Greg Jones served a long and illustrious career in education. Recently retired, Jones was the Director of Enrollment Management and Admissions at Epiphany School for 14 years and a middle school Humanities teacher, department chair, and admissions committee member at The Northwest School for 15 years, both located in Seattle, Washington.
In this conversation with Test Innovators’ CEO, Edan Shahar, Greg talks about his experience helping 8th graders find the best high school fit, and offers his advice for parents as they navigate the admissions process.
Originally published on December 12, 2018. Updated on January 5, 2026.
Summer break offers a unique opportunity for students to get ahead on ISEE and SSAT prep without the pressure of a busy school schedule. With more time and flexibility, students can build confidence, strengthen core skills, and reduce stress ahead of admissions season.
One of the most common mistakes on the SSAT is misreading a question, usually due to reading too quickly. Be sure to take a few extra seconds on every question to avoid careless errors.
Underline important information
Underline words and numbers indicating the quantities, relationships, and calculations (less than, twice, product, etc.)...
The Mathematics Achievement (MA) section of the ISEE Test is intended to reflect curriculum related questions, in contrast to the Quantitative Reasoning section which is intended to measure students’ reasoning abilities.
As a general rule, we recommend starting your ISEE prep six to four months before your test date.
This means that if you plan to take the test in November, then you should take a diagnostic practice test sometime between May and July.
When you apply to independent schools, it’s important to make sure that the ISEE scores you submit are valid. If it’s been some time since you took the ISEE, then you may be unsure if you can use those scores or if you need to retake the exam. Keep reading...
The SSAT’s analogies are one of the very hardest parts of the test, especially for first-time test takers. To perform well on the analogies section, students not only must be adept at finding relationships between concepts, but also must have a solid mastery of above-grade-level vocabulary.
The Test Innovators platform gathers...
Think of the last time you took a big test. What were you thinking about during the test? Did you feel good or bad during the exam? When thinking about the upcoming test, what are your thoughts and feelings about it? Have these thoughts and feelings motivated you to prepare...
