Tips from an SSAT & ISEE Expert

Noodle Pros, a cohort of experienced professional educators, is a Test Innovators partner based in New York City. Drawing on their collective expertise, they provide online and in-person high-stakes test prep and academic tutoring to students in fourteen states and three countries.

Kelly Clement is an expert SSAT & ISEE tutor with Noodle Pros. Clement has been an educator throughout the US and internationally for her entire career. She started her career as a study skills teacher in the Caribbean, and then taught 12 years of middle school English and humanities. By design, she immersed herself in very different demographics and types of schools to get a broad understanding of students.

Neil Seltzer, Noodle Pros’ CEO, sat down with Clement to talk about how students can best prepare for the SSAT and ISEE. Check out Clement’s answers to Seltzer’s five burning questions.

Neil Seltzer: Can’t you just buy a book?
Kelly Clement: The easy answer is no, you can’t just buy a book. For various reasons, prep books aren’t going to be relevant for every student. Though they may work great for some students, it’s hard to tell which one will be best for you. Some books skew harder while others skew easier.

NS: How long does it take to prepare?
KC: There is no easy, one-size-fits-all answer. As soon as you find out that you may need to take the SSAT or ISEE, your student should take an initial practice test. This will allow you to see where your student’s starting point is. By taking an initial practice test, you gain a better understanding of how much he or she will need to prepare and in which sections. From there, you can build out your student’s prep plan.

NS: How much do scores matter?
KC: Scores aren’t the singular factor in the application process, but they are important. Each school will value the scores differently depending on its own needs for that specific class. Although they aren’t the most important part of the application process, you can’t wing it.

NS: Is test prep necessary?
KC: Short answer, yes. The ISEE and SSAT are written to be challenging for all students. They are intended to discover what your student knows and how they manage unfamiliar questions. If the test covered basic knowledge that every student in 7th grade should know, every 7th grader would do well. Because both the ISEE and SSAT are scored normatively, the competitiveness of this group of students adds another degree of difficulty.

NS: What if you move mid-year?
KC: Don’t fret. Even though there is a distinct application season, schools tend to have rolling admissions beyond the standard date. Most students who are operating within that main application season will need to submit their materials by early- or mid-January, so they’ll be taking the exam between September and December, maybe even early January. However, schools will consider and accept applications at various times of the year. Most of the time, especially with some help from a local admissions expert, students are able to find a placement regardless of the time of year.