About SSATB
Mission Statement: To advance and add value to the private school admission process for schools, students, and families.
Our History
In 1952, a small group of independent school admission officers came together to discuss issues of mutual interest. One of the major outcomes was the recognition of the need for a common admission test. As a result, the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) and the Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB) were born.
After agreeing that a common admission test was needed, the founders sought an organization to develop and administer it. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) agreed to take it on in 1956. The first SSAT was administered to just over 5,000 students in 1957. Today, the SSAT is administered in over 1,085 test locations around the world.
But the mission of SSATB is broader than a test. SSATB uses the admission test to connect to and support the overall independent school admission process. SSATB was built on three principles: to provide a forum for exchange and support among admission professionals, to create a test, and to assist parents and students in their independent school search. To illustrate these founding principles, the triangle was chosen as SSATB’s corporate symbol. SSATB’s member support, professional development, student services, and cutting-edge technologies are a testament to that connection and commitment to independent school admission.
In 1993, after 35 years of contracting test development and administration to ETS, SSATB established its independence. The increased demand created by innovative new services, coupled with the dearth and inaccuracy of previous records, created a myriad of challenges for the newly-independent organization. Undeterred, SSATB set out to reengineer corporate operations and to plan for a variety of new and expanded test and professional services. In the years since, SSATB has grown phenomenally – in testing administrations, in admission services, in membership, and in professional development offerings. In 1997, the office was moved to its current facility, which houses most of the SSATB enterprise – from a test storage and shipping center to a state-of-the-art operations center and executive offices.