Scott Duddy is the Director of Admissions & Enrollment Management at Dexter Southfield School in Brookline, Massachusetts, and brings with him 14 years of professional experience in the world of independent schools. He has served as a secondary school counselor at The Fessenden School and as Director of Financial Aid at Westminster School.
In this conversation with Test Innovators’ CEO, Edan Shahar, Scott talks about the admissions process from two perspectives: that of an educator helping students find their next school, and that of an admissions director deciding which applicants will be the best fit.
As part of our mission to help students grow and gain access to quality educational opportunities, we award six merit-based scholarships every year to the Test Innovators students who showed the most improvement on either the SSAT or the ISEE. We are pleased to announce the 2021 Test Innovators Independent...
We get a lot of questions about the particular knowledge requirements on the SSAT, but this one is the most common: which SSAT section is the most crucial to a successful application? And as with any other question, we’ve turned to our extensive data to find the answer. We’ve heard...
The first thing to know for the Middle or Upper level SSAT is when to guess. You need to understand each question well enough to be able to cross off at least one answer choice. Otherwise, omit the question as there is a ¼ point guessing penalty.
Yes, you can get accommodations on the official SSAT exam! Score reports do not provide any indication that a student was provided testing accommodations, so there’s no reason not to use them if you are eligible. Here’s how it works:
If your child will be taking the ISEE or SSAT this year, you’re probably busy researching the best way to help them prepare. There is a lot of information out there and it can be very overwhelming, so we want to help by offering our top 5 tips for parents....
Test preparation is known to increase performance on high-stakes tests, but how does it help with test anxiety? Research has shown that exposure, habit formation, skills development, and online preparation are all effective methods to reduce test anxiety, and each method is linked to test preparation.
When it comes to preparing for an entrance exam, it can be easy to procrastinate because of all the other things you have to do for your applications. Giving yourself enough time to study will not only boost your performance and confidence, it will also help you retain information for...
Scientific research shows that taking practice tests improves learning and memory retention more than studying and reviewing material alone, a phenomenon termed the “testing effect.” Practice tests have also been shown to defend memory against the effects of stress and identify content gaps important in learning.
Scott Duddy is the Director of Admissions and Enrollment at Dexter Southfield and the former Associate Director of Secondary School Counseling at The Fessenden School in Newton, MA. As a dedicated educator with over ten years of admissions and teaching experience, he actively engaged with students and families to understand...
