Detailed analysis of various SSAT test sections

Certification: SSAT - Secondary School Admission Test

SSAT or the Secondary School Admission Test is a very relevant exam that play a role in the admission of students into private and independent schools, including elementary middle and high schools. This exam is governed by the Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB). The SSAT is mainly given in three different level, which include the Elementary Level SSAT, Middle Level SSAT and the Upper Level SSAT. The Elementary Level is for students in grades 3 and 4, and the Middle Level is for students in grade 5 to 7, and the Upper Level is for students in grade 8 to 11. As a student, you need to get the detailed analysis of the SSAT so that you can perceive what is required of you in the various sections that the paper offers. The SSAT is not a very difficult test but as a student you need preparation so as to perform highly. With detailed analysis of all the sections, you may even be able to anticipate the questions that you may encounter.

The SSAT has mainly four sections, but it depends with the level at which you attempt the SSAT. It consists of the following sections:

Writing Sample (this is an unscored part of the exam)
Quantitative Section
Reading Comprehension Section
Verbal Section
Experimental section (unscored section of the paper)

Let us look at each section and identify what is required by the applicant

Writing Sample Section

This is the first part of the SSAT. In this section of the exam, the applicant is required to choose between 2 creative story starters. It examines the student's writing skills and also organisation. This section is not scored in the final report of the SSAT exam. It is sent to the schools that one has selected to go to. This section is allocated 25 minutes. This section appears at the beginning of the test, whereby you will be required to write an essay. The article that you write will be sent to the admissions office of the schools that you had applied. It will help them in understanding your writing skills and capabilities. One can also decide to purchase a copy of the essay which will be a part of the online report.

Quantitative section

This is the second part of the SSAT exam and mainly involves mathematical problem. This math section measures the candidate's skills to solve geometry, arithmetic, algebra and other math concepts. It has a total of 50 questions, which are sub-divided into two parts. Each part entails 25 questions and is awarded 30 minutes. This is one of the scored section so of the SSAT. The questions that appear in this section are structured in mathematical terms while other are structured as word problems. One needs fully to understand how the question is stated, what is required and what operations one needs to perform the questions. The topics covered in this section include:

Elementary Concepts of Algebra - this involves sub-topics such as Patterns, Absolute Value, Properties of Exponents, and Equations of Lines.

Geometry and Measurement – some of the sub-topics include here are Slope, Area and circumference of a Circle, Volume of a Cube, Box, Cylinder, Coordinate Geometry and other many related topics.

Number Concepts and Operations – Some of the topics tested are Frequencies, Estimation, Arithmetic Word Problems, Sequences and Series, Rational Number any much more.

Data Analysis and Probability - here you will be tested on topics such as Probability, Interpretation of graphs and tables and also Trends and Inferences.

Reading Comprehension

This is the third section of the paper. This section mainly assesses the applicants' ability to read and understand the passage that they have read. Time allocated to this sections is 40 minutes. There is a total of 40 questions in the Reading section. Each passage in this section range from a length of 250 to 350. The passages can be taken from with Social Studies, Sciences, Humanities and also Literary Fiction. One can be required to make inferences, locate details, determines the author's purpose, find out the main idea and so much more. After each passage, there are several questions that are related to the passage. Some of the topic covered are

Biography, art and Poetry which is under Humanities
Economics, sociology and History which is under Social Studies
Medicine, Astronomy and Anthropology, which is under Sciences
Literary Fiction

Verbal Section

This is the fourth part of the SSAT paper. In the verbal section, the student is tested on their verbal reasoning and vocabulary ability. The section has a total of 60 questions (30 analogies and 30 synonyms). Time allocated is 30minutes. The main topics covers are word relationships through analogies and synonyms. One is expected to identify the synonyms and also interpret the similarities in this section.

Experimental Section

This is the fifth part of the paper. This is a section that contain test question which might be used in future SSAT exams. The total number of questions are 16 and time allocated 15 minutes. It contains five math, 6- verbal and 5-reading questions. This section is not scored in the final report.

These are the main section of the SSAT and their detailed information. The Elementary Level SSAT contains only three parts, Quantitative, Writing Sample and Verbal section and is awarded a total of 110 minutes. The Upper and Middle Level includes the rest of the sections, which include the Writing Sample, Verbal, Quantitative, Experimental and Reading Comprehension level and it is granted 3 hours and 5 minutes. Once you conceive what is required of you in the SSAT, you will be able to adequately prepare yourself and get a high score in each section which in turn will lead to a high overall score.