers from the number of right answers. A student receives one point for every correct answer; however, a student loses a quarter point for each incorrect answer. There are no points lost for skipping a question. At the elementary level, for students applying to fourth or fifth grade, there’s no penalty for incorrect answers.
A student’s raw score is then converted to a scaled score for verbal reading and quantitative sections. The scaled score range varies for each level. For the upper level, it’s 500 to 800; for the middle level, it’s 440 to 710; and for the elementary level, it’s 300 to 600. The score report also shows an overall score, which is a combination of the verbal reading and quantitative sections. The student will also receive a percentile score of between 1 and 99 percent. This compares the student’s test scores with those of other test takers of the same grade and gender.
What is a good score on the SSAT?
Now that you have some background about how the SSAT is scored, I’ll address the question of what is a good score on the SSAT. So a worthy test question is only answered correctly 50% of the time. The difficulty level of questions is designed to differentiate between/among students to show individual strengths as they pertain to the selective school curriculum and programs. In other words, the test is designed to be difficult.
Admission officers usually focus on SSAT scaled scores, which are the most reliable and consistent over time, and the SSAT percentile, which is valuable to compare students’ performance to others in that testing year. Each school ways test scores differently according to its own standards and requirements. The SSAT is just one piece used in the decision-making process, along with transcripts, teacher recommendations, etc.
Bottom line
Parents should speak to the admissions staff of a particular school to determine if a student’s score is good, which really means considered within the school’s acceptable test score range
Bonus tip
Many parents and students wonder when aiming for a good score should a student take the SSAT multiple times? Generally, scores on multiple s SATs fall within the score range indicated on the students score report. However, practicing with an experienced tutor, combined with serious application to school studies and reading as much as possible outside of the classroom to increase vocabulary, all of those combined will contribute to boosting a student’s s SAT scores.
I hope this information shed some light on how the SSAT is scored and also what is a good score on the SSAT.
If you have any questions or you want more in-depth assistance either online or in person, simply email info@preppedandpolished.com and we’ll be glad to help you.
Good luck.
For more information, visit: Prepped and Polished.com.
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