by NYC Private Schools on December 12, 2009
Admissions tests are difficult for students and families alike. The stress that builds for many older students during the pre-test phase is palatable and all of it culminates on testing day. That difficult situation was made worse in one Washington area recently when the tests were deemed faulty and the test takers were sent home and told to come back another day. The Washington Post carried the story.
Thousands of applicants to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County will have to re-take an admissions test because of problems with the initial exam.
When the multiple-choice test, developed by Pearson, was administered Saturday at 15 sites in Northern Virginia, scores of students sat down to testing booklets with missing or out-of-order pages.
Given the pervasive nature of the problems, “we decided it’s only fair that everyone retake the test,” said Paul Regnier, spokesman for Fairfax County Public Schools.
Admissions tests are one of the most important factors for older children’s admission to schools, and it is expected that admissions decisions will have to be delayed because of the delay in testing results.
Fairfax officials said that Jan. 23 is the “expected date” for the makeup test and they plan to mail more information to parents of the applicants. The printing errors will probably delay admissions decisions, which were scheduled to be made by early April. “It’s a pretty tight schedule to begin with,” Regnier said.
More than 3,000 students were registered to take the exam Saturday in Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun and Prince William counties.
Problems with admissions tests are rare, though they do occur.
by NYC Private Schools on June 1, 2009
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.
The Stanford-Binet is a standardized test that assesses intelligence and cognitive abilities in children and adults aged 2 to 85+. The purpose of this test is to help measure intellectual development.
SB5 covers the following 5 areas of cognitive abilities:
- Fluid Reasoning
- Knowledge
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Visual-Spatial Processing
- Working Memory
According Riverside Publishing (the publisher of the SB5):
At the most granular level of the norm-referenced scores are the 10 subtest scores (scaled scores have a mean of 10, SD of 3, score range 1–19). These subtest scores combine to form four types of composite scores: factor index, domain, abbreviated, and full scale (each with scaled score means of 100, SD of 15, score range 40–160). Two subtests (one verbal, the other its nonverbal complement) combine to form each factor index. There are two domain scales: Nonverbal IQ (NVIQ) (combines the five nonverbal subtests) and Verbal IQ (VIQ) (combines the five verbal subtests). Two routing subtests combine to form the Abbreviated Battery IQ (ABIQ). Finally, the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) combines all 10 subtests.
For 2009 kindergarten admissions at HCES, the eligibility score for Round 2 was “a Sum of Scaled Scores at or above 148.” For more information on SB5 scoring and gifted categories, we recommend: SB5 Assessment Service Bulletin #3: Use of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition in the Assessment of High Abilities by Deborah L. Ruf, Ph.D.
Deborah Ruf, Ph.D. is a private consultant and specialist in gifted assessment, test interpretation, and guidance for the gifted in Minneapolis, MN. Since 2003 she has been the National Gifted Children Program Coordinator for American Mensa. Having been a parent, teacher, and administrator in elementary school through graduate education, she writes and speaks about school issues and social and emotional adjustment of gifted children. She is the author of Loving Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind (2005).
If you are interested in more information on gifted children, Dr. Ruf’s website has some excellent articles and resources, including an article entitled, “Gifted or Highly Gifted? What’s the Difference?” The article appeared in the March 2009 issue of Parenting for High Potential, the National Association for Gifted Children’s parent publication and provides a description of five levels of giftedness and possible developmental milestones.
Prepping for the SB5
Like the ERBs, it is no secret that some parents “prep” for the SB5 using coaches, consultants, or workbooks and materials that they purchase online or through local bookstores. We understand that many parents feel compelled to prep their children since the cut-off score for the SB5 for admissions to HCES has been raised higher each year and competition becomes more fierce. Simply stated though, we do not recommend prepping for an IQ test.
As with all testing scenarios, the best preparation is to have your child well rested and relaxed on testing day in order to perform his or her best.
Loading ...