SSAT for Grades 6 and Up in Hawaiʻi: Test Dates, Levels and School Requirements

Written by: Academia Tutor School Editorial Team / Supervised by: Yamahi

Your guide for this article

School Owner / Hironori Yamaguchi

Yamahi

Introduction

School Owner of Academia Language School in Honolulu, founded in 1969. Moved to Hawaiʻi with family in 2022; father of three. Off duty: caddying at the kids’ golf. Supervises the columns on Academia Tutor School.

How we check this article

• ✓Only facts checked on official school and state pages
• ✓School year and date checked are stated
• ✓Independent: not affiliated with any school

For families applying to a Hawaiʻi private school at grade 6 or above, the SSAT (Secondary School Admission Test) is the piece of the application that takes the longest. Registering, testing and getting scores to the school takes one to two months, and each school sets its own deadline. This article pulls together the official SSAT site (admission.org, where ssat.org now redirects as of October 2026) and the 2027-28 application instructions of Punahou, ʻIolani and Mid-Pacific, all checked on October 26, 2026. School dates are Hawaiʻi time; SSAT registration deadlines are U.S. Eastern Time.

What is the SSAT, and which level does your child take?

The SSAT is an admission test run by The Enrollment Management Association (EMA, now branded E3n) for independent schools. There are three levels, and the level depends on the grade your child is in now.

• Elementary Level: current 3rd and 4th graders applying to grades 4–5.
• Middle Level: current 5th–7th graders applying to grades 6–8.
• Upper Level: current 8th–11th graders applying to grade 9 and above.

So a child who wants to start grade 6 in fall 2027 is in grade 5 now and takes the Middle Level. Register with the current grade unless the school tells you otherwise.

How do the three schools treat the SSAT?

• Punahou: for grades 6–8, “register your child to take the SSAT between August and December. Results must be shared with Punahou School by December 31.” Grades 9–11 take both the SSAT and the Character Skills Snapshot; grade 12 applicants submit the SAT, PSAT or SSAT. Grades 4–5 take the Elementary SSAT, also due December 31 (the Oct. 1 application deadline for those grades has passed). Punahou’s checklist notes an SSAT hosted at Punahou on November 21 for Punahou applicants.
• ʻIolani: the grade 6 and grades 7–11 checklists say to take the SSAT between August 2026 and mid-January 2027, add ʻIolani as a score recipient (school code 4144), and have results in by January 31, 2027.
• Mid-Pacific: standardized test results are required only for students currently in a homeschool program. Everyone else schedules an on-campus assessment and interview (off-island candidates interview via Zoom) and takes the roughly 25-minute Character Skills Snapshot, uploaded by January 15, 2027.

When are the tests, and when do you register?

The 2026-27 testing year runs August 3, 2026 to July 20, 2027. The official site lists five Saturday Standard administrations. Registration closes at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the Wednesday before each test; late registration ($59) begins the Sunday three weeks before, and rush registration ($100) the Sunday two weeks before.

There are also Flex tests given by member schools and approved consultants on other dates (one per testing year, open through July 20, 2027), the SSAT at Home for Middle and Upper Level only (test takers must be in the U.S. or Canada; schedule at least 72 hours ahead), and computer-based testing at Prometric centers. Middle and Upper Level students may take up to six Standard tests and one Flex test per year.

Which date gets scores in on time? Counting back from the deadlines

According to the official site, paper-test scores are “typically released within two weeks of the test date,” and no later than three weeks after it. You can add score recipients when you register, before the test, or after scores are released (schools added after release see the scores right away). Counting back:

• Punahou (by Dec. 31): Nov. 14 gives plenty of room, with scores expected by the end of November. The Nov. 21 test at Punahou works the same way. Dec. 12 is risky: two weeks lands on Dec. 26 and three weeks on Jan. 2, 2027.
• ʻIolani (by Jan. 31): Nov. 14, Dec. 12 and Jan. 9 all work. Scores from Jan. 30 arrive in mid-February, after the deadline. ʻIolani itself says to test by mid-January.
• Applying to both? Test on Nov. 14 and, if you want a second attempt, again on Dec. 12 or Jan. 9. You can decide on the second test after you see the first score.

What is on the test, and how is it scored?

The Middle and Upper Levels share the same format: a 25-minute writing sample (unscored, but sent to the schools you choose), a break, 25 math questions (30 minutes), 40 reading questions (40 minutes), a break, 60 verbal questions (30 synonyms and 30 analogies, 30 minutes), another 25 math questions (30 minutes), and a 16-question experimental section (15 minutes, unscored). Total time is 3 hours 10 minutes. No calculators. 150 questions count toward the score: 50 math, 40 reading, 60 verbal.

The Elementary Level has 30 math questions (30 minutes), 30 verbal (20 minutes), a break, 28 reading (30 minutes), a 15-minute writing sample (unscored) and a 15-minute experimental section, for 2 hours 5 minutes in all.

What does it cost?

• Standard or school Flex in the U.S. and Canada: Elementary $112; Middle and Upper $177.
• Prometric center $250; SSAT at Home $263; Flex with an educational consultant $272 ($172 for Elementary).
• Test centers outside the U.S. and Canada: Elementary $229; Middle and Upper $339.
• Late registration $59, rush registration $100, changes to a paper-based registration $49. No refunds. Fee waivers are available.

Applying from another island or from out of state?

What about other schools?

• Le Jardin Academy: lists SSAT results among the requirements for grades 6–11. Application deadline Dec. 15; references and documents Feb. 15.
• St. Andrew’s Schools: requires standardized test scores for grades 6–12 but says the SSAT is not required if you can submit scores from a test given at the current school within the last two years (SSAT school code 6274). Priority application deadline Jan. 15, 2027.
• Kamehameha Schools Kapālama: uses the MAP test, not the SSAT. Applications for 2027-28 closed Sept. 30, 2026.

How Academia Tutor School can help

Our Private School Entrance Exam Prep program prepares students for the Middle Level: synonyms and analogies, reading, math word problems, and the 25-minute writing sample, in one-on-one sessions or small groups of up to five. We also practice the answer-or-skip decision that matters on a test with a guessing penalty. In 2026, our students earned 23 acceptances: Punahou 7, ʻIolani 9 and Mid-Pacific 7.

Related pages

• Hawaiʻi private school application deadlines for 2027-28 and Punahou vs. ʻIolani
• Hawaiʻi School Guide: Punahou, ʻIolani, Mid-Pacific

Sources

• The Enrollment Management Association (E3n): “About the SSAT,” “Paper-Based SSAT,” “SSAT at Home,” “Score Reports,” “Accommodations,” and the 2026-2027 SSAT Candidate Handbook (admission.org/assessments/ssat)
• Punahou School: “Grades 6 – 8,” “Grades 9 – 12,” “Grades 4 – 5” and the 2027-28 checklists; “Tuition and Financial Aid” (punahou.edu/admissions)
• ʻIolani School: “Day Admission” and the 2027-28 Grade 6 and Grades 7–11 checklists (iolani.org/admission/day)
• Mid-Pacific Institute: “Apply to Mid-Pacific,” “2027-2028 School Year Grades 6-12 Application Process and Checklist,” “Tuition and Financial Aid” (midpac.edu/admissions)
• Le Jardin Academy “Admissions” (lejardinacademy.org); St. Andrew’s Schools “Applying to K–12” (standrewsschools.org); Kamehameha Schools “Apply to Kapālama Campus” (ksbe.edu)

Information as of October 26, 2026. Test dates, fees and school requirements change every year, so confirm with the official SSAT site and each school’s admission office. Academia Tutor School is not affiliated with any of the schools named here or with the organization that runs the SSAT.