← SSAT® Middle Level

Quantitative: Format, Scoring and Strategy

How the two 25-question sections combine into one score, why four wrong answers erase a right one, and the moves that beat the five-choice format.

10 topics · 43 questions

Each topic is a path, not a menu: work down it in order and every question builds on the one above. Click any of them to watch the answer draw itself.

Two Quantitative Sections, One Combined Score

  1. How it worksHow do 25 questions in one section and 25 in another add up to a single quantitative score out of 50?
  2. How it worksHow does a raw math score turn into the scaled 440 to 710 number on a Middle Level report?
  3. Worked exampleFind the raw quantitative score for a student who answers 32 right, 8 wrong and leaves 10 blank.
  4. Common mistakeWhy isn't the second math section a harder version of the first one?
  5. Going furtherWhat happens to your score when you run out of time and never reach the last five math questions?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
Across both quantitative sections a student answers 37 questions correctly and 12 incorrectly, leaving the rest blank. Under plus one for a right answer and minus a quarter for a wrong one, what is the raw quantitative score?

The Two Score-Report Subject Areas

  1. How it worksHow does E3n split questions into Number Concepts and Operations versus Algebra, Geometry and Other Math?
  2. Worked exampleShow me which of the two buckets holds 3/4 plus 1/6, the area of a circle, and a probability tree.
  3. Going furtherWhat does it mean when a report counts 11 questions as Number Concepts and 39 as Algebra, Geometry and Other?
  4. Common mistakeWhy isn't a small Number Concepts count a sign that fractions barely matter on the test?
Your turnhard1 of 3
Question 17 asks for 3/4 plus 1/6, question 16 asks for the area of a circle, and a third asks for a probability from a tree diagram. How do those sort into the two reported quantitative areas?

The Guessing Penalty: Plus One, Minus a Quarter

  1. How it worksHow does the minus one-quarter rule turn four wrong answers into one erased right answer?
  2. Worked exampleFind the raw score of a student who gets 20 math questions right and 12 wrong.
  3. Worked exampleFind how many wrong answers it takes to wipe out 6 correct ones under the minus one-quarter rule.
  4. Common mistakeWhy isn't leaving a math question blank the same as getting it wrong on the SSAT?
  5. Going furtherWhat happens to your raw score when you blindly fill in all 50 math bubbles with the letter C?
Your turneasy1 of 3
A student gets 22 quantitative questions right and 14 wrong. Under plus one and minus a quarter, what is the raw score?

Educated Guessing: Eliminating Two of Five

  1. How it worksHow do the odds on a five-choice question shift once two of the answers are knocked out?
  2. Worked exampleFind the points gained or lost on average from 10 blind guesses on five-choice SSAT questions.
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't always guess, never leave it blank good advice on the Middle Level SSAT?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
You guess blindly on 16 five-choice questions and happen to get 4 of them right. What is the net change to your raw score?

Eliminating Answers by Sign, Size and Parity

  1. How it worksHow does knowing the answer must be negative wipe out every positive choice at once?
  2. How it worksHow does deciding whether an answer has to be even or odd cut a five-choice list in half?
  3. Worked exampleShow me how to kill three choices for 47 times 62 when the options are 2914, 2915, 3914, 914 and 29140.
  4. Worked exampleFind which of 0.3, 3, 30 and 300 is closest to 18.7 times 0.16 without multiplying it out.
  5. Going furtherWhat happens when the answer has to end in the digit 5 and only two of the five choices do?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Question 17 asks for the product of 66 and 46, and you notice 46 is even. Which choices can you cross out before multiplying?

Working Backwards from the Answer Choices

  1. How it worksHow do you pick which answer choice to test first when the five run smallest to largest?
  2. Worked exampleWalk me through solving 4x - 7 = 2x + 9 by testing the choices 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12.
  3. Worked exampleFind the number that is 3 more than half of itself by trying 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10.
  4. Common mistakeWhy doesn't working backwards help when every answer choice still contains a letter?
Your turnmedium1 of 3
Solve for x: 4x - 11 = 2x + 15.

Picking Numbers When the Choices Have Variables

  1. How it worksHow do you choose a value for a variable that will not accidentally match two answer choices at once?
  2. Worked exampleShow me how picking n = 4 decides which of n + 2, 2n, n times n and 3n - 2 comes out largest.
  3. Worked exampleFind which expression gives the cost of p pencils at 15 cents plus a 40 cent pen, by trying p = 2.
  4. Common mistakeWhy isn't picking x = 1 or x = 0 a safe move when you are testing answer choices?
  5. Going furtherWhat changes about picking numbers when the question is written in percents instead of letters?
Your turnhard1 of 3
Pick n = 8. Which of these expressions comes out largest?

Pacing a Thirty-Minute Section

  1. How it worksHow much time does 25 questions in 30 minutes give you each, and where should the spare seconds go?
  2. Worked exampleFind how many minutes remain for the last 10 math questions if the first 15 took 19 minutes.
  3. Going furtherWhat should you do with a question that has eaten 90 seconds and still is not cracking?
Your turneasy1 of 3
A quantitative section lasts 30 minutes. The first 15 questions take you 22 minutes. How many minutes are left for the last 10?

Testing Without a Calculator

  1. How it worksHow does rounding both numbers before you multiply get you close enough to pick a choice?
  2. How it worksWalk me through doing 24 times 25 in your head by turning it into 24 times 100 divided by 4.
  3. Worked exampleFind 15 percent of 80 in your head by taking 10 percent and then half of that.
  4. Worked exampleFind 1998 plus 347 by rounding 1998 up to 2000 and fixing the difference at the end.
  5. Common mistakeWhy doesn't the no-calculator rule mean the arithmetic on the test is long and grindy?
Your turneasy1 of 3
Find 15 percent of 124 in your head by taking 10 percent and then half of that.

What Middle Level Leaves Out: Coordinate Geometry and Slope

  1. How it worksHow does the official E3n topic list mark coordinate geometry and slope as Upper Level only?
  2. Going furtherWhat does equations of lines mean at Middle Level if slope and graphing are not tested?
  3. Common mistakeWhy isn't an Upper Level practice book a safe study tool for a sixth grader taking the Middle Level SSAT?
  4. Ties togetherHow do the Middle and Upper topic lists line up so you know which practice problems to skip?
Your turnhard1 of 3
A sixth grader has spent 11 weeks drilling slope and plotting points on a grid for the Middle Level SSAT. What does the official topic list say about that?

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