What Just Happened to the SSAT and the ISEE?
The ERB–EMA Merger: What Families Should Know
I'll cut to the chase: There's no need to panic. Nothing is going to change for families anytime soon. All signs indicate that the application process to independent schools will continue to be a holistic experience, and these tests will remain one part of that holistic experience.
But this doesn’t mean that there’s no change coming or that it isn’t interesting!
Two History Lessons
The Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) was created in the 1950s as a standardized entrance exam for students applying to independent schools in the US and Canada. It was developed by a group of private schools seeking a common assessment that would help evaluate applicants from many different educational backgrounds. In 1957 these schools formed what later became the Enrollment Management Association to administer the test and coordinate admissions practices.
Over time, the SSAT evolved into a widely used admissions tool for grades 5 through 11, measuring verbal, quantitative, and reading skills. Today it remains one of the primary standardized assessments used by independent schools to compare applicants from diverse schools and regions during the admissions process.
The Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE) was introduced in 1988 as an alternative standardized admissions test for students applying to independent schools in the United States. It was developed and is administered by the Educational Records Bureau, a nonprofit consortium of independent schools and educational institutions that also produces widely used achievement tests.
The ISEE was designed to provide schools with a consistent way to evaluate applicants’ academic readiness across different educational settings. The exam assesses verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics achievement, and includes a writing sample. Today, it is one of the primary admission assessments used by independent schools, particularly in the Northeast, alongside the SSAT.
What’s the Difference?
The SSAT and the ISEE both assess verbal, reading, and math skills, Both exams include an unscored writing sample that is sent directly to admissions offices. However, they differ in structure, scoring, and the number of multiple-choice questions.
The SSAT (Upper Level) includes 167 multiple-choice questions, while the ISEE (Upper Level) includes 160 multiple-choice questions.
The SSAT offers five options (A, B, C, D, and E), while the ISEE provides four options (A, B, C, and D).
The SSAT deducts a fraction of a point for incorrect answers, while the ISEE has no guessing penalty.
On the SSAT, students are sometimes encouraged to skip questions if they cannot eliminate any answer choices, while on the ISEE students are generally advised to answer every question since there is no penalty for incorrect guesses.
The SSAT has two quantitative sections that mix reasoning and curriculum-based math. The ISEE separates these into Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematics Achievement sections.
Students can take the SSAT multiple times in a testing season, whereas the ISEE can be taken once per season (fall, winter, spring/summer).
In practical terms, the slightly shorter length of the ISEE and the absence of a guessing penalty often make it feel more straightforward, while the SSAT’s structure can reward careful pacing and strategic answering.
Two Major Organizations Became One
And now, after all these years, the organizations behind those tests merged to form a new nonprofit called E3n.
The name “E3n” represents the idea of “E cubed,” referring to three major areas of the independent school ecosystem that the organization connects. The three “E’s” refer to enrollment, evaluation, and engagement. The “3” in E3n represents these three “E” domains, while the “n” stands for network, reflecting the organization’s goal of creating a connected system.
On a side note, when I first looked up the name E3n, I discovered that E3N is also the name of a character in the Call of Duty universe. In the game, E3N is a robot whose full designation is Enhanced Tactical Humanoid, 3rd Revision. The character is a futuristic combat machine designed not just as a tool, but as a teammate capable of interacting with human soldiers, making decisions, and forming bonds with the people he fights alongside. I have no idea whether the architects of E3n were aware of that connection, but the overlap is hard to miss once you see it.
Still, E3n is a pretty cool name. Personally, I might have gone with SuperTesters, but that’s just me.
Anyway, it is worth noting that for many years these two testing organizations served the independent school world very well in other complementary ways.
ERB developed the ISEE and also created academic assessments such as the CTP used by many independent schools to measure student learning and benchmark academic progress.
EMA administered the SSAT and provided professional resources, conferences, and enrollment tools for admissions leaders at independent schools.
Why Did They Do This?
Well, I think it’s obvious: These two organizations combined their expertise in admissions testing, academic assessment, and enrollment strategy into one organization that can now bring a lot to the table.
According to leadership, the goal of the merger is to provide schools with more integrated tools and data. Independent schools increasingly rely on data to understand student readiness, support academic growth, and manage enrollment. By combining their services, the organizations hope to give schools a more unified view of student information from the admissions process through graduation.
How Has the Independent School Community Reacted?
So far, there has not been controversy or backlash. Most commentary that I’ve seen has been neutral or positive, especially from leaders inside the independent school world. The official messaging surrounding the merger emphasizes several goals:
improving data insights for schools
providing stronger tools for admissions and enrollment leaders
integrating academic and admissions information in more useful ways
In other words, the merger is largely being framed as a modernization effort designed to support schools and families more effectively.
It’s hard to argue against this. It’s going to be helpful, and there’s no impact on families on the horizon at all. The tests themselves have not changed. The format, timing, and rules of the ISEE and SSAT remain the same. This merger feels more like consolidation than disruption.
So, Who Is Paying Attention?
The groups most likely to watch the merger closely include:
independent school admissions offices
test preparation companies
educational consultants
independent school associations
tutoring companies!
These groups understand how admissions infrastructure works and are interested in how the new organization might influence testing and admissions systems over time. Families, by contrast, are usually focused on a much simpler question: Will the tests my child takes change?
Right now, the answer is no.
For families applying to independent schools right now, the most important takeaway is simple: nothing about the tests themselves has changed. Students will continue to take the ISEE and SSAT exactly as they have in recent years.
It’s OK To Have Questions
There are lots of reasons to be optimistic. Independent schools will likely become more informed and efficient because of this.
Still, I have some “quiet” questions:
With both tests now under the same organizational umbrella, does this create too much market concentration in independent school admissions testing?
Could the two tests eventually be consolidated, merged, or more closely aligned in structure and administration?
How exactly might student testing data be used in the future, particularly if enrollment data becomes linked with academic assessment information (like the CTP)?
Could the organization eventually evolve into something similar to the College Board, serving as a central hub for testing and data across the independent school admissions ecosystem?
If it does evolve into something similar to the College Board, should families and students be concerned that the organization might eventually limit transparency around test results? (At present, both the ISEE and SSAT provide families with outstanding breakdowns of how a student performed. I really hope it stays that way.)
Also, if it does evolve into something similar to the College Board, would the SSAT and/or the ISEE become adaptive like the SAT? (In the modern SAT, the difficulty of later sections adapts to earlier performance.)
The Bottom Line
I think it’s very clear that schools will continue using the SSAT and the ISEE tests as one component of a broader practice that also includes transcripts, teacher recommendations, interviews, and school visits. At this point there is no need for concern or controversy surrounding the merger. It’s a smart consolidation.
The real questions are long-term ones. I’m guessing that I’m one of many who will watch to see how the new organization influences how testing, admissions data, and school analytics evolve.
For families preparing for independent school admissions right now, however, the process remains exactly the same. Students preparing for the ISEE or the SSAT should approach those exams just as they always have. These tests are one part of a thoughtful and holistic admissions process.