Comparison of SAT and SSAT

General Information about the SSAT

The Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) is a standardized test taken by students as part of applying to certain private schools, most often in the United States. The test is offered to students across three different levels:

  • Elementary (3rd and 4th graders)
  • Middle (5th – 7th graders)
  • Upper (8th – 12th graders).

The SSAT covers three content areas: math, reading, and verbal skills. An unscored writing sample is also part of the test to assess a student's writing abilities. The exam frequently contains an experimental section that is not scored but is a way to validate future test questions. 

Administration and Function of the SSAT

SSAT testing options vary depending on a student's grade and location. As of 2025, there are three testing options: paper-based SSAT, SSAT at Home, and taking the exam at a Prometric test center. Standard tests are offered on specific dates, while flex tests increase the availability of the paper SSAT beyond standard testing dates and are administered by member schools and approved educational consultants. 

The Paper SSAT is available in the United States, Canada, and many international locations. Middle and Upper students may take up to six standard paper-based tests and one flex paper-based test. Elementary students may take up to three paper tests, including two standard tests and one flex test. Open flex tests are when a school hosts a group of students for testing and makes registration open to the public. Closed flex tests are when an educational consultant or school administers the SSAT to an individual student or a small group of students and registration is not open to the public.

The SSAT at Home is only available in the United States (including U.S. territories) and Canada. This is a proctored computer-based version of the SSAT. Middle and Upper students can take one SSAT at Home test per testing year.

Prometric test centers are available in the United States, Canada, and many international locations, with more than 5,000 centers located around the world. With this option, students can complete the computer-based version of the SSAT in a test center rather than at home. Middle and Upper students can take two Prometric tests per testing year. 

Content of the SSAT

The content of the SSAT depends on the grade of the student taking the exam. We will exam all three versions of the test below.

Elementary SSAT (Grades 3-4)

The Elementary SSAT consists of five sections: Math (math computation), Verbal (vocabulary and analogy questions), Reading (reading passages), Writing (unscored but used to help schools understand a student's writing abilities), and Experimental (unscored questions containing verbal, reading, and math content). The Elementary SSAT is 2 hours and 5 minutes long. Sections are completed in the following order:

  • Math
  • Verbal
  • 15-minute break
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Experimental

The Math section contains 30 questions, and students are given 30 minutes to complete this section. Students are not permitted to use a calculator and are tested on their understanding of basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; place value; ordering of numbers; fractions; basic concepts of geometry; basic concepts of measurement; and interpretation of graphs. 

The Verbal section contains 30 questions, and students are given 20 minutes to complete this section. Questions are divided into two parts: vocabulary and analogies. This section is intended to assess an understanding of language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. 

The Reading section contains 28 questions, and students are given 30 minutes to complete this section. Students are given seven short passages with four multiple-choice questions associated with each passage. Passages may include prose, poetry, fiction, and non-fiction from a variety of different cultures. Students are asked to locate information and find meaning by demonstrating both skimming and close reading skills. Other skills assessed in this section include the ability to demonstrate literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension of texts. 

The Writing section is not scored and contains one prompt in the form of a picture. Students must write a response in 15 minutes that includes a beginning, middle, and end.

The Experimental section is not scored and typically contains 15-17 questions to be completed in 15 minutes. This section is intended to check the quality of future SSAT questions by ensuring they are reliable, secure, and acceptable. 

The Elementary SSAT has several different prices:

  • Standard or school flex test: $112
  • Flex test with an educational consultant: $172
  • International standard or flex test: $229

With regards to scoring, students receive four scores on the Elementary SSAT: a total score, a verbal score, a quantitative (math) score, and a reading score. The total score ranges from 900-1800, while section scores range from 300-600. Students also receive percentile ranks along with their scores.

Middle SSAT (Grades 5-7)

The Middle SSAT consists of five sections: Math (math computation), Reading Comprehension (reading ability and comprehension), Verbal (vocabulary, verbal reasoning, and the ability to logically relate ideas), Writing (unscored but used to help schools understand a student's writing abilities), and Experimental (unscored questions containing verbal, reading, and math content). The Middle SSAT is 3 hours and 10 minutes long, and students complete sections in the following order:

  • Writing
  • 10-minute break
  • Math (first section)
  • Reading Comprehension
  • 10-minute break
  • Verbal
  • Math (second section)
  • Experimental

On the Writing section, students have 25 minutes to write an essay. They may choose between a creative story starter or a personal question prompt.

The Math section contains 50 questions completed across two 30-minute sections (25 questions per each 30-minute section). This area of content is intended to assess a student's ability to solve problems involving arithmetic, elementary algebra, geometry, and other concepts. Students are not permitted to use a calculator on the Math section. 

The Reading Comprehension section contains 40 questions, and students are given 40 minutes to complete them. Students read passages between 250-350 words in length. After each passage, students are asked questions about the passage content or the author's style, intent, or point of view. Passages come from the areas of literary fiction, humanities (biography, art, poetry), science (anthropology, astronomy, medicine), and social studies (history, sociology, economics). 

The Verbal section consists of 60 questions, 30 of which are focused on synonyms and 30 of which are focused on analogies. Students have 30 minutes to complete this section. Synonym questions assess a student's vocabulary, and analogy questions assess their ability to relate ideas in a logical fashion.

The Experimental section contains 16 questions to be completed in 15 minutes. This section includes six verbal, five reading, and five math questions. While these questions are not scored, they allow future SSAT questions to be tested for reliability, security, and acceptability. 

The Middle SSAT has several different prices:

  • Standard or school flex test: $172
  • Prometric SSAT: $242
  • Flex test with an educational consultant: $272
  • SSAT at home: $258
  • International testing (paper-based test, flex test, or SSAT at Prometric center): $329

With regards to scoring, students receive four scores on the Middle SSAT: a total score, a verbal score, a quantitative (math) score, and a reading score. Total scores range from 1320-2130, while section scores fall between 440-710. Students also receive percentile ranks with their scores. 

Upper SSAT (Grades 8-12)

The Upper SSAT consists of five sections: Math (math computation), Reading Comprehension (reading ability and comprehension), Verbal (vocabulary and analogy questions), Writing (unscored but used to help schools understand a student's writing abilities), and Experimental (unscored questions containing verbal, reading, and math content). The Upper SSAT is 3 hours and 10 minutes long, and students complete sections in the following order:

  • Writing
  • 10-minute break
  • Math (first section)
  • Reading Comprehension
  • 10-minute break
  • Verbal
  • Math (second section)
  • Experimental

On the Writing section, students have 25 minutes to write an essay and can choose between a general or personal question prompt. 

The Math section contains 50 questions completed across two 30-minute sections (25 questions per each 30-minute section). This section assesses a student's ability to solve problems using arithmetic, elementary algebra, geometry, and other math concepts. Students are not permitted to use a calculator on either Math section. 

The Reading Comprehension section consists of 40 questions. Students are given 40 minutes to complete this section, which involves reading passages of text that are between 250-350 words in length. After each passage, students are asked questions about the content they just read, as well as the author's style, intent, and/or point of view. The Upper SSAT includes two types of writing: narrative (includes excerpts from novels, poems, short stories, and essays), and argument (presents a definite point of view about a subject). Reading passages are drawn from literary fiction, humanities, science, and social studies. 

The Verbal section consists of 60 questions, 30 of which involve synonyms and 30 of which involve analogies. Students have 30 minutes to complete this section. Questions involving synonyms assess a student's vocabulary, and questions involving analogies measure their ability to logically relate ideas. 

The Experimental section consists of 16 questions, and students are given 15 minutes to complete them. This section includes six verbal, five reading, and five math questions. Although these questions are not scored and do not count towards a student's test score, they are a way of quality checking future test questions to ensure they are reliable, secure, and acceptable. 

The Upper SSAT has several different prices:

  • Standard or flex test: $172
  • Prometric SSAT: $242
  • Flex test with an educational consultant: $272
  • SSAT at Home: $258
  • International testing (paper-based test, flex test, or SSAT at a Prometric test center): $329

With regards to scoring, students receive four scores on the Upper SSAT: a total score, a verbal score, a quantitative (math) score, and a reading score. Total scores range from 1500-2400, and section scores range from 500-800. Students also receive percentile ranks along with their scores. 

History of the SSAT

The SSAT was created by the Enrollment Management Association, a non-profit organization in the United States, and first administered in 1957. It was developed to help professionals in independent or private elementary, middle, and high schools make decisions about student admission.

While the SSAT was historically a paper and pencil test, a digital SSAT at Home version was released in 2020-2021 to students in the U.S. and Canada, allowing them to take the exam at home on specific Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. During this time, the digital exam also became available at Prometric test centers, giving students more options about when and where to take the exam. 

The SSAT versus the SAT 

While the SSAT and the SAT are both standardized tests taken by students to attend particular schools, the exams have more differences than similarities. The SSAT is used to gain admittance to private elementary, middle, and high schools, while the SAT is used to gain admittance to undergraduate college or university programs. The SSAT is administered by the Enrollment Management Association, whereas the SAT is administered by the College Board. 

As of 2025, the Middle and Upper SSATs are longer than the SAT (3 hours and 10 minutes compared to 2 hours and 14 minutes). The SSAT contains differing numbers of questions depending on the version that is taken: the Elementary SSAT has a total of 104-106 questions, the Middle SSAT has a total of 167 questions, and the Upper SSAT has a total of 167 questions. The SAT contains 98 questions across two sections (Reading/Writing and Math). SSAT scores do not convert to SAT scores.

While the exams are largely irrelevant to one another, practicing the skills needed to perform well on the SSAT may help students develop a foundation of academic and test-taking abilities that can be useful when taking the SAT, particularly when it comes to time management. 

Published Research on SSAT Scores and SAT Scores 

Very little published research is available on the relationship between the SSAT and the SAT. A conference research paper presented at the Northeastern Educational Research Association in 2013 found a strong relationship between SSAT scores in 9th grade and SAT scores in 12th grade (r fell in range from .32-.80)

Similarly, anecdotal research published online in 2013 demonstrated a strong correlation (r=0.8) between SSAT scores among students at boarding schools in the United States and SAT scores. 

More research has been done exploring the relationship between a student's elementary or middle SSAT score and their later high school performance (usually measured by GPA). While the strength of the relationship varies across studies, an SSAT score does appear to play a role in predicting a student's high school performance, although other variables, such as how long a child has attended private school, also influence the relationship. In one study by Grigorenko et al. (2009), middle school SSAT scores accounted for 15% of the variance in a student's high school GPA. A middle school SSAT score combined with a middle school GPA accounted for 34% of a student's high school GPA. 

The SSAT and SAT Prep

Despite the lack of clear evidence that SSAT scores consistently predict SAT scores, educational professionals agree that preparing for the SSAT may help students perform better on the SAT. Both exams involve reading and analyzing questions, selecting the correct answer from provided options, and managing both time and mental stamina for a minimum of two hours in a single location. Those students who take the SSAT will likely find the SAT more familiar than students who have not previously taken a standardized test, and students who take the SSAT on a computer will likely find the digital version of the SAT less confusing to navigate.

Whether a student is preparing for the SSAT or the SAT, it is imperative to develop a consistent (and age-appropriate) study program. There are several guidebooks to mastering the SSAT, particularly the Middle and Upper versions, and in some parts of the U.S. students complete group prep courses or private tutoring programs to prepare for this exam. Understanding the typical SSAT scores expected by private schools is critical in helping a student obtain the score they need to attend a given school. Practice exams are also very important when it comes to helping a student become familiar with the process of taking the exam, as well as managing their limited time.

As always, the best course of action for students and parents considering the SSAT is to review the available research and make decisions based on individual and familial goals, academic needs, and logistical issues, as where a student attends elementary, middle, and/or high school can play an important role in where they ultimately attend college, making the choice of a school not one to be taken lightly.