The SSAT is very different from the tests you're used to
taking in school. On a school test, you're often told to show
your work, to spend more time on tough questions (since they're
worth more points), and to work thoroughly, even if it means
taking extra time.
None of these things applies in the world of standardized
testing. On your private school admissions test, it won't matter
how you answer a question; it only matters what your final answer
is. Also, all questions are worth the same number of points, so
it's always to your advantage to answer easier questions first,
to get them out of the way.
The SSAT is given to students in a range of grades, so if
you're in 8th grade, for example, you're not expected to get as
many questions right as someone in 11th grade (for the Upper
Level Test). Keep that in mind as you take the test so you won't
get discouraged if you find a lot of questions that you can't
answer!
Learn the Directions
One of the easiest and most useful things you can do to boost
your performance is to learn and understand the directions before
Test Day. Since the instructions are always exactly the same,
there's no reason to waste your time on the day of the test
reading them. Get them straight in your head beforehand, and
you'll be able to skip them during the test.
Skipping Around
You're allowed to skip around as much as you'd like within
each section of the SSAT. High scorers know this and use it to
their advantage. They move through the test efficiently, quickly
marking and leaving questions they can't answer immediately,
racking up points on questions they do know, then coming back to
the tough ones later. They don't dwell on any question, even a
hard one, until they've tried every question at least once.
Guessing—Know Your Test
On the SSAT there is a wrong answer penalty. For each answer
you get right, you get one point. For each answer you get wrong,
¼ of a point is deducted from your raw score. Does this mean you
shouldn't guess? No, not at all. What it means is that you need
to be smart about it. Essentially, if you can eliminate
one—preferably two—answer choices, it's to your advantage to
guess because you've tipped the odds in your favor. If you can't
eliminate anything, you're better off leaving the question
blank.
