How to Know How the SSAT is Scored

Preparing for the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) can be nerve-racking, but knowing as much as you can about the process will calm your fears. Making yourself familiar with all aspects of the SSAT, including how the SSAT score is calculated, can help improve your score. Read on to learn how the SSAT is scored.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Visit the SSAT website. Under the “SSAT Scores” click “How to Read Scores.” This brings up the specific information about how you can read your scores and how the school to which you submitted those scores uses them as well.
2. Check out the three sections of scoring. The SSAT is scored in three sections: "Scaled Scores," "Percentile Rank" and "Estimated National Rank" or "Predicted Twelfth Grade SAT Score." The latter depends on the student’s grade level taking the test.
3. Look at the scaled scores. These include verbal, quantitative, reading and a total of the three combined. The verbal score includes questions on things such as analogies and synonyms. The quantitative section features questions on math skills and the reading score is made up of answers to questions about passages that are read during the test.
4. Examine the SSAT percentile ranks. Your individual and total scores are compared to the SSATs taken over the last three years. You receive a percentage for each section.
5. Determine your national ranking or predicted twelfth grade SAT score by looking at the last section. If you are in grades five through nine you will receive a percentage of national ranking. If you are in grades seven through ten you will receive a predicted twelfth grade SAT score.