ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS TAKING THE ISEE Educators are fully aware that many very capable students struggle taking standardized tests because they have learning or physical challenges. This is why accommodations are offered to students who "are unable to take the ISEE under standard conditions" These challenges must be documented and upon approval, a student may be eligible to receive [...]
September is when families are embarking upon the admissions process for the following school year. This is a time to gather information about the schools to which you're applying and plan for their specific requirements for admission. One of the most important pieces of advices that we give parents is to make sure you are not holding up [...]
Whether you understand the meaning of a test question or not may depend on whether you’re the one who wrote the test, or are the one who’s taking it. As experienced teachers, we've seen this first hand. We would write questions for tests that seemed perfectly fair. The material had been covered in class, [...]
It’s not easy to put together a good writing sample on the test if you don’t know what your schools will think is good. Do they want formal writing? Should there be astounding thoughts that unlock the secrets of the universe? Should it be in iambic pentameter? Don’t worry. None of those things [...]
The first thing to know about the reading comprehension section of any test is that it is not a test of how well you read. It's a test of how well you take a reading test. What this means for test takers is that to do well on this test section, [...]
One of the great myths out there is that students who know the material taught in class will be prepared for standardized tests. But the reality is that except for a few naturally great test takers, knowing only the academic material is going in half-prepared. One concept we try to instill in our students is that [...]
The SSAT and ISEE test dates are here! In preparing for your exam, there is nothing better than continued, ongoing practice to make testing language second nature. But if you’re gearing up to test in the coming days and haven’t had a chance to formally prepare, there are three pointers that by keeping them in mind can [...]
While most of us are focused on enjoying our summer vacation, independent school parents are thinking about getting their child ready for the independent school entrance exams ISEE and SSAT. In our experience as independent school educators, we’ve come up with a test preparation plan that will work, without piling on unnecessary homework, wasting [...]
When we were starting our test prep program, a school principal asked us why anyone would practice for a test that they can’t see beforehand anyway. I had just seen a documentary on a race called the Baja 1000, and so had a pretty good metaphor ready to go. The Baja 1000 course changes every [...]
