1. SSAT Middle Level Writing Sample

Students have 25 minutes to write an essay, choosing between a creative story starter or a personal question prompt. Writing samples aren't scored, but they are provided to the schools that you opt to receive the SSAT score report, helping them assess the student's writing abilities. Parents may obtain a copy of the writing sample as a separate purchase.

2. SSAT Middle Level Quantitative Section

The quantitative section of the SSAT Middle Level consists of two 30-minute sections that contain a total of 50 quantitative problems. No calculator is allowed for this section:

These problems are a mixture of concepts that measures the student's knowledge the following quantitative concepts:

• Basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
• Place value
• Ordering of numbers (greater than, less than)
• Fractions
• Basic concepts of geometry (shapes and their attributes)
• Basic concepts of measurement
• Interpretation of graphs

All the questions in this section are grade specific at each level.

3. SSAT Middle Level Reading Comprehension Section

The reading comprehension section of the consists of 40 multiple choice questions and takes 40 minutes to complete. There are six to seven short, grade-level appropriate passages, each with four to six multiple-choice questions associated with it. These passages may include biographies, prose, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.

Students are asked to locate information and find meaning. They are also asked to demonstrate literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension. Questions ask the reader to show understanding of key ideas and details to determine the main idea of the text.

4. SSAT Middle Level Verbal Section

• Synonyms
• Analogies

Synonyms

Synonyms are words with the same or nearly the same meaning as another word. The words do not need to have exactly the same meaning; therefore, learning synonyms enables students to differentiate between shades of meaning. The test focuses on grade appropriate vocabulary.

Analogies

An analogy is a statement saying that one thing is similar to another thing. Analogies help us make connections and see relationships based on knowledge we already possess. These questions require the student to demonstrate understanding of nuances in both word meanings and word relationships.

5. SSAT Middle Level Experimental Section

The experimental section quality tests future SSAT questions to ensure they are reliable, secure, and acceptable. This section contains 16 questions and takes 15 minutes. This section is unscored.