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When should students begin to prepare?

We typically recommend students applying to high school begin their process in the winter or spring of 7th grade. For 8th graders applying to high school who haven’t yet started their prep, then, the best time to begin is ASAP. Because of the unique nature of the tests—more on this below—even relatively short tutoring programs that can adjust students’ testing process can yield meaningful score improvements. By the same token, for 7th graders who will be applying out next year, it’s early, but getting ahead can confer tremendous advantages. 

What’s different about these tests?

The nature of the Upper Level tests is that all students—from 8th grade through 11th—see the same test content but are scored against only their peers. That means students who have the opportunity to master more advanced content and/or testing strategy have more than ample opportunity to distinguish themselves. In addition, ISEE/SSAT prep often doubles as a preview for the material coming up later in their academic careers, meaning students gain early exposure to concepts and skills that will build a strong foundation for future coursework.

Which test is right for which students?

The most important evaluation here will be the student’s performance on diagnostic tests. However, a good rule of thumb is that the ISEE favors students who are strong math students while the SSAT favors students who are strong readers and humanities students. This is an important distinction between the tests, but not always the deciding factor. The SSAT offers some policy advantages: it can be taken a total of six times (5 Standard tests and 1 Flex test for Middle and Upper Level students), including 2 “At Home” exams administered online. In addition, the test makers have released a number of official tests that can be used as practice. It is also generally preferred by boarding schools, some of which don’t officially accept the ISEE.

In contrast, the ISEE can only be taken once between August-November and once between December-March, so students aiming for fall test dates can take it only twice. It has also only ever released two official tests, one of which is truncated. And while both the SSAT and ISEE use percentiles in their scoring, the ISEE score that matters is typically the “stanine.” The stanine is simply a range of percentiles (out of 99) simplified into a score from 1-9. That means the stanines tend to lump students in the middle ranges: over half of students (54%) will receive a 4-6 on any given section. As a result, the scoring process for the ISEE can favor students who are aiming for the middle of the pack.

When should students take the tests?

Ideally, families will have scores on the books by mid-December to meet their earliest application deadlines, but it’s important to take official tests before then, as well. Students can treat these earlier official tests as “practice tests”—that they can submit to schools if the score is high enough—so that they have less anxiety going in. And because the scales for these tests are volatile, more opportunities translates to better chances for high scores. Students can sometimes squeak in a last test in early January, but for peace of mind, we recommend shooting for mid-December for final scores.

How are ISEE/SSAT prep programs structured?

Above all, SSAT and ISEE prep must be customized to a student’s academic strengths and areas for growth—hence the importance of accurate and detailed diagnostic exams. Since the tests are designed for students as advanced as 11th grade but scored only against peers, 7th and 8th graders do not need to achieve near-perfect results in percentage terms in order to achieve great results in percentile terms. On upper level tests, students aiming for 90th+ percentile scores will typically need to get about 80-85% of questions right, but that still means they only need to know 2/3rds of the material if they have strong strategies for optimizing their chances on the remaining 1/3rd. An effective prep program, then, will enable students to master the most common topics while also imparting the knowledge, skills, and testing mindset necessary to optimize their odds of earning points on topics that are above grade level.

What is the key to success on the SSAT and ISEE?

Compared even to the SAT and ACT, much less classroom tests, the SSAT and ISEE reward thoughtful testing strategy. Because this approach to test-taking isn’t part of typical classroom evaluations, it’s especially important for younger students who haven’t faced much in the way of examinations at all.

Importantly, these skills are distinct from mastering content. Memorizing vocabulary can be helpful, for example, but it’s seldom efficient: few of the words that students learn will appear on the test, but many words will appear that they’ve never studied. Indeed, both the ISEE and SSAT (but especially the SSAT) will include rare words and related verbal reasoning questions that change from test to test and are impossible to anticipate. Memorizing facts and figures is crucial, to be sure, but to be truly successful on these tests, students need to be able to deploy an arsenal of strategies that optimize the chances of acing questions on unfamiliar words and subjects. That requires both a toolbox of methodical strategies as well as a probabilistic mindset that’s very different from the perfectionist mindset students need for school tests (or tests like the ACT/SAT).

How can students develop a probabilistic mindset?

For most students, SSAT and ISEE prep entails an accelerated path to becoming a seasoned test taker, able to make optimal decisions with confidence and efficiency in the face of uncertainty. This kind of “mindset prep” is particularly important for students with anxiety, retention, or pacing issues, which may never have surfaced on academic tests that allow far more time for far fewer topics. And there is no better way to develop that mindset than to learn directly from one who understands testing as a skill—that is, a standardized test prep specialist tutor. Above and beyond specific content and skills, it is this testing mindset that effective SSAT and ISEE tutors impart to their students, through dedicated practice as well as the creation of a safe learning space for intellectual risk and reward.

Hopefully the material here can address some of your questions regarding the high school admissions tests and the preparation they entail. If you have any further questions about the tests, high school admissions, or your child’s academic needs, please do not hesitate to reach out.