Anonymous wrote:Do schools look at section breakdowns? For instance, if kid did extremely well in 2 sections and good overall, will they consider the high percentages in some sections?

For class placement (assuming they get in). DS still got into honors math despite not doing great overall.

Anonymous wrote:Do schools look at section breakdowns? For instance, if kid did extremely well in 2 sections and good overall, will they consider the high percentages in some sections?

For placement into classes.

Do schools look at section breakdowns? For instance, if kid did extremely well in 2 sections and good overall, will they consider the high percentages in some sections?

Anonymous wrote:My son has always had problems with timed tests. Even though he excels when not timed…when you say you got your son “tested” … tested for what exactly and where can we also get “testing”? I am interested in learning more about test accommodations.

To the person asking about the benefits of the Scholars program…it is so much more than simply taking honors classes. It is a cohort that you are part of from freshman to senior year. It is something to be proud of and to feel honored to be part of. I was a Scholar, so was my child’s father…unfortunately our son won’t be, as he did terrible on the HSPT.
I have fond memories of the program in part because it is the very first group you are part of when joining the school. Before you get to join a sports team, band, play, whatever, at the point of admission, you learn that you are a scholar. It’s a community, and they have a special day during the summer just for scholars to come get to know one another before freshman year starts.

DP and I don’t know what comment you are responding to and am not going to reread 12 pages of comments to figure it out, but if they are talking about getting tested to provide justification for accommodations, it’s likely some version of psychoeducational testing done to check for a wide variety of learning differences, psychological concerns, etc. as well as intelligence. A full psych-ed battery of tests takes several hours (sometimes administered in multiple sessions, depending on age and needs of the child - DC’s first testing at age 5 was split into 2 or 3 sessions, buy later retests were done in a single session, but multiple hours with breaks).

You can have testing done privately with a psychologist that offers them (which is very expensive) or you can sign up through your county public system, which can have wait times of months.

I suggest starting with a chat with your pediatrician, who can likely do an initial assessment and then refer you for more extensive testing if needed.

There is a lot of information available if you google “psychoeducational testing.”

My son has always had problems with timed tests. Even though he excels when not timed…when you say you got your son “tested” … tested for what exactly and where can we also get “testing”? I am interested in learning more about test accommodations.

To the person asking about the benefits of the Scholars program…it is so much more than simply taking honors classes. It is a cohort that you are part of from freshman to senior year. It is something to be proud of and to feel honored to be part of. I was a Scholar, so was my child’s father…unfortunately our son won’t be, as he did terrible on the HSPT.
I have fond memories of the program in part because it is the very first group you are part of when joining the school. Before you get to join a sports team, band, play, whatever, at the point of admission, you learn that you are a scholar. It’s a community, and they have a special day during the summer just for scholars to come get to know one another before freshman year starts.

DS bombed the practice test at 40%. Put DS in tutoring once a week and got him tested so got him some accommodations and he got a 87% on the real test. He said it felt alot harder than the practice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

The exact same thing happened to us - tested in DC and selected one Diocese of Arlington school to receive the results. I contacted our school and they advised to email the test report directly to the high school admissions office. Our school said it was odd that the high school was not listed on the report because they could see the school choice in the test registration.

That is so odd. Thank you for replying. I will send to the school.

Anonymous wrote: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?

The exact same thing happened to us - tested in DC and selected one Diocese of Arlington school to receive the results. I contacted our school and they advised to email the test report directly to the high school admissions office. Our school said it was odd that the high school was not listed on the report because they could see the school choice in the test registration.

Anonymous wrote:So what does the Scholar’s program offer then? Are all the classes still available to take in theory even if you’re not in the program?

Honors World Geography and honors religion. I think there’s also special field trips and college counseling.

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.

Kids did say that it was particularly tough this year.

My DC thought it was tougher than the practice. He ended up with the same score as the practice, however, so not sure if that was true.

Anonymous wrote:So what does the Scholar’s program offer then? Are all the classes still available to take in theory even if you’re not in the program?

I don’t fault them at all for branding it, but it’s just an excellent marketing strategy so families who care about it get to say their kids are in the honors program. Some perks and requirements but nothing you wouldn’t already find at any high school. This might sound like I’m a SHC hater but I’m really just cynical. I know plenty of happy SJC scholars!

So what does the Scholar’s program offer then? Are all the classes still available to take in theory even if you’re not in the program?

Sounds like a number of students applied to the Scholars program at SJC. I can’t speak to everything it offers. My child did not apply. Just wanted to say your student will still have access to honors math, English, and science freshman year without being in the program. This is what my child and most of their friends are doing. This option was available to them as a result of HSPT scores, math placement test, and teacher recommendations.

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.

Kids did say that it was particularly tough this year.

Good luck to parents of students with scores in the 40s. I know a student from a local private who was waitlisted at both SJC and GC and I assume it was because of low HSPT. They never made it off the waitlist. I would start prepping your child with facts about how competitive admissions is at both schools. I know they may not be as highly regarded on DCUM has some other schools, but they receive A LOT of applicants. SJC had over 1,300 for class of 2028 and I think GC had around 900. While they over admit, everyone is not going to be admitted.