What is the SSAT? Levels, sections, fees and scores

The SSAT is an admissions test for private and independent schools. Many schools accept either the SSAT or the ISEE. Both are now run by the same organization: EMA, which made the SSAT, and ERB, which made the ISEE, finished merging in early March 2026 to form the nonprofit E3n. Both tests continue.

Family information for the SSAT is now on admission.org, and ssat.org pages redirect there. Registration is at portal.ssat.org. The ISEE still uses a separate parent account.

The SSAT is not the test for every school near New York City. Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of New York and the Dioceses of Brooklyn/Queens and Rockville Centre use the TACHS. One exception: Catholic high schools in Rockland County, New York are in the New Jersey COOP HSPT program, so families there should check each school’s test requirement. The Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Paterson in North Jersey also use the HSPT. E3n says many schools accept either the ISEE or the SSAT, that some areas — especially local day schools — use only one, and that preferences can differ by grade level. Check each school’s admissions page. If you are weighing the two tests, see SSAT vs ISEE and which test does my child need.

Three levels, set by your child’s current grade

Level	Current grade
Elementary	3–4
Middle	5–7
Upper	8–11

The level follows the grade your child is in now. The ISEE works differently — it uses the grade being applied to. Families may pick a different grade in some cases, such as one grade higher late in the school year. More on this in which SSAT level should my child take.

What’s on the Middle and Upper SSAT

Section	Time	Questions
Writing sample (unscored)	25 min	—
Quantitative	60 min, in two 30-minute parts	50
Reading	40 min	40
Verbal	30 min	60 (30 synonyms, 30 analogies)
Experimental (unscored)	15 min	16

That is 150 scored questions, plus two 10-minute breaks, for a total of 3 hours 10 minutes. The Middle and Upper Levels have the same structure; only the writing prompt types differ. The writing sample is not scored. On paper group testing, students stay for the full time for each section.

Two of those verbal question types have free practice here: synonyms and analogies.

What’s on the Elementary SSAT

Section	Time	Questions
Quantitative	30 min	30
Verbal	20 min	30
Reading	30 min	28
Writing sample, picture prompt (unscored)	15 min	—
Experimental (unscored)	15 min	15–17

With a 15-minute break, the Elementary SSAT runs 2 hours 5 minutes.

Calculators are not allowed at any level unless a student has an approved accommodation for one, and students approved for a calculator bring their own.

How the scoring works

Level	Section score range	Total score range
Elementary	300–600	900–1800
Middle	440–710	1320–2130
Upper	500–800	1500–2400

Three sections are scored — verbal, quantitative and reading — and they add up to the total. Full detail is on what’s the highest SSAT score.

Percentiles run from 1 to 99. They compare your child with first-time test takers in the same grade who took a Standard paper SSAT in the US or Canada over about the past three years. Only a student’s first test counts toward those norms. Every score report also shows the average score for your child’s grade, section by section and for the total.

Two things follow from that comparison group. E3n says SSAT percentiles can look lower than other test results because SSAT test takers are a small, highly competitive group applying to selective independent schools, and that SSAT percentiles should not be compared with percentiles from other tests. See what is a good SSAT score for the published grade averages.

The Middle and Upper SSAT still subtracts a quarter point for each wrong answer in 2026–27. Skipped questions cost nothing. The Elementary SSAT has no penalty. That makes the SSAT unusual among these tests — see which admissions tests penalize wrong answers.

Four ways to take it, and how often

Mode	Levels	Where	How many in 2026–27
Standard paper	All	Test site, Saturdays at 9 a.m. local time	All 6 dates for Middle/Upper; up to 2 for Elementary
Flex	All	Paper, on a non-Standard date, at a member school or through an educational consultant	1
SSAT at Home	Middle, Upper	Home computer, US and Canada	1
Prometric	Middle, Upper	Prometric test center, US, Canada and many other countries	1 currently; E3n says this adjusts to 2 per year later in fall 2026

The 2026–27 Standard paper dates are Saturdays 10/10/2026, 11/14/2026, 12/12/2026, 1/9/2027, 1/30/2027 and 3/13/2027. Elementary is offered only on 11/14/2026 and 12/12/2026. Registration closes 11:59 p.m. ET the Wednesday before each date, and 14 days before for accommodated testing.

SSAT at Home runs Tuesday through Saturday in select weeks, generally 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. The fall 2026 dates listed so far are 10/13/2026–10/17/2026 and 11/3/2026–11/7/2026, with more to come. Scheduling closes 72 hours before the start. Flex registration stays open until 7/20/2027. Full detail and deadlines are on SSAT test dates.

One scheduling note for NYC-area families: 11/14/2026 is both an SSAT Standard date and an SHSAT weekend date, and the TACHS (11/6–11/7/2026) and the NJ HSPT (11/6/2026) land the week before.

Fees for 2026–27

What	US and Canada
Middle/Upper Standard or school Flex	$177
Middle/Upper Flex through a consultant	$272
SSAT at Home	$263
Prometric	$250
Elementary Standard or school Flex	$112
Elementary Flex through a consultant	$172
Late registration	$59
Rush registration	$100

International fees are $339 for Middle/Upper and $229 for Elementary. E3n gives no refunds. Changing a paper test costs $49. Add-ons include Score Alert at $19, a copy of the writing sample at $26 for Middle and Upper, a grade rescore at $59 and hand scoring at $100. Rescheduling a Prometric test 3 to 28 days out costs $35 paid to Prometric, and is not allowed within two days of the test.

Fee waivers are requested from the schools your child is applying to, and they cover both the test fee and E3n’s Online Practice.

When scores arrive

Paper scores usually come out within about two weeks, though some releases take up to three. SSAT at Home scores come the Wednesday after the test. Prometric scores come the Wednesday after each Monday-through-Sunday scoring week. There is no expedited scoring, and a parent has to submit the Testing Experience Statement before scores are released. Scores from 2026–27 can be sent to schools until 7/31/2028. More in when do SSAT scores come out.

Official practice

E3n sells official practice for the Middle and Upper Levels: the Official Study Guide book for $70, Online Practice for $80, or both for $130. Each contains the same four full-length practice tests, about 600 questions in all. Online Practice adds 15 section tests, more than 50 quizzes, answer explanations and videos, and lasts one year; the guide book has scoring instructions but no answer explanations. Middle and Upper are sold separately.

There is also a free 30-question SSAT Mini-Practice Test, taken through the SSAT parent portal, whose instant report shows a student’s ten strongest and ten weakest topics. For the Elementary Level, the Official SSAT Study Guides are free PDFs — one for grade 3, one for grade 4 — and Online Practice is not offered at that level.