Neal Kamsler has worked in New York City independent schools for 35 years, including 21 years as Head of Upper School at Allen-Stevenson School. He also serves as Senior Director of Placement at Oliver Scholars, an educational access organization based in Manhattan. Test Innovators’ CEO, Edan Shahar, sits down with Neal to discuss independent school admissions: choosing the right school for your child, misconceptions about boarding school, and how admissions departments decide who to accept.
The first step in your SSAT prep is to take a full-length practice test. The initial practice test serves as a benchmark, or diagnostic test, and is the jumping-off point of the preparation process. We generally recommend taking this test as early as possible, but it is never too late.
One of the integral features of the Test Innovators preparation platform is the system of Practice Exercises, which is located on the “Practice Exercises” tab of the dashboard. The Practice Exercises are an important supplement to the full-length Practice Tests. Here are a few tips for maximizing the Practice Exercises:
The Verbal Reasoning section is meant to assess vocabulary, and requires students to identify synonyms and interpret analogies.Fast FactsElementary Level: 20 minutes with 30 questionsMiddle and Upper Level: 30 minutes with 60 questions30 synonyms, 30 analogiesMade up of two question types:Synonym QuestionsAnalogy QuestionsQuestion TypesSynonymSynonym questions ask students to choose the...
To date, students have answered over 20 million questions on the Test Innovators platform. Now, we are diving into this data to understand how students learn and to help them achieve their academic and test-taking goals. Our new Data Science team will be providing actionable analysis and creating cutting-edge features...
The SSAT score report is one component of the application process to independent schools. It is important to know how to send your score report to prospective schools so that you can make sure your scores arrive before the application deadline. There are a few different opportunities for you...
Making a plan for ISEE or SSAT test preparation but not sure where to start? This article will take you through some basic information about the tests, what to consider when planning your test prep, and how the Test Innovators platform will give you the most actionable diagnostics and results.
Taking the ISEE or SSAT test is only one step in preparing to apply to private high schools. Making a list of schools to apply to can be nearly as daunting as taking a test. Here are three important questions to ask yourself as you get started.
The SSAT has three sections: Verbal, Reading, and Quantitative. When we looked at our practice test data from this past year, we noticed that five states—Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, Florida, and Washington—attained the highest scores on these sections, but there were variations between each state's particular strengths.
At-home testing for admissions exams makes it convenient for students to take these important tests. At-home tests are administered online via a securely monitored remote proctoring program. The structure and content of the at-home version is the same as the traditional paper test, but the means by which you take...
