Cracking the SSAT & ISEE - The Princeton Review 2019

A parent’s introduction

HOW CAN I HELP?

Congratulations! Your child is considering attending a private secondary school, and by virtue of the fact that you hold this book in your hands, you have recognized that either the SSAT or the ISEE is an important part of the admissions process. Providing your child with the information contained in this book is an excellent first step toward a strong performance on the SSAT or the ISEE.

As a parent, however, you know well the fine line between support and intrusion. To guide you in your efforts to help your child, we’d like to offer a few suggestions.

Have a Healthy Perspective

Both the SSAT and the ISEE are standardized tests designed to say something about an individual student’s chances for success in a private secondary school. Neither is an intelligence test; neither claims to be.

Be Informed

The SSAT and the ISEE are neither achievement tests nor intelligence tests. To score well, your child needs to understand what is tested and how it is tested.

Set realistic expectations for your child. The skills necessary for a strong performance on these tests are very different from those a student uses in school. The additional stress that comes from being expected to do well generally serves only to distract a student from taking a test efficiently.

At the same time, beware of dismissing disappointing results with a simple, “My child doesn’t test well.” While it is undoubtedly true that some students test better than others, this explanation does little to encourage a student to invest time and effort into overcoming obstacles and improving his or her performance.

Know How to Interpret Performance

Both the SSAT and the ISEE use the same test to measure the performance of students between eighth grade and eleventh grade. It is impossible to interpret scores without considering the grade level of the student. Percentile rankings have much more value than do either raw or scaled scores, and percentiles are the numbers schools use to compare students.

Remember That This Is Not an English or a Math Test

There are both verbal and math questions on the SSAT and on the ISEE. However, these questions are often based on skills and concepts that are different from those used on a day-to-day basis in school. For instance, very few English teachers—at any level—spend a lot of time teaching students how to approach analogy or sentence completion questions.

This may be frustrating for parents, students, and teachers. But in the final judgment, our educational system would take a turn for the worse if it attempted to teach students to do well on the SSAT, the ISEE, or even the SAT. The fact that the valuable skills students learn in school don’t directly improve test scores is evidence of a flaw in the testing system, not an indictment of our schools or those who have devoted their professional careers to education.

Realize That All Tests Are Different

Many of the general rules that students are accustomed to applying to tests in school do not apply to either the SSAT or the ISEE. Many students, for instance, actually hurt their scores by trying to work on every question. Although these tests are timed, accuracy is much more important than speed. Once your child learns the format and structure of these tests, he or she will find it easier to apply his or her knowledge to the test and will answer more questions correctly.

Provide All The Resources You Can

This book has been written to provide your child with a very thorough review of all the math, vocabulary, reading, and writing skills that are necessary for success on the SSAT and ISEE. We have also included practice drills for each chapter and practice tests that simulate actual SSAT or ISEE examinations.

The very best practice test questions, however, are naturally the ones written by the organizations who write the real test questions—the Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB) for the SSAT and the Educational Resources Bureau (ERB) for the ISEE. We encourage you to contact both these organizations (addresses and phone numbers can be found on this page) to obtain any resources containing test questions that you can use for additional practice.

One word of caution: Be wary of other sources of SSAT or ISEE practice material. There are a number of test preparation books available (from companies other than The Princeton Review, of course) that are woefully outdated. The ISEE changed quite substantially in 2010, and the SSAT implemented some changes in 2012; many books have not caught up with these changes. In addition, both the SSAT and the ISEE change with time in very subtle ways. Thus, we suggest supplementing the information in this book with ERB’s “What to Expect on the ISEE,” which you can find at isee.erblearn.org, and “Official Guide to the SSAT” which you can order at ssat.org/prepare/official-guide.

Make sure the materials you choose are, to the greatest extent possible, reflective of the test your child will take and not a test that was given years earlier. Also, try to avoid the inevitable confusion that comes from asking a student to follow two different sets of advice. Presumably, you have decided (or are about to decide) to trust The Princeton Review to prepare your child for this test. In doing so, you have made a wise decision. As we have said, we encourage you to provide any and all sources of additional practice material (as long as it is accurate and reflective of the current test), but providing other test preparation advice tends to muddy the waters and confuse students.

Be Patient And Be Involved

Preparing for the SSAT or the ISEE is like learning how to ride a bicycle. You will watch your child struggle, at first, to develop a level of familiarity and comfort with the test’s format and content.

The vocabulary list in this book covers all test levels. If you would like a list targeted to younger levels, you can find them online when you register this book!

Developing the math, vocabulary, reading, and writing skills that your child will use on the SSAT or the ISEE is a long-term process. In addition to making certain that he or she is committed to spending the time necessary to work through the chapters of this book, you should also be on the lookout for other opportunities to be supportive. One way to do this is to make vocabulary development into a group activity. In the vocabulary chapter, we provide an extensive list of vocabulary words; learn them as a family, working through flash cards at the breakfast table or during car trips. You may even pick up a new word or two yourself!

Important: If your child is in a lower grade, you may want to offer extra guidance as he or she works through this book and prepares for the test. Because this book covers preparation for the full range of grade levels taking the tests (fourth through eleventh grades), some of the content review will be beyond the areas that your child is expected to know. It is an excellent idea to work through the book along with your younger child, so that he or she doesn’t become intimidated by these higher level questions that should be skipped. Go online to see the suggested schedule.

A SHORT WORD ON ADMISSIONS

The most important insight into secondary school admissions that we can offer is that a student’s score on the SSAT or the ISEE is only one of many components involved in the admissions decision. While many schools will request SSAT or ISEE scores, all will look seriously at your child’s academic record. Think about it—which says more about a student: a single test or years of solid academic performance?

Be an Informed Parent

For the most accurate information about their admissions policies, don’t hesitate to call the schools to which your child may apply.

In terms of testing, which is the focus of this book, some schools will specify which test they want applicants to take—the SSAT or ISEE. Others will allow you to use scores from either test. If you are faced with a decision of whether to focus on the SSAT, the ISEE, or both, we encourage you to be an informed consumer. This book contains practice tests for the ISEE and the SSAT, and your child should attempt both. Then, based on the requirements of your desired school and the results of the practice tests, you can decide which test best suits your child. As of August of 2016, students may register to take the ISEE up to three times in a 12-month admission cycle, once in any or all of three testing seasons. The seasons are Fall (August—November), Winter (December—March), and Spring/Summer (April—July). ISEE does not encourage multiple testing, but does offer students and families that option. The SSAT can also be taken multiple times.

There are some differences in subject matter. The SSAT, for example, contains a section on analogies, which many students may not be familiar with; the ISEE includes a section of sentence completions. On the other hand, Middle and Upper Level ISEE test takers will be faced with a number of quantitative comparison questions in the Math section, and these can be tricky at first, especially for younger students.

Resources

Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB)

SSAT 609-683-4440

www.ssat.org

info@ssat.org

Educational Records Bureau (ERB)

ISEE 800-989-3721

www.erblearn.org

info@erblearn.org

REGISTERING FOR THE SSAT

Before you go any further in preparing for the SSAT, you must complete one essential step: sign up for the SSAT. The test is administered about eight times every year—generally in October, November, December, January, February, March, April, and June. Once you decide which test date you prefer, we encourage you to register as soon as possible. Testing sites can fill up; by registering early, your child will avoid the possibility of having to take the test at an inconvenient or unfamiliar second-choice location. You can register online at www.ssat.org, or call the SSATB at 609-683-4440 to receive a registration form by mail.

Plan Ahead

Not only will early registration give you one less thing to worry about as the test approaches, but it will also make it easier to get your first-choice test center.

The regular registration deadline for the test (at U.S. testing centers) is usually three weeks before the test date. You may return the registration form by mail along with the $132 registration fee ($80 for the Elementary Level test) for test centers in the United States, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Saipan, USVI, and Canada (or $257 for international test centers), or you may submit your registration form by fax. If you register online, you can pay the fee with a credit card. In some cases, you may be able to obtain an SSAT fee waiver.

If you forget to register for the test or decide to take the SSAT at the last minute, there is a late registration deadline and, if it is within two weeks of the test date, a rush registration deadline (for U.S. testing centers). If you still have at least two weeks, you can register online late and pay an additional $45 late registration fee. After that point, it’s an $85 rush registration fee. If you have already registered and want to change your testing date or location, there’s a change fee of $35.

Students who need special testing accommodations must apply for accommodations at least two weeks before the test. Sunday testing is available, but only for those students who are unable to take a Saturday test for religious reasons. Make sure to apply for accommodations early. You won’t be able to register until your accommodation has been approved.

REGISTERING FOR THE ISEE

Before you go any further in preparing for the ISEE, you must do one essential thing: sign up for the ISEE. Go to the ISEE website, www.iseetest.org, and create an online account to register for the ISEE at an ISEE test site school or Prometric Test Center* in your area.

Students may register to take the ISEE one time in any or all of three testing seasons. The ISEE testing seasons are defined as Fall (August—November), Winter (December—March), and Spring/Summer (April—July). Families do not have to select schools to receive ISEE scores at the time of registration; they may add them after a test is scored at no extra charge. The regular registration deadline for the ISEE is three weeks before the test date. The registration is $105 and you may use Visa, MasterCard, or American Express.

Testing fees for the ISEE are:

• $105 for mail-in or online registration

• $103 for phone registration

• $185 for online testing at Prometric Testing Center

Late Registration

For one week after the official registration date closes (up to two weeks before the test date), you may register at www.iseetest.org. The fee for late registration is $130.

Walk-In Registration

Walk-in registration is available at a limited number of ISEE test site schools. It is available on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be assured due to limitations on testing materials and staff. There is an additional $40 fee for this service. If you are a candidate for walk-in registration, you must call the test site school directly to see if you may be accommodated.

* Prometric testing centers offer ISEE tests in over 400 locations throughout the world and the tests are online only.