SSAT: what it is, sections, scoring, dates and fees (2026-27)

Who runs the SSAT

The SSAT is run by E3n, a nonprofit formed on March 1, 2026 through the merger of the Enrollment Management Association (EMA), which made the SSAT, and the Educational Records Bureau (ERB), which made the ISEE. EMA began in 1957 as the Secondary School Admission Test Board. The old ssat.org address now forwards to admission.org, which is where registration, dates and fees are published.

E3n describes the SSAT as virtually unspeeded: most students have enough time to consider each question. It tests verbal, math and reading skills, adds a writing sample that is not scored, and usually ends with an experimental section that is not scored or reported.

Sources: E3n, Who We Are (the ERB and EMA merger); E3n, About the SSAT (test options, levels, pricing, policies)

The three levels

The level is set by the grade you enter when you register. You may enter a grade one higher or lower than your child’s actual grade, for example to see how they might do next year, or because a school asks a student who is repeating a grade to test one grade lower.

Sources: E3n, SSAT Candidate Handbook for testing year 2026-27 (PDF); E3n Help Center, Which SSAT level a student takes

Sections and timing: Middle and Upper Levels

The Middle and Upper Levels have the same format and timing: 3 hours and 10 minutes in all, with two 10-minute breaks. Calculators are not allowed. Wrong answers cost a quarter point (see scoring below).

For the writing sample, Middle Level students choose between a creative story starter and a personal question; Upper Level students choose between a personal and a general question. Schools that receive the score report get the writing sample. Parents can buy a copy.

Sources: E3n Help Center, What is on the Middle Level SSAT; E3n Help Center, What is on the Upper Level SSAT; E3n, Paper SSAT (2026-27 Standard dates, Flex, test day timing); E3n, SSAT Candidate Handbook for testing year 2026-27 (PDF)

Sections and timing: Elementary Level

The Elementary Level takes 2 hours and 5 minutes, with one 15-minute break. The reading section has seven short passages with four questions each. The writing sample asks for a story about a picture; it is not scored and is not available to families, but schools receive it. Calculators are not allowed. The Elementary Level is offered on paper only, and not on every Standard test date.

Sources: E3n Help Center, What is on the Elementary Level SSAT; E3n, Paper SSAT (2026-27 Standard dates, Flex, test day timing); E3n, SSAT Candidate Handbook for testing year 2026-27 (PDF)

How the SSAT is scored

On the Middle and Upper Levels, each correct answer earns one point, each wrong answer loses a quarter point, and a skipped question neither earns nor loses points. On the Elementary Level there is no penalty for wrong answers. A test cannot be scored if a whole multiple-choice section is left blank.

The score report shows a scaled score for verbal, quantitative and reading, a total, and a percentile from 1 to 99. The percentile compares your child with first-time test takers in the same grade over the last three years in the U.S. and Canada. The report also gives a score range your child would likely fall in on a retest.

E3n does not combine section scores from different test dates ("superscoring"): each test is reported whole. You choose which test dates go to which schools, and you can wait until you have seen the scores. E3n does not say what a good score is; it points families to the scaled score and percentile and notes that each school weighs scores in its own way.

Sources: E3n, SSAT score reports (scoring, release, add-on services); E3n Help Center, Elementary Level SSAT scoring; E3n Help Center, How to read the SSAT score report; E3n, sample Middle Level SSAT score report (PDF); E3n, sample Upper Level SSAT score report (PDF); E3n Help Center, Choosing which section scores are reported; E3n Help Center, Which scores are reported after several tests; E3n, SSAT Candidate Handbook for testing year 2026-27 (PDF)

Ways to take it

Paper Standard tests are group sittings, usually at schools, on six Saturdays from October to March, with limited Sunday sittings for students who cannot test on Saturday for religious reasons. A paper Flex test is the same paper SSAT on another date, given by an E3n member school or an approved educational consultant; consultants may charge their own fee on top of the SSAT fee.

SSAT at Home is a computer test with a live proctor watching by webcam. Your child must be physically in the U.S., a U.S. territory or Canada on test day, and you need a computer and a second camera device such as a phone. Sessions run Tuesday to Saturday in select weeks, generally between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern; book at least 72 hours ahead. The Prometric option is the same computer test at a Prometric test center; E3n says there are over 5,000 locations worldwide.

Sources: E3n, About the SSAT (test options, levels, pricing, policies); E3n, Paper SSAT (2026-27 Standard dates, Flex, test day timing); E3n Help Center, Standard and Flex paper tests; E3n, SSAT at Home; E3n, SSAT at Prometric test centers

2026-27 paper test dates

Paper Standard tests start at 9 a.m. local time; E3n asks families to arrive 30 to 45 minutes early. A $59 late fee applies from the late date, and a $100 rush fee from the rush date until registration closes at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on the Wednesday before the test. Registration for a Standard test with accommodations closes 14 days before the test. Flex testing stays open until July 20, 2027.

SSAT at Home dates posted when we read the page: October 13 to 17 and November 3 to 7, 2026, with more dates from December 2026 to June 2027 marked as coming soon.

Sources: E3n, Paper SSAT (2026-27 Standard dates, Flex, test day timing); E3n, SSAT at Home; E3n, SSAT Candidate Handbook for testing year 2026-27 (PDF)

Fees

These are the prices E3n listed when we read its pages on October 5, 2026, in the 2026-27 testing year (it began August 3, 2026). All prices are in U.S. dollars. E3n does not give refunds; changing a paper test date or format costs $49 (plus the price difference if the new test costs more), and moving a Prometric test 3 to 28 days ahead costs $35, paid to Prometric.

Sources: E3n, About the SSAT (test options, levels, pricing, policies); E3n, SSAT score reports (scoring, release, add-on services)

Fee waivers

Fee waivers come from schools and organizations that are E3n members, not from E3n. Ask a school your child is applying to before you register. A waiver covers the base registration fee for any paper or computer SSAT, in any country, and includes the official SSAT Online Practice. It does not cover late or other service fees. A student may use more than one waiver to test more than once.

• Household income below 150% of the poverty threshold or guideline (or below 60% of the median household income) for your country
• The student is an orphan, a ward of the state or homeless
• The student is enrolled in or eligible for an income-based food or school lunch program
• The student lives in income-based government-subsidized housing

Source: E3n, SSAT fee waivers

Getting and sending scores

Paper scores are usually released within two weeks of the test date, SSAT at Home scores on the Wednesday after the test, and Prometric scores on the Wednesday after the week the test was taken. Families and schools get scores on the same day. Before any scores are released, a parent must complete the Testing Experience Statement in the SSAT account. Sending scores to schools through the portal is free, and a school added after release sees the scores at once. Scores from 2026-27 can be sent until July 31, 2028.

Sources: E3n, SSAT score reports (scoring, release, add-on services); E3n, SSAT Candidate Handbook for testing year 2026-27 (PDF)

Accommodations

Students with disabilities can get testing accommodations, and students who cannot test on Saturday for religious reasons can ask for Sunday testing. Accommodations must be approved before you register: you apply in the SSAT account and upload documentation, an approver who can attest to the disability and the accommodations confirms the request, and E3n reviews it, which can take up to two weeks once everything is in. Approved accommodations last for the current testing year plus one more. Score reports do not show that a test was taken with accommodations. Families supply any equipment, materials and people the approved accommodations need.

Sources: E3n, SSAT accommodations; E3n, SSAT Candidate Handbook for testing year 2026-27 (PDF)

Which schools use the SSAT

Each school sets its own testing rules, so check the admission page of every school on your list. E3n says many schools accept either the SSAT or the ISEE, but in some regions only one test is offered, especially at local day schools. It also says schools use scores to estimate a child’s readiness for their work, to compare applicants and to compare the score with the child’s school record, and that each school weighs scores by its own standards. E3n reports more than 2,260 member schools.

Sources: E3n Help Center, How schools use SSAT scores; E3n advice, ISEE or SSAT: which assessment should my student take (August 2, 2026); E3n, Who We Are (the ERB and EMA merger)

Sources and dates

• E3n, Who We Are (the ERB and EMA merger), read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/who-we-are
• E3n advice, ISEE or SSAT: which assessment should my student take (August 2, 2026), read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/advice/isee-or-ssat-which-assessment-should-my-student-take
• E3n, About the SSAT (test options, levels, pricing, policies), read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/assessments/ssat/about-the-ssat
• E3n, Paper SSAT (2026-27 Standard dates, Flex, test day timing), read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/assessments/ssat/paper
• E3n, SSAT at Home, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/assessments/ssat/home
• E3n, SSAT at Prometric test centers, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/assessments/ssat/prometric
• E3n, SSAT score reports (scoring, release, add-on services), read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/assessments/ssat/score-reports
• E3n, SSAT accommodations, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/assessments/ssat/accommodations
• E3n, SSAT fee waivers, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/assessments/ssat/fee-waivers
• E3n Help Center, What is on the Elementary Level SSAT, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/help/whats-on-the-elementary-level-ssat
• E3n Help Center, What is on the Middle Level SSAT, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/help/whats-on-the-middle-level-ssat
• E3n Help Center, What is on the Upper Level SSAT, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/help/whats-on-the-upper-level-ssat
• E3n Help Center, Elementary Level SSAT scoring, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/help/how-does-the-ssat-elementary-level-scoring-work
• E3n Help Center, How to read the SSAT score report, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/help/how-should-i-interpret-the-ssat-score-report
• E3n Help Center, Which SSAT level a student takes, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/help/what-level-of-the-ssat-will-my-student-need-to-take
• E3n Help Center, Standard and Flex paper tests, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/help/what-is-the-difference-between-a-standard-and-flex-test
• E3n Help Center, How schools use SSAT scores, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/help/how-do-schools-use-my-childs-scores
• E3n Help Center, Choosing which section scores are reported, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/help/can-i-choose-which-individual-section-scores-are-reported-to-schools
• E3n Help Center, Which scores are reported after several tests, read October 5, 2026https://www.admission.org/help/if-i-test-multiple-times-during-the-year-which-scores-are-reported
• E3n, SSAT Candidate Handbook for testing year 2026-27 (PDF), read October 5, 2026https://5232910.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/5232910/website_files/ssat/SSAT%20Candidate%20Handbook.pdf
• E3n, sample Middle Level SSAT score report (PDF), read October 5, 2026https://5232910.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/5232910/SSAT%20Example%20Score%20Reports/Sample_Middle_Level_SSAT_Report.pdf
• E3n, sample Upper Level SSAT score report (PDF), read October 5, 2026https://5232910.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/5232910/SSAT%20Example%20Score%20Reports/Sample_Upper_Level_SSAT_Report.pdf