PRIVATE SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS
OVERVIEW OF ENTRANCE TESTS

After completing their preschool years, children move on to a variety of both independent and public schools. To help reduce the anxiety often associated with this process, we work closely with parents by guiding them in their choices of ongoing schools for their children.  Outside resources are used to help provide additional information on the exmissions process. Parents are kept abreast of the latest information regarding new developments and open house schedules as they arise.

DISCOVERY works closely with the Educational Records Bureau (ERB), the organization that administers tests for children seeking admission to many ongoing independent schools, to schedule testing and informational sessions regarding the test.  Tests are administered in the fall.  DISCOVERY aims to help make transitions to Kindergarten smooth.  Additionally we assist with the admissions process into the city’s publicly offered Gifted & Talented programs including Hunter, PS 9 (Anderson and the Gifted & Talented program (G&T)), MSC, PS 87, PS 199 and other catchment area public programs.

PRIVATE SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS

Many parents of children applying to NYC Private Schools find themselves adrift in an endless sea of information and paperwork. It doesn’t take long before applications and appointments start to meld together into one very long process. The hard part of the Private School application season is actually keeping track of the right information from the right schools.

The best way to keep track of each school, where you are in the admissions process, and what is happening next is by using a simple spreadsheet. All of the most important, fact-based information available for your top school choices will be ready at your fingertips if you just take a little time to stay organized at the beginning.

No matter how much a specific school has your eye, chances are that in the process, you’ll forget who you sent applications to, when the open house is or who needs what reference letter.

Here is an overview of the process:

Request admissions materials (August – September)
Submit application (September – October)
Attend open houses (September – October)
Schedule and complete testing (September – October)
Schedule tours and interviews (October – November)
Attend tours and interviews (October – January)
Submit supplementary application materials – recommendations, essays, pictures, school reports, testing (November – January)
Decision Letters mailed (February – March)
Submit Reply Letter (March)

Learn more at http://www.isaagny.org/admissions/index.aspx

OVERVIEW OF ENTRANCE TESTS

The following three tests (ERB, OLSAT, Stanford-Binet) are used by private schools and public gifted and talented schools as a tool to help assess a student's readiness for their respective programs.

ERB

The Educational Records Bureau (ERB) issues a Kindergarten admissions exam called the Early Childhood Admissions Assessment (ECAA), but in most circles the exam itself is usually referred to as “the ERB”.

The ERB results are usually requested for private schools on their application form.  The elementary schools requesting the ERB results consider this test to be only one aspect of the admissions process. It is important to note that, especially for Kindergarten programs, considerable weight is given to ‘whole family’ interviews and recommendations.

A student may only take the ERBs once in any a given admission season, and practice tests are not offered or available.

The test is composed of verbal and performance subtests designed to explore everything from a child’s vocabulary to his or her ability to perform fine motor skills and solve math problems.  The test usually runs between 60 and 70 minutes in length.

The official ERB website offers parents very little information regarding what is actually on the test. Instead, the site tries to impress upon parents the need to have a child prepared by being rested and comfortable in the environment.  The night before the ERB test is no time for a birthday party or extended shopping trip and, under no circumstances, a change in the child’s normal routine.  Don’t plan on a night out for you and your spouse while a babysitter puts your child to bed the night before the ERB test.

The test is administered individually, not in groups. The test is used to hopefully provide useful information about a student’s current level of development. It is vitally important to note that this test does not predict long-range school success.  The ERB test is scored on a developmental scale, which simply means that each child is compared with a child his or her age in the general population. To boil it down even more, this means that there is no age advantage to waiting until your child is older to take the ERBs, because comparison is always with children of the same age.

Regarding test preparation, the testing authority and the schools alike are firm in their belief that there should be no prepping beyond regular social interaction and enrichment.  If the examiner feels that a child has been specifically prepped, it will usually be reflected in the testing results badly.

At Discovery your child will receive such enrichment experiences that will prepare him or her for the ERB without compromising the spirit of specific prepping or tutoring.  By reading to your child, playing, building puzzles and block towers, exploring the city’s parks and museums we feel your child receives the proper balance of social interaction and enrichment.  Our curriculum in Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies and Creative Arts helps to develop the whole child.  We feel that your child’s experience at Discovery will familiarize him or her with many of the skills / concepts tested in the ERB without specifically “prepping” your child.  We do not and will not administer practice tests or do specific exercises found on the test.  (In fact, although we have a general understanding of what concepts are tested, we have not seen the actual test (or practice tests) so are not familiar with the specific exercises on the test).

OLSAT

The OLSAT is a test of abstract thinking and reasoning ability that is multiple choice, taken with pencil and paper and measures verbal, quantitative, and spatial reasoning ability. The test yields verbal and nonverbal scores, from which a total score is derived.

Test used for entrance into public gifted & talented programs (PS 9 (Anderson and the Gifted & Talented program (G&T)), MSC, PS 87, PS 199 and other catchment area public programs).  It takes a 97% or above to qualify for a citywide Public G&T Program seat.  OLSAT is a complex test, as it requires razor sharp vision and astute listening skills, as well as focus and the attention span of an older child.

For families who are applying to NYC Gifted and Talented Programs, the deadline to submit a Request for Testing (RFT) is usually in November.

The NYC Department of Education (DOE) website has more information on the process, including handbooks and the practice OLSAT exam.

Stanford-Binet

This is the “Round 1” test used to determine qualification for an on-site visit for Hunter Elementary, a gifted elementary school.  At “Round 2,” children meet in small groups, where trained consultants observe the child’s behaviors in individual and group tasks, as well as in interacting with peers and a teacher. The testing room simulates a typical preschool classroom.  (See Hunter Admissions Process.pdf)

Examples of test items include verbal analogies to test Verbal Fluid Reasoning and picture absurdities to test Nonverbal Knowledge.

Each year the Stanford-Binet cut-off score for HCES has risen. The cut-off for the most recent years in 2007, 2008 and 2009 has been 142, 145 and 148, respectively.

The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition (SB5), is an IQ test required for entry by The Hunter College Elementary School (HCES/ “Hunter”) in Manhattan. Some parents who apply to NYC private schools for kindergarten also apply to HCES, a terrific public school for intellectually talented kids that accepts 48 new kindergarten students per year.

For HCES, the SB5 must be administered in the Fall by an approved HCES psychologist (you will receive a list of approved NYC psychologists, if you apply). Your child will be ineligible to take the SB5 if they have taken it within the past year.