The Secondary Schools Admissions Test covers a wide range of reading passages in the comprehension section. The Independent Schools Selection Examination on the other hand restricts itself in its reading passages to a limited range of history, social studies and science subjects.

There are other small variances in each test such as its essay beginning in The SSAT and the ending section in The ISSE, or the Multi-choice section in The SSAT having 5 choices and The ISSE having only 4.

The ISSE contains carefully set-up, consistently verbal and measurable reasoning tests designed to gauge the student's capability of learning. It also includes mathematical tests and reading comprehension passages that evaluates and gives stats of the Students academic challenges and talents.

The SSAT, with a slightly different set-up is designed carefully with the same view- to evaluate what the student can do academically. It was created to help both the student and recommending teacher to ease the application process.

The SSAT is a widely used admission test in North America as well as some 700 English Medium International Schools, for non-public and independent as well as educational organizations from all over the world.

The ISSE is used by many independent schools and if your child is applying to a Catholic school they may well be asked to sit the Catholic High School Entrance Exam. In all cases samples questions and test papers are available from online sources so that your child can become used to the format without pressure before taking the actual examination.

The ISSE and SSAT are both very challenging exams because they are testing more than just what has been learned in school but they also test how well you think. So whether you are taking the ISSE or SSAT, be prepared.