What's the highest SSAT score? Score ranges by level
Short answer
The highest SSAT score depends on the level: 800 per section and 2400 total at the Upper Level, 710 per section and 2130 total at the Middle Level, and 600 per section and 1800 total at the Elementary Level.
The top SSAT score depends on which level your child takes. The SSAT level is based on your child’s current grade: Elementary for grades 3–4, Middle for grades 5–7 and Upper for grades 8–11.
SSAT score ranges by level
| Level | Each scored section | Total score |
|---|---|---|
| Upper (grades 8–11) | 500 to 800 | 1500 to 2400 |
| Middle (grades 5–7) | 440 to 710 | 1320 to 2130 |
| Elementary (grades 3–4) | 300 to 600 | 900 to 1800 |
At the Middle and Upper levels, the total is the sum of three scored sections: Verbal, Quantitative and Reading. The writing sample and the short experimental section aren’t scored.
Percentiles matter as much as the score
The score report also gives percentiles from 1 to 99. They compare your child with first-time test takers in the same grade in the US and Canada over the past three years. A percentile is not a percent correct, so a 60th-percentile result means your child scored as well as or better than about 60 out of 100 of those students.
How wrong answers affect the score
At the Middle and Upper levels, each wrong answer takes off a quarter point from the raw score, and a skipped question counts zero. The Elementary SSAT has no penalty. Try our SSAT raw score calculator to see how the penalty adds up, and see SSAT vs ISEE for how this compares with the ISEE.