During this brief summer vacation, we can reflect upon the past year, and begin to plan for the one ahead. Here in Brooklyn, many of your children will be faced with various tests and academic challenges at school. I reached out to tutor extraordinaire Kalen Lister to help us all understand a bit about the whole process, and which tests we may need to know about.
~Rebecca Conroy
What are the major NYC school tests in the NYC school system that parents need to be aware of for their young children?
The OLSAT and the NNAT are the most common for Gifted & Talented entry. The required tests are school dependent, however. Hunter uses the Stanford-Binet while some schools use the CogAt or one of the ERB tests (adapted versions of the AABL, WPPSI-IV, WISC-IV, and the CTP).
What are the NYC school tests for older kids (over grade 5)?
Public schools require the Common Core tests for math and ELA (English Language Arts) at the end of the school year. For school admissions, the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE), Comprehensive Testing Program from the ERB (CTP4), Secondary School Admissions Test (SSAT), and Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) are all common.
Why should parents consider hiring a private tutor?
There are many circumstances that warrant the hiring of a private tutor. Traditionally, tutors are called upon in times of crisis for remedial help or for test prep surrounding an application process. Indeed, this makes up a large portion of my clients. However, this creates a bit of a stigma around tutoring: “if my child is smart, they don’t need help.” False. Many of my tutees are quite smart but need help transitioning to a new school, with English as a second language, or help with executive functioning skills surrounding their homework, study habits, and project planning. Furthermore, tutoring can be extremely beneficial for particularly gifted students who need enrichment beyond what they are getting in school.
While parents have the best intentions around helping their children with their studies, they are often not able to coach the best performance out of their children. The one-on-one relationship with someone who is not a parent can yield great results. I find that I often become a support for the parents and for the relationship between parent and child around their schoolwork.
What should parents be looking for in a private tutor for younger children?
Generally, I think that parents should be looking for the same qualities in a private tutor regardless of their child’s age.
Assuming that, as a base, the tutor has professional experience and good references, I’d say there are two paramount criteria. The first is the tutor’s chemistry with the student. You need someone who gets along well with your child, someone who your child likes, respects, and wants to perform well for (at times even in spite of themselves)! Someone working with young children specifically must, of course, understand where they are developmentally but the relationship between tutor and child is still of the utmost importance. As I mentioned previously, the one-on-one paradigm is a powerful one. Be picky. Just as you wouldn’t settle on any primary care physician or therapist, make sure you are selecting someone who communicates well with your child. Tutoring is an interpersonal relationship.
The second most important criterion follows logically from this point and concerns how well the tutor communicates with you. I’m not speaking about the logistics around scheduling, that should be assumed, but around how honestly and constructively the tutor helps you understand your child’s strengths and weaknesses. Unless you’ve hired the tutor for 24/7 services, they spend but a small portion of the week with your child. Putting the practices they encourage into motion will still fall on you. For this reason, you want someone who can help give guidance around structuring homework and study time.
Some people say it’s wise to just opt out of testing their children within the public school system. What are your thoughts on that? Are there any repercussions for doing so?
I can empathize with the desire for a different system and can certainly understand the temptation to opt out as “Change The Stakes” makes many compelling points around refusing to participate in the testing. While I wish the balance could skew more to learning and less to testing, I am neither pro-testing nor anti-testing. This is the way that our system is currently working and there are important skills to learn around test taking and accepting that the world (and NYC in particular) is a competitive place. I would urge parents who are considering opting out to have an open dialogue with the principal at their school (a pre-requisite for opting out) to better understand alternatives and possible repercussions.
How can parents use items and toys around the house with a “test prep” lens, rather than buying a bunch of new things?
While it’s important to expose children to the format that they will encounter come test time, most of the material for young testers is generated around an understanding of core concepts. These core concepts and skills can be strengthened and practiced using many of the toys and games that you likely already have.
-Work on puzzles. Take turns. Articulate where you are placing the puzzle piece in relationship to the puzzle using spatial positioning terms.
-Use manipulatives (an object that you have many of ie: building blocks, toy cars, stuffed animals) to practice following auditory directions containing spatial positioning terms. For example: Place the red car between the green cars and switch the red and black car. Taking turns giving the directions and following them helps to make it feel like a game rather than a quiz.
-Play “I Spy” in particular rooms of the house, reviewing categories of like things in the process.
-Make reflections (drawing activities) to understand symmetry, reflecting each other’s colors and designs.
-Discuss books as you read them to strengthen inference reasoning and verbal expression. What do you think will happen next? Did you like the story? Why? How do you think the main character feels? Why?
-Show you child your calendar and how it works. When is his/her/their birthday? What exciting holidays are coming up? How is a month different from a week?
-Make patterns using blocks, crayons, or beads. Even figural analogies can be created in a quadrant with these items.
Are there any kids who don’t need a private tutor at all for these NYC school standardized tests? Like, kids who would ace any test easily?
There are some children who are “natural test takers” but they are the exceptions. There are certainly character traits that lend themselves to better performances but high-test scores do not correlate directly with intelligence. Most children, regardless of their age or the particular test they are taking, will benefit from at least some help with strategies.
Related Post:
A Guide to Surviving Standardized Test Prep— Part 1 Early Prep
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Kalen Lister is an academic and test prep tutor based out of Brooklyn, NY. She has a decade of experience working one-on-one and with small groups of students from pre-K through early high school. Kalen focuses on the psychological needs of each student, stimulates their innate curiosity, and increases confidence alongside ability, through a lens of executive functioning. Kalen’s passion for education began with her own varied educational experiences including Montessori school, public school, home-schooling, prep school, and an Ivy League university. A lifelong learner, she continues her schooling and has earned several on-line certifications. Upon graduating from The University of Pennsylvania, she was accepted to Phillips Exeter Academy’s prestigious summer teaching internship program. After completing the internship, Kalen moved to NYC to pursue a career in education concurrent with a career in music. This last year, she launched her own tutoring company, Out of The Box Tutoring, while continuing her work for the well-known test prep and publication company, Bright Kids NYC.