One truism that we often see in education is a policy trickle-down effect. Often, something gets enacted at the higher education level, and a few years later, we start to see that policy gain momentum at the secondary school level. The latest version of this pattern is Test-Optional Admissions. The Washington, DC area is disproportionately […]
Congratulations on making it through the middle school testing season! You can finally file, recycle, or burn all of your study materials. Hopefully, the experience turned out to be more pleasant or productive than you originally expected. At the least, you can say that it’s behind you. As you return to your regularly scheduled school […]
Recently, one of our most experienced SSAT tutors, Kate Kula, sat down with Katy Dunn, Director of Educational Planning, to discuss the most common questions they hear about private high school testing. Here’s the highlights of their conversation, with Kate interviewing Katy: 1. Should I submit the highest overall SSAT percentile score or the highest […]
I often deemphasize the score from individual practice tests, and I worry that this makes parents suspicious. “Like jazz, it’s about all the mistakes they didn’t make!” Here are some actual reasons your child’s score could vary from test-to-test — all of which address the challenges to being consistent: First, students will leave practice one […]
Standardized testing is a long, drawn-out experience, one that can be stressful to navigate. It’s helpful to determine the right test to take and, from there, to focus the investment of time and energy into that test. Although families are balancing ever-changing schedules, current school needs, and the expectations of potential schools, it is also […]
Thinking about taking the SSAT or the ISEE and trying to figure out which is best for you? The first step is to make sure you know the requirements of the schools that interest you. In the Washington, DC area, most schools (other than some of the Catholic schools that require the HSPT) will accept […]
The High School Placement Test (HSPT) is the entrance exam required by many Catholic high schools. Its content is reasonably similar to that of the SSAT and the ISEE, but the HSPT is much faster paced: the HSPT has roughly twice as many questions as the other two tests, but the test runs for about […]
As many parents remember, and as many teenagers are learning, a strong vocabulary is a key component of success on most standardized tests. Test makers often seem determined to punish less robust vocabularies with extreme prejudice. All of the major secondary school tests — the SSAT, the ISEE, and the HSPT — include verbal or […]
Like many of you, I am on vacation. Ideally, days are full of fun and frivolity. Nights are restful, or, if you’re a night owl, full of even MORE fun and frivolity. Frankly, I think we deserve it. So it was with some peevishness that I looked up at the roof of the lovely little […]
As our students make their way through their tutoring programs, they will begin taking more weekend practice tests. These simulations are meant to evaluate the student’s mastery of the content and strategies they have been learning. The tests are also an opportunity to prepare the student for many of the intangibles of testing. Variability in […]