Seventeen quiz … Lol.
What this sort of testing says to me is that admissions staffs feel that they can no longer rely on recommenders to give the straight story about kids. There is so much competition these days, that no recommender wants to even flirt with the possibility of ruining a kid’s chances with an honest assessment. Just as there is inflation with grades, there is apparently inflation with recommendations. I guess hot air will inflate anything!
I’m not sure that teachers always get to observe the qualities they are testing with these assessments.
I assume DC’s teachers are honest. DCs schools have relationships with the BS and that is earned over time through honesty. The placement people are very involved.
I also think a lot of teachers, esp the good ones, know that being dishonest is not in the kids interest, even if the kid and parents think so.
Do you think teachers are litigation wary these days if they give an assessment that is critical? I know its supposed to be confidential but look what has happened in the working world where all most companies will do these days is confirm dates of employment.
I think they avoid out and out BAD recommendations for that reason. But in the world of elite BS, tepid = bad.
Agreed…that’s why I stick to my story that SSAT is super important. It is the only objective measure.
I think GPA, as an average of all classes taken over two years, is a fairly objective measure of each student’s grit, work habit and academic attitude, if not of academic achievement.
Really? Why should your daughter’s GPA at community college be compared to my DC’s middle school? Your DD’s represent a far more rigorous curriculum.
@6teenSearch, because an A usually means that the students completed all requirements of a course in satisfactory manner. It’s often hard to do even if the course material is easy. Earning A consistently means that the student worked at least reasonably hard consistently, has grit and good academic attitude, and probably has built a good work habit.
Maybe not always. But with reasonable accuracy.
High school academics, at least not at honors & AP level, is designed so average students can do well if work hard and well supported. So such student has a good potential to do well and possibly blossom at a resource rich boarding school.
Of course gpa at more challenging school and/or with more challenging courses also shows higher academic achievement than one at an average middle school. That’s why I appended with “if not of academic achievement.” But it does not necessarily show more grit and better attitude. A student may simply be academically more talented up to that level.
Nor does SSAT. Mine was naturally good with SAT’s Reading and Writing sections from early age, only by loving to read books for enjoyment, AND even while she almost couldn’t write at all.
Therefore, I believe that high SSAT score of Reading section, by itself, does not predict academic success even in English course. A from a previous English course, even at a very easy school, might predict better for a B- or higher grade at a BS, if not A.
P.S. after asking several questions to our freshman tour guide at Exeter about his English course, I concluded that 9th grade English course at Exeter is as or even more challenging than my dd’s English Composition 1A course at our local community college. For one thing, only her final essay was 10 pages minimum and the rest were 4~6 pages, while his middle of season essay was already 10 pages minimum.
6teenSearch - I was just on the Choate Admission page and there’s a video of the AO talking about the assessment test that Choate administers - if you watch the video, he says its optional but for those applicants choosing to complete it (about 95% of the applicants), it is used by the admissions committee in assessing the applicant. He goes on to say that it has been an effective way for them to understand and assess applicants … my son did take the assessment. But I wonder if it is better to take it and provide the “wrong” answers or not take it at all given that he seems so high on the test’s efficacy …
I see your view, Sculptor.
Another point I wanted to make about assessing character traits. Something about it is not quite right to me. Almost like an invasion of privacy? Or Stepford-esque. I already feel these top BS are Stepford-esque or maybe the word is Aryan-like in the way they seem to require their students to be strong athletic AND academic specimens. Now they will judge your character too, and you will compete on character.
It’s as if, taking all of it together, they have gone beyond an educational mission and are looking to recruit and develop “perfection”.
Not sure if I expressed it well…
@CLNMOM, given the admission rate in teens, I believed that it was a good investment to fill it out for a chance to be promoted a standing out applicant, even at the risk of being demoted by it after becoming a standing out applicant by other merits.
@6teenSearch I do think the boarding schools like the Rennaisance man or woman - the head, hand and the heart - and all that. I don’t think they profess to be only about the educational mission.
I took the SSAT Character test since the schools I applied to weren’t going to look at the scores anyways until after m10 and it was very confusing. Maybe some people liked it, but most of the questions were asking the same things over and over again. Is it supposed to be like that?
Yes @Anonymousia , that’s by design. Often, these character assessments (not the SSAT one, but others) are timed and are supposed to be taken quickly. You’re supposed to answer based on what comes to mind first. By repeating the questions, they’re able to evaluate how firmly you hold that belief. Did you answer the same way every time? Or is there some inconsistency? Also, in ones that I’ve either taken or administered for work purposes, you’re not allowed to go back and look over your answers.
Oh OK thanks @GMC2918