Get resources: full-length SSAT practice tests, level-appropriate vocabulary lists, a watch for test day (and practice sections!), a quiet place to complete timed sections
Help students eat well, sleep well, and exercise often
Mentally:
Organize with your child: Connect students with a tutor or class (or you!) to:
When will they test?
How many new words can they commit to learning per week?
Will you help them study or quiz them?
When will they take diagnostic practice tests?
Emotionally:
Build confidence. Celebrate successes and assure them that with practice they can do their best.
Know that their happiness and success in life is actually NOT dependent on SSAT results. (If YOU are overly concerned they may become overly stressed which will NOT help them.)
Offer an “after-test-day” award as motivation; a treat not dependent on scores. This “Woohooo, you did it!”-award can be material or a celebratory activity you’ll do together.
There are many different ways to take the SSAT. Luckily, there are also many opportunities to retake the test if you're unhappy with your scores. Learn about how you can retake the SSAT.
The team here at Test Innovators knows a thing or two about the anxiety surrounding testing. There are many different methods to relieving testing anxiety but we chose our top four favorites.
Every year, there are increasing numbers of international applicants to private high schools and boarding schools in the U.S. and Canada. A North American high school education has a number of benefits, including a greater understanding of the college application process, academic readiness for a college education, and immersion in...
As part of our mission to help students gain access to quality educational opportunities, we award six merit-based scholarships every year to the Test Innovators students who showed the most improvement on either the SSAT or the ISEE.
Josh’s daughter, Ellie, took the Secondary School Admissions Test (SSAT) in the hopes of gaining admission to an independent school for 9th grade. When Ellie initially took the test, one of the biggest struggles she faced was effectively managing her time on unfamiliar questions. She unknowingly spent too much time...
Think of the last time you took a big test. What were you thinking about during the test? Did you feel good or bad during the exam? When thinking about the upcoming test, what are your thoughts and feelings about it? Have these thoughts and feelings motivated you to prepare...
We are excited to introduce Mohammed, one of our 2020 scholars. Mohammed’s hard work and determination allowed him to increase his SSAT score by 67 percentile points.
Simulating the official testing experience is a critical part of the preparation process. This helps students mitigate any testing anxiety because they know exactly what to expect, and it helps them practice managing their time on a rigorous exam.
While every student is different, the number one cause of test anxiety is not knowing what to expect. High-stakes exams like the ISEE, SSAT, SAT, and ACT are significantly different than in-school assessment tests that students regularly take, so the strategies for taking these tests are different too. This might...
