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SSAT and ISEE - is one really easier than another?
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Anonymous
| We signed up for the SSAT already but have heard that ISEE is easier for those in the lower grades because there' no penalty for wrong answers. However, since it's easier, one will also need to score alot higher to be competitive with the cohort. Does anyone have more information on these two tests? If you take and submit the scores for both tests, does that work in your favor? We are applying for sixth grade and most schools accept either. |
Anonymous
| We went for the SSAT for two reasons: first, the writing sample is forwarded to the school but not graded. My son's handwriting is so bad that I could imagine a frustrated grader giving up and marking it 0. Second, it has analogies, and my son rocks at that kind of logic. |
Anonymous
| The ISEE is considered a gentler test for a number of reasons: no analogies, no penalty for a wrong guess, and most importantly a more straightfoward essay question. It too is ungraded but the topic is less abstract than the SSAT. The ISEE question is usally something like, if you could build any museum, what would it be about or if you could be an animal, which animal would you be? The SSAT question is something like "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Agree or disagree." The SSAT type question might be hard for some. The ISEE is developed by ERB, and evolved up from elementary school testing. The SSAT developed down from high school testing. The SSAT recently added time to its reading comprehension test section to make it less of a speed test and more of a power test. This extra time does help many. Other than those differences, they are basically the same test, just different companies. Most schools accept both because they really don't see a difference between the two tests: their breakdowns are basically the same and they both offer an ungraded essay. Right now ISEE is offered to rising 5th grade applicants and SSAT just starts at rising 6th grade applicants. SSAT is in development stages for a younger grades admission test. |
Anonymous
| My kid took both because I wasn't sure which one would suit his strengths best. He got similar scores on both and we submitted both scores to the schools he applied to. He got in to 3 out of 5 schools. |
jhuber
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| In my experience, I have never found enough of a significant flavor difference to advise families to one test over the other. There was some historical geographical preference in the two tests, but that seems to have faded. My school serves as a testing site for both for precisely this reason - take one, or the other, or both. Machs nix. |