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 Prep Plan is one of the best places to see the targeted practice exercises you should be working on. You can access the Prep Plan by clicking on the tab on your Dashboard. Here are some insights into using the Prep Plan to help you succeed:
As part of our mission to help students 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.
Test Innovators has helped more than 65,000 students prepare for the standardized tests required for admission to the most competitive independent schools in the country. Below is our updated list of the 15 most competitive schools in New York, based on the number of students who stated their intention to...
The first section of the SSAT is a timed writing sample.
The prompts vary by test level, with Upper and Middle level students choosing between two differing prompts, and Elementary level students being asked to write a story based on a visual prompt. Upper and Middle level... Read More
In our School of the Week series, we’ll be profiling some of the schools that use the ISEE as part of their admissions package. We hope to demonstrate the enormous diversity of competitive schools in the US, Canada, and abroad.
The SSAT at Home is the same test as the traditional SSAT— the only difference is that the test is administered on the computer rather than on paper. However, because the experience of taking a test at home on the computer is different from taking a test in person...
Test preparation is an iterative process. Each practice test serves as a benchmark of progress and as a roadmap for what to work on next. Approach preparation one step at a time, and don't get discouraged if you aren't reaching your goals immediately or as quickly as you expected. Like...
The Lower Level ISEE is taken by students applying to grades 5 and 6. Students can take the test on the computer or on paper. It consists of five sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Achievement, and the Essay.
Families across the nation have become familiar with mandatory state achievement tests.
While some private school students remain fairly inexperienced with standardized testing, the majority of students, and certainly those in public schools, are all too acquainted with various achievement test acronyms.
We are excited to introduce Reagan, one of our 2022 scholars. Through persistence and hard work, Reagan increased her ISEE score by 38.5 points, scoring in the 76th percentile!
