Looking for ways to Prepare For SSAT? The Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) assesses proficiency in both Language Arts and Math. It is used by many private schools across the country as an admission factor for middle school and high school.
Naturally, helping your child score well is something you’re invested in, but if you’re new to the scene, you may not know quite how to go about it. Read on for ten things to keep in mind.
Prepare For SSAT | Scores Really Do Matter
Yes, scores matter. Although most private schools will look for a well-rounded student with good grades and extracurricular interests, test scores still count.
Prepare For SSAT | It Is Possible to Raise a Score
Fortunately, if your student has taken a pre-test with disappointing results, that does not mean things are hopeless. The SSAT test, like all standardized tests, is in large part measuring the test-taking skill set, so it behooves your child to learn such skills. Among these are pacing, calmness, deductive reasoning, and memorization, to name a few.
Prepare For SSAT | Practice Really Does Make Perfect
Repetition isn’t everything, but it can do a lot, especially for tough math concepts or highfalutin vocabulary.
Prepare For SSAT | Read, Read, Read
Reading helps contextualize knowledge; it helps cement vocabulary, and it teaches kids to follow logic. Always encourage your child to read, inside and outside of test-taking season.
Prepare For SSAT | Learn to Skip
Especially for driven, intelligent children, it can sometimes be hard to skip a question and come back to it, or to make the best possible guess and accept not really knowing. Unfortunately, getting stuck on one problem can compromise the entire test, so help your child learn to accept uncertainty, pick the best answer and move forward.
Prepare For SSAT | Focus on Weak Areas
If your student has a clearly defined break between Language Arts and Math, or vice versa, you should focus on evening these scores. Choose the area with the lower score, and focus a lot of your initial prep there to decrease the gap between the two subjects.
Prepare For SSAT | Don’t Neglect Natural Strengths
Just because your child is a gifted wordsmith doesn’t mean he or she couldn’t stand some vocabulary review. While there’s no need to force a fourth grader to swallow a dictionary, make sure you spread SSAT prep to all areas that will be examined, not just weak spots. This will ensure a well-rounded preparation.
Prepare For SSAT | Eliminate Poor Choices
Multiple choice questions help test-takers out if they know where to look. Work with your child to learn to recognize the obvious choices that can be discarded, such as two answers that are the same thing, so therefore neither can be correct. Little tricks can make a big difference in the score.
Prepare For SSAT | A Tutor May Be Worth It
If you do not like to assist in test prep or do not feel you have the necessary knowledge, a tutor can prove an invaluable resource for your child. Even if you do enjoy helping with schoolwork, tutors have experience that may benefit the preparation process.
Prepare For SSAT | Consider Courses to Help Master Material
If your child could use some extra help, consider enrolling her in a summer school course. Many private schools offer prep courses for Language Arts and Math, which help students target the areas they need to bring up.
