Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is a 94% for VISI?

Great score. I think anything in the mid 80s and up is great. After that, if you are a legacy and your scores aren't that great, you can still get in.

That may be true some years, but it wasn't last year. Unless you were a legacy or had some special case, scores needed to be mid 90s and up.

Where?

PP was referencing Visi.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what percentile you need to get on the HSPT to get into the scholars program at St. Johns? And is HSPT the determinative factor?

My understanding from other posts is that is 98-99 percentile and, yes, it seems to be the main factor.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is a 94% for VISI?

Great score. I think anything in the mid 80s and up is great. After that, if you are a legacy and your scores aren't that great, you can still get in.

That may be true some years, but it wasn't last year. Unless you were a legacy or had some special case, scores needed to be mid 90s and up.

Where?

Does anyone know what percentile you need to get on the HSPT to get into the scholars program at St. Johns? And is HSPT the determinative factor?

Agreed that practicing the timing alone will have an impact.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just got ours HSPT. It’s bad. Bad bad. Like below 40th percentile. Our child has an older sibling at the school we’re applying to, and has all A’s and B’s as well as extracurriculars. Scored very high on one or 2 sections but awfully low on others.
Are we screwed?
I am truly shocked. This child is not stupid but tested horribly.

Right there with you. Wondering if school prepared the kids poorly. It's a well regarded Catholic pk-8. Shocked.

An administrator at a Catholic high school told me you can't really prepare for the HSPT, which surprised me. Our K-8 definitely did exercises with the kids and the limited parents I've spoken to since scores came out this morning have been very pleased. So maybe there is something to the preparation.

Two of children took a pre-HSPT at a Catholic high school at the end of 7th grade. First one got a 91 then a 99 on the real one. Second one got a 33 then a 71 on the real one.
Just taking even one timed practice test helps immensely.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my dc scored 47th and it’s pretty much what I was expecting. She’s an average student at her parochial k-8 and a terrible test taker so it could’ve been much worse. She had wonderful essays (imo) and will have positive teacher recs that show she is persistent and engaged in class and eager to try new things. She’s very social and outgoing. Sport but not outstanding.

I am assuming this score will knock her out of the running for SJC (more than 2/3 of her k-8 applied). Any insight for AHC? Those are her top 2 schools. She already knows SJC is a stretch for her. Should I start prepping her for AHC rejection?

I think your daughter will get into AHC. They have had low enrollment over the past few years and you already have a leg up coming from a parochial school. I bet it would be a great fit for your daughter.

Have a daughter at AHC currently and the lower enrollment figure for the last incoming class is a major topic of conversation among students and faculty. I have really liked the school and think she is getting an excellent education, so I hope this is an anomaly and that your daughter becomes a LOTA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just got ours HSPT. It’s bad. Bad bad. Like below 40th percentile. Our child has an older sibling at the school we’re applying to, and has all A’s and B’s as well as extracurriculars. Scored very high on one or 2 sections but awfully low on others.
Are we screwed?
I am truly shocked. This child is not stupid but tested horribly.

Right there with you. Wondering if school prepared the kids poorly. It's a well regarded Catholic pk-8. Shocked.

An administrator at a Catholic high school told me you can't really prepare for the HSPT, which surprised me. Our K-8 definitely did exercises with the kids and the limited parents I've spoken to since scores came out this morning have been very pleased. So maybe there is something to the preparation.

That administrator is so wrong it's shocking. I helped 3 kids study for the HSPT and graded/reviewed about 10 different practice tests. I can say with certainty that kids will raise their scores with even minimal prep. First of all, it's quick so you have to know a good pace to finish on time. You don't lose points for a wrong answer so it's better to just guess and fill in an answer than to leave something blank. One of my kids needed to practice timing; the other 2 finished with plenty of time. I'd hate to be the kid who didn't prep and solve this very easy-to-solve issue. Second, the HSPT has some quirky questions that they always use. Like a word problem with made up words ("if a zizzle weighs more than a zaggle, and a zaggle sometimes weighs more than a riggle, etc). The first time you read that, you might spend too much time wondering what the heck is happening. Every practice test has one like this and you can move through it faster if you know it's coming. Also, there are grammar questions that always repeat. My kids had to be reminded the difference between "fewer than" and "less than". Easy, but no need to lose points on something like that when you can get it nailed down after a couple practice test. Same thing with "Can I" vs "May I" and a few other easy grammar rules they knew but forgot. Also, there are about 20 commonly misspelled words they always use in the section where you have to find the errors (like February, necessary, etc). My dyslexic kids could memorize the commonly used words and low and behond- 3 or 4 were on their tests and they got them right. Go tell your administrator this may be an easier test but you can and should prepare for it!

To parents who already have a kid in a Catholic school…or had one get in within the past 5 years…it would be great to hear from you. I would like to know if there are any existing non-Catholic/non-athlete students that got in within a score under 40.

Anyone who has a kid who got a score like that in previous admission years…please chime in and tell us your experience…were you accepted? Waitlisted?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just got ours HSPT. It’s bad. Bad bad. Like below 40th percentile. Our child has an older sibling at the school we’re applying to, and has all A’s and B’s as well as extracurriculars. Scored very high on one or 2 sections but awfully low on others.
Are we screwed?
I am truly shocked. This child is not stupid but tested horribly.

Right there with you. Wondering if school prepared the kids poorly. It's a well regarded Catholic pk-8. Shocked.

An administrator at a Catholic high school told me you can't really prepare for the HSPT, which surprised me. Our K-8 definitely did exercises with the kids and the limited parents I've spoken to since scores came out this morning have been very pleased. So maybe there is something to the preparation.

I saw/heard the same thing, but I really disagree. Whenever you take a standardized test, you need to familiarize yourself with the directions. You need to know when you should take an educated guess and when to just leave something blank. My DS did some private tutoring and much of what helped him was getting to know the types of questions asked and what to look for in the directions and questions themselves.

Just doing practice tests helps prepare kids for the time limitations they will experience when taking the real test, so it can't hurt....only help.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just got ours HSPT. It’s bad. Bad bad. Like below 40th percentile. Our child has an older sibling at the school we’re applying to, and has all A’s and B’s as well as extracurriculars. Scored very high on one or 2 sections but awfully low on others.
Are we screwed?
I am truly shocked. This child is not stupid but tested horribly.

Right there with you. Wondering if school prepared the kids poorly. It's a well regarded Catholic pk-8. Shocked.

An administrator at a Catholic high school told me you can't really prepare for the HSPT, which surprised me. Our K-8 definitely did exercises with the kids and the limited parents I've spoken to since scores came out this morning have been very pleased. So maybe there is something to the preparation.

I saw/heard the same thing, but I really disagree. Whenever you take a standardized test, you need to familiarize yourself with the directions. You need to know when you should take an educated guess and when to just leave something blank. My DS did some private tutoring and much of what helped him was getting to know the types of questions asked and what to look for in the directions and questions themselves.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just got ours HSPT. It’s bad. Bad bad. Like below 40th percentile. Our child has an older sibling at the school we’re applying to, and has all A’s and B’s as well as extracurriculars. Scored very high on one or 2 sections but awfully low on others.
Are we screwed?
I am truly shocked. This child is not stupid but tested horribly.

Right there with you. Wondering if school prepared the kids poorly. It's a well regarded Catholic pk-8. Shocked.

An administrator at a Catholic high school told me you can't really prepare for the HSPT, which surprised me. Our K-8 definitely did exercises with the kids and the limited parents I've spoken to since scores came out this morning have been very pleased. So maybe there is something to the preparation.

Anonymous wrote:my dc scored 47th and it’s pretty much what I was expecting. She’s an average student at her parochial k-8 and a terrible test taker so it could’ve been much worse. She had wonderful essays (imo) and will have positive teacher recs that show she is persistent and engaged in class and eager to try new things. She’s very social and outgoing. Sport but not outstanding.

I am assuming this score will knock her out of the running for SJC (more than 2/3 of her k-8 applied). Any insight for AHC? Those are her top 2 schools. She already knows SJC is a stretch for her. Should I start prepping her for AHC rejection?

I think your daughter will get into AHC. They have had low enrollment over the past few years and you already have a leg up coming from a parochial school. I bet it would be a great fit for your daughter.

Anonymous wrote:Just got ours HSPT. It’s bad. Bad bad. Like below 40th percentile. Our child has an older sibling at the school we’re applying to, and has all A’s and B’s as well as extracurriculars. Scored very high on one or 2 sections but awfully low on others.
Are we screwed?
I am truly shocked. This child is not stupid but tested horribly.

Right there with you. Wondering if school prepared the kids poorly. It's a well regarded Catholic pk-8. Shocked.

Question on where the scores were sent - we are in DC, took the test in DC and requested scores be sent to some DC diocese and one Arlington. The arlington school does not show on our results - it WAS on the reminder check your school choices email before testing. So it is going but maybe not as immediately/directly?