How Do You Read Percentile in Upper Level Ssat Score
Scoring on the SSAT: What Y'all Need to Know
Bonus Material: PrepMaven's Complete Guide to Scoring on the SSAT
Mastering SSAT content is only half the battle. SSAT scoring can seem even more than confusing than the examination itself!
Raw scores? Scaled scores? Percentile by class? Percentile by form and gender?
What does information technology all hateful?
You're not alone if you're struggling to make sense of the SSAT score report. The cardinal to understanding SSAT scoring lies in differentiating between the essential and nonessential information contained in the written report.
It also lies in understanding what aspects of the SSAT score written report secondary schools actually consider.
Nosotros cover all of this and more in this comprehensive mail. Plus, we give you access to our Complete Guide to Scoring on the SSAT. You can catch this now past clicking the button below.
Here is what we discuss:
- The Basics of Scoring on the SSAT
- SSAT Scores Past Section
- SSAT Score Reports
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Bonus: PrepMaven's Consummate Guide to Scoring on the SSAT
Notation: For the purposes of this mail, nosotros will largely discuss scoring as it pertains to the Upper-Level SSAT.
Scoring on the SSAT: The Basics
Let'due south begin by diving into the fundamentals of scoring on the SSAT.
1) Your full SSAT score is comprised of 3 scored sections.
These include:
- SSAT Verbal
- SSAT Quantitative
- SSAT Reading
So, on an Upper-Level SSAT score written report, students volition technically receive iv sets of scaled scores :
- SSAT Verbal examination score (between 500 and 800)
- SSAT Quantitative test score (between 500 and 800)
- SSAT Reading test score (between 500 and 800)
- A total SSAT score (the combination of Verbal, Quantitative, and Reading scaled scores, 1500-2400)
There are 2 boosted unscored sections: a Writing Sample and Experimental department. The Writing Sample is the first section of the SSAT, while the Experimental section is the terminal.
The Experimental section of the Upper-Level SSAT consists of sixteen questions (Verbal, Reading, and Quantitative). Co-ordinate to the SSAT.org, this section tests "new questions" for "future SSAT forms."
2) In that location is a wrong answer penalty on the SSAT.
On the SSAT, test-takers receive 1 point for every right answer. If y'all leave a question entirely blank, you neither lose nor gain points.
However, if you respond a question incorrectly , you lose a 1/4 point! This might non sound like much, but it tin can add together up.
For this reason, we often encourage SSAT students to cover a specific guessing strategy, which we discuss later on in this post.
3) Students also earn a percentile ranking for each SSAT section.
Scaled scores aren't the but scores that appear on a typical SSAT score written report.
Students will also earn a percentile ranking for their performance on SSAT Verbal, SSAT Math, and SSAT Reading. They'll likewise get a percentile ranking for their total SSAT score.
This percentile indicates the percent of kickoff-time exam-takers of the aforementioned grade/gender who accept taken an SSAT on a standard test engagement in the U.S. /Canada in the by three years (not including this year). This group of exam-takers is chosen the "norm group," and this norm sample is unique for every SSAT the test-makers score.
To emphasize: your SSAT "percentile" is Not the percent of questions right . Nor does it refer to a comparison of your scores and those of other students who took the SSAT on the same day.
It is a comparison of your performance with that of other students inside a designated norm group.
The SSAT.org attempts to demystify this in one of its online learning webinars:
How does EMA calculate percentiles? It utilizes both raw scores and scaled scores.
Your raw score is the number of questions you get right on a section minus i/4 bespeak for each wrong answer. This raw score is converted to a scaled score between 500 and 800. Then this scaled score becomes a percentile ranging from 1 to 99.
We want to indicate out that a 50 percentile on an SSAT department isn't a big cerise F for failure: it's right in the heart of the pack! In technical terms, information technology is the median scorewithin the designated norm group.
Here's an example of percentiles in activeness:
If y'all scored in the 50th percentile overall, you lot performed better than 50% of the exam-takers in the "norm grouping." The same goes for the private sections: if yous ranked in the 70th percentile on the Verbal department, you performed improve than 70% of students in the norm group on the Verbal department.
Most schools have an average SSAT percentile that they consider in the admissions process. Many look at your percentile score when reviewing your application.
Proceed reading for a more detailed breakdown of how this works. You can as well find this information (and much more) in our Complete Guide to Scoring on the SSAT.
SSAT Scores by Section
Although each SSAT section has a different number of questions, these questions are all worth the aforementioned number of points on each individual section.
The Verbal Score
Your SSAT Verbal score is the effect of your performance on i single SSAT Exact section.
This department has 60 questions, the nigh of any section. 30 of these are Synonym questions, and 30 are Analogy questions.
The everyman score you can earn on SSAT Verbal is 500, while the highest is 800.
The Quantitative Score
Your SSAT Quantitative score is the result of your operation on ii dissever Quantitative sections of 25 questions each. These sections are scored together for a total Quantitative Score comprising 50 questions.
The lowest score yous tin earn on SSAT Quantitative is 500, while the highest is 800.
The Reading Score
The SSAT Reading score is the result of a student'due south functioning on one single Reading department. This section has twoscore questions.
The lowest score yous can earn on SSAT Reading is 500, while the highest is 800.
The Writing Sample
At that place is no score for the SSAT Writing Sample. Nonetheless, the essay response is still submitted to admission departments.
Students have 25 minutes to respond to either a artistic or non-creative prompt.
How to Translate Raw Scores to Percentile Scores
For each section raw score ( the number of questions right, adjusted for the 1/4 signal wrong reply penalization ), y'all'll need ii things: the number of questions you got correct and the number of questions you got incorrect.
You tin can and then apply this formula:
Now yous take your raw scores for each section! For each test, the SSAT takes a educatee'southward raw scores and translates these into scaled scores (between 500 and 800) and percentile rankings (from 1 to 99).
Recollect that scaled scores and percentiles are calculated based on data from a unique norm group.
Because every test'due south norm group is different, it is difficult to precisely pinpoint what raw/scaled score y'all need to get a sure percentile ranking! The SSAT has admitted this in the past:
"The same scaled score on the SSAT may have a different percentile rank from year to twelvemonth or even from exam to test, and the SSAT percentile ranks should non be compared to those of other standardized tests because each test is taken by a different grouping of students."
Here'south an example. Let's say that Darla is a ascension 9th grader who has taken the SSAT twice to date. Here are her raw and scaled scores and percentile rankings for the SSATMath department.
Get-go Examination
| # Questions | # Correct Answers | # Incorrect Answers | # Blank Answers | Raw Score | Scaled Score | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | xl | 5 | 5 | 38.75 | 776 | 92 |
Second Examination
| # Questions | # Correct Answers | # Incorrect Answers | # Bare Answers | Raw Score | Scaled Score | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 38 | ten | 2 | 35.5 | 761 | 88 |
On the second test, Darla got twice as many questions incorrect as she got incorrect on the first test. Yet this simply translated to losing iv percentile points. From some other perspective, even so, getting only ii more than questions right meant Darla broke the 90th percentile range on her start test.
Is this making your caput spin? You lot're not alone!
Our conclusion?
Because percentile rankings are essentially out of a student'south control, the all-time bet is to focus on maximizing the raw score of each section . Doing and then is the safest means of increasing a student's likelihood of earning a higher percentile on each section.
Nosotros also strongly encourage SSAT students to take the official SSAT several times, given that test difficulty is probable to fluctuate from exam to exam.
Reminder: The 1/iv Point Factor
Before nosotros motility on, let's come up dorsum to that one/4 point rule.
If y'all treat the SSAT as a test where you can guess away to your middle's content, yous might cease up with a lower score than you deserve.
Let's compare two students: Guessing Gabby and Skipper Sam.
They both took a Reading section and answered 25 out of 40 questions correctly. Gabby guessed on whatsoever questions she was unsure of, whereas Sam skipped them. Sadly for Gabby, it was not her lucky day, and all the questions she guessed were incorrect.
When we look at their scores, here'south what results.
Gabby: 25 questions correct, 15 incorrect -> 25 – fifteen/four -> 21.75 raw score -> ~43 percentile
Sam: 25 questions correct, 0 incorrect -> 25 – 0 -> 25 raw score -> ~57 percentile
While both students got the aforementioned number of questions right, Sam came away with a xiv% higher percentile score, all because she skipped questions she didn't know!
"To guess versus non to approximate" can be challenging for immature students who are used to taking tests in a straightforward fashion. Nonetheless, it'south a vital part of agreement how SSAT scoring works.
YourSSAT Score Report
Student scores become available on the SSAT website between three days and 2 weeks of the test date, depending on the type of SSAT you lot've taken.
Log in to the educatee version of your SSAT business relationship to view your scores. When you do so, you volition first run into a score overview page that looks like this:
Source: SSAT.org
You may exist wondering what the "T Scaled/Five Scaled/Q Scaled/R Scaled" columns mean.
These refer to a educatee'southward scaled total SSAT score (T), Exact score (V), Quantitative score (Q), and Reading score (R). Don't worry most these also much, as scaled scores are mainly intermediaries to get to that percentile score, which schools are most focused on.
There is a fiddling more information nosotros tin can get out of the SSAT score report.
Simply expand the menu and click "View Score Report." This gives students their scaled scores, percentiles ("SSAT Reference Information"), and a listing of correct, wrong, and unanswered questions in each section.
Source: Reading Your Middle or Upper-Level SSAT Score Report
This report includes a brief breakdown of question types for each section (i.e., "Main Thought" vs "College Guild" for Reading).
Lastly, students receive "ranges" for their scaled scores. These are designed to requite students information about possible score differences if they sit for the SSAT again in a curt menstruum of time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nosotros already discussed that students should focus more on percentiles, as opposed to scaled scores. Here are some farther questions that might come upwardly:
What matters more, SSAT department percentiles or total percentiles?
Schools tend to consider the percentiles of each section. Even so, we encourage families to cheque with schools of interest to verify, as preferences differ between institutions.
How do I know if my SSAT score is good plenty for the school(s) I want to apply to?
Our families ask us this question all the time, and for good reason!
The first place to look is a school'south admissions folio. Here, students may find average SSAT scores of competitive applicants.
However, schools aren't always the almost public with this data. Always call the admissions office if yous tin't find it or demand clarification. We discuss this further in our post near "good" SSAT scores.
In the meantime, if you want to survey the lay of the state, there are a couple of sites that offer a decent breakup of boilerplate SSAT scores by schoolhouse, such every bit Examination Innovators:
Keep in mind that the SSAT is designed for the average student to score in the 50% percentile (the median). There are some great schools with an boilerplate SSAT score in this 50-60% range.
The near competitive schools, however, will have average SSAT scores in the 90th+ percentile.
Should I even carp applying to certain schools if my score is below average?
Before making this decision, bank check with your schoolhouse(southward) of involvement. This is vital!
Some schools have recommended score ranges for competitive applicants.
Withal others volition tell prospective applicants that SSAT scores are only a small part of the holistic packet; things like good character and extracurricular involvement may be more significant aspects of an application.
What Should I Prioritize? Adjacent Steps
After all of this, how should you navigate your SSAT test prep journeying?
1) Know your target score.
Do your best enquiry on your schools of involvement to get a ballpark score for targeting. It'southward too wise to take a diagnostic SSAT to understand your benchmarks for raw scores.
Learn more than about available SSAT do materials and resources here.
2) Focus on accuracy in your test prep.
Remember the 1/4 point effect and don't lose more than points than y'all have to.
A good general rule for competitive applicants is to aim for no more than than 5 incorrect questions per section (for Math, across BOTH sections). This strategy has the greatest potential for a higher percentile ranking.
3) Plan to take the test more once.
Your percentile is office of an ever-fluctuating information prepare based on an accumulation of select scores over the past iii years.
In addition, some tests are easier than others, and no matter how thoroughly y'all prepare, you might accept an off twenty-four hour period on the bodily test.
And then give yourself the best chance you tin can by starting your SSAT test prep early and planning to take the test at to the lowest degree twice!
Download PrepMaven'south Complete Guide to Scoring on the SSAT
What else should you know about scoring on the SSAT? In our Complete Guide to Scoring on the SSAT, you'll get access to:
- A recap of everything discussed in this post
- Our thoughts on what a "skilful" SSAT score looks like
- Details almost SSAT score release dates
- Data on score reporting services and sending scores to schools
Jess Welsh
Jess is a Princeton graduate who majored in English and minored in Visual Arts (Film). She has worked as an SAT/ACT/AP/SSAT/ISEE/HSPT tutor too as a college counselor and loves getting to know students through her work. When not tutoring, she enjoys reading, writing, running, adding to her classic rock music collection, and exploring the W!
Source: https://prepmaven.com/blog/test-prep/scoring-on-the-ssat/
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