Whether you are applying to an American private middle school, a Canadian private middle school, or an international school participating in the American and Canadian education systems, you need to submit ISEE or SSAT scores.
The question types and structures of their exams are very similar, but what are the subtle differences between them?
Which test should you choose when applying to school?
The first and most important thing is to confirm that the high school you want to apply for only accepts what kind of scores.
For example: TAS (Taipei American School)
→ When applying for admissionOnly ISEE scores are used
Including middle schools with English departments in the United States, Canada or other countries → Make your choice based on the school’s application requirements!
| ISEE | SSAT | |
| Exam type | Mathematics, Chinese, and reading tests + an essay | Mathematics, Chinese, and reading tests + an essay |
| Purpose | Apply to international and American schools | Apply to international and American schools |
| Exam grading | Primary is for applying to grades 3-4 | Elementary applies for grades 4-5 |
| Lower is for applying to grades 5-6 | Middle is for applying to grades 6-8 | |
| Middle is for applying to grades 7-8 | Upper is for applying to grades 9-12 | |
| Upper is for applying to grades 9-12 | ||
| essay topic | An expository article | Middle: Choose one of two creative questions |
| Upper: One topic for creation & one topic for narrative, choose one | ||
| Deductions for wrong answers | none | Wrong answer will deduct 1/4 points |
| Chinese topic | Fill in the blanks with synonyms and sentences | Synonyms and Analogies |
| take an exam Number of times limit |
Once per season (summer, autumn, winter) Up to three times a year |
Unlimited |
| Exam date | Summer (April-July), autumn (August-November), winter (December-March) | January, February, March, April, June, December |
| Paper-based test/computer-based test | All | paper test |
| Send transcripts | You can freely choose which schools to send your scores to. | You can freely choose which schools to send your scores to. |
| transcript | List the individual scores for the four items | List the individual scores for the three items The two math scores will be combined |
| The receiving school will not see the number of times the candidate has passed the test I can't see the list of other recipients either |
The receiving school will not see the number of times the candidate has passed the test I can't see the list of other recipients either |
|
| Suitable for students | Students with strong mathematical skills | Students with sufficient English vocabulary |
What transfer tests do I need to take? How to prepare? Contact now AEI Education Curriculum ConsultantLearn more about!
