Why ISEE over SSAT?

Lvillegrad
Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:51:06 +0000

In NYC all the independent schools required the ISEE and most would accept the SSAT (but not all). Since my son only applied to one boarding school and it accepted the ISEE, he went the ISEE route.

Since I did the final stage tutoring for him for the ISEE (after he took an SHSAT review class - the test for NYC selective public schools like Stuyvesant and Bronx Science), I have some familiarity with the tests. I felt comfortable using the SSAT practice tests as review since there was a dearth of ISEE practice tests around.

The ISEE changed format somewhat this year. It added questions to each section attempting to put a little bit more time pressure on the students. Although both tested vocabularly, the ISEE tested it somewhat more directly. And the ISEE’s new format seemed to emphasize mathematical reasoning somewhat more as opposed to mathematical knowledge. None of these were substantial differences however. Studying for one is almost the same as studying for the other, although one should become familiar with the exact format before walking into the exam room.