Abacus Mom

Thoughts on New York Times' "Tips for the Admissions Test to Kindergarten"

Today Sharon Otterman of The New York Times brings to light what's happening behind parents' closed doors:  Tips for the Admissions Test ... to Kindergarten

As I've discussed before, test prep for four year olds is rampant.  Otterman profiles a new test prep company that focuses on both gifted and talented public and private school admission (OLSAT and ERB prep).  The company sends tutors to work with four year olds.  (My position is that ERB prep is not rocket science.  There's no reason to hire a professional tutor when any parent or competent, bright babysitter can handle the preschool level material required for the tests.)  In the Times article, I comment:

“It’s the same phenomenon as with the SATs: a gradual rise in test prep, until it becomes the norm,” said Emily Glickman, a Manhattan educational consultant. “Given that the demand for high-stakes schools outstrips supply, that’s what’s happening.”

I was very interested to read what the admissions director of a very prominent private school said about test prep:

“It’s unethical.  It completely negates the reason for giving the test, which is to provide a snapshot of their aptitudes, and it doesn’t correlate with their future success in school.”

I see this completely differently.  Requiring four year olds to take a test is unethical.  The ERB test does not provide a snapshot of their aptitudes, since plenty of shy, ill, hungry, late developing kids do not do well before they prep.  I cannot tell you how many brilliant poor testers I have met over the years.  Finally, the ERB test given at four obviously has very little correlation with future success in school since everyone knows that children develop and blossom at different ages.

Clearly, with all this publicity about ERB prep (this article and the one a few months ago about another test prep company), there will be less emphasis on scores this year.  The problem the private schools face:  they need to manage their yields (the number of accepted kids who actually enroll).  The ERB test with its clear scores gives admissions directors a tool to determine in advance a particular child's likelihood to enroll (top scorers will likely choose schools like Dalton and Trinity, low scorers less sought-after schools).  On the other hand, with extensive prep both in widespread prep programs and in the nursery schools themselves, more and more kids are scoring high 90's.  This makes choosing kindergarteners more difficult, so I believe there will be more nursery school brokering happening this year.

How to Write a Private School Admissions Essay (for Kindergarten, but the Principle Holds True for Older Grades as Well)

It's not so easy to describe a four year old.  I know--I've helped families write private school essays about four year olds, hundreds of them, for so many years that some of those four year olds are now in high school. 

Private school essays typically ask something along the lines of, "Tell me about your child."

Typically the parent of a preschooler is sure of the following:  Junior is cute.  He's curious.  He's bright.  He loves books.  He liked his music class last year.  He's very sweet to his sister.  Hmm.  

That sounds reasonable.  Junior is four, after all.

But this is a private school essay.  You're trying to get your child into school, to somehow make him stand out from the rest of the pack of kindergarten applicants. 

That's where things get tricky.  How can you make Junior seem special? 

Asking this question in this application context, admissions directors lead parents down a primrose path.  Some parents go flying down, making such wild assertions about their child's uniqueness and superiority as to turn off anybody who reads their statement.

"When asked to describe Milo, we would say first that he is gifted."

"Jessica, who is already reading at the fourth grade level..."

"Frank, recently dubbed "The Mayor" by his teachers and classmates at Tot Time, is greatly admired for his precocious leadership skills."

So rule #1 in writing your parent statement:  Keep It Real, and resist the temptation to describe your child in over-the-top language.  You need to be modest, and show through example, rather than tell, about your child's qualifications. That way, on their own, admissions directors will draw the conclusion that oh yes, Junior seems very bright and worthy of admission.

As one of the longest practicing private school admissions consultants in NYC, I have considerable perspective about what makes parents and children unique in a way that attracts admissions directors.  Jan 2012 Update: I am currently accepting clients who will be applying in 2012 for 2013 admission.  To learn more or call 212-712-2228 9am-9pm EST.  Please book early because prime slots in late spring go quickly and every year I have to turn parents away.

For more:

The Three Most Common Mistakes People Make When They Write Private School Admissions Essays

Does Your Four Year Old Need a Professional ERB Prep Tutor?

No.  Any mother, father, or bright, interested babysitter is qualified to handle preschool level material, thank you. 

Here's an email I just received from a 2009 Abacus Guide Preschoolers' Prep Program client (details obscured to protect client's confidentiality):

Hi Emily,

Just wanted to provide you with an update.  <Child's Name> got <top ERB score>.  Your advice was key in setting up her ERB prep program with my wife and her babysitter. <Child> went up <huge number of points>.

Thanks again for all of your help.

To learn more or call 212-712-2228 9am-9pm EST. Limited enrollment available so reserve your child's space.  We are now working with parents of children who will take the ERB in 2010.

Private School News Now Makes New York Times, Gawker, New Yorker etc.

Back when I attended Hunter College High School, no major news journalist gave two cents about what happened there.  In fact, when I edited What's What, the school newspaper, I was confident that no sensible adult other than our faculty advisor and the principal would read the paper, let alone care what was in it.  Today's teenagers have no such comfort.  If their institution is elite enough, they can look forward to coverage in the major news media.  And not just by agreeing to appear on reality television (thanks, Bravo!).  Just by GOING to a well-known school, they may find themselves in the spotlight.  Especially when a Supreme Court Justice thinks it's worth dropping in...

Here's November's round-up:

• Justice Kennedy Censors the Dalton School Newspaper's Article about His Appearance (New York Times)
  
• Somebody Said the Word "Bazonga" at a Horace Mann Assembly (Gawker)
  
• Horace Mann Student Starts a Small Business (New Yorker)
  

I understand the news value of Justice Kennedy's attempts at censorship.  But overall, can we see more of a focus on accomplished adults rather than students at name brand schools?

Urban Myth #1: ERB Test Includes Mazes

Sometimes, someone will call me and say something along the lines of,  "Junior rocks mazes!  I got him a maze workbook and he gets it!  He's set for the ERB!"

However, sadly for these individuals, mazes aren't on the ERB for kindergarten.  Mazes used to be, but no longer.  They've been off the ERB for a number of years.

Hmm, you think.  That's weird.  The ERB supposedly quantifies a child's intelligence and suitability for private school.  Mazes used to be thought to indicate intelligence, and now they don't?

I agree.  It IS weird.  But that's ERB rationale for you.

If your child likes mazes, for fun (and maybe development of fine motor skills), try:  Kumon My Book of Easy Mazes.

With my program, Preschoolers' Prep, I teach you what skills and capabilities admissions directors do seek from applicants, and recommend a personalized ERB Kit with educational toys and workbooks.  I am very proud of the scores my clients' children have achieved with my program, and the fact that kids have had fun while learning.   To learn more or call 212-712-2228 9am-9pm EST. Limited enrollment available so reserve your child's space.

Private School Advisor: How Competitive is Manhattan Private School Admission This Year?

Despite the economy, it's looking like NYC kindergarten private school admission will remain very competitive in 2010.  Preschool directors are reporting this to parents, parents are seeing this at crowded private school Open Houses, and I am seeing this with my robust practice. 

For many families I know, especially those who have been fortunate on Wall Street, as well as many lawyers, doctors, professors, and entertainers, employed people's financial mood has lifted since last fall.  While many families are cutting back, they're spending less on clothes or their apartment renovations-- not their children's Manhattan, Riverdale, or Brooklyn private school education. Many of my clients have one or two children, and they are committed to investing in giving them what they consider to be the best possible education.

Psychology Today Discusses ERB (WPPSI) Testing

Thanks to Sonya Sobiesky of Psychology Today for quoting me in her insightful article on preschool aptitude and ERB (WPPSI) testing, Baby Steps to Harvard.

Sobiesky writes:

But how accurate is IQ testing for toddlers? The commonly used Wechsler Intelligence Scale evaluates verbal ability based on vocabulary size and clarity of speech. “If a speech therapist can help you with these skills, how is that testing intelligence?” says Emily Glickman of Abacus Guide Educational Consulting.

Researchers agree that measurement errors due to fussiness, hunger, and even how well a child likes her questioner are fairly common when testing preschoolers.

Glickman also notes that “a lot of psychological testing is your ability to copy things. I think that’s a test of exposure, not intelligence. If kids have had practice drawing, if they’ve learned about farm animals, they’re going to do better on the tests.”

IQ scores at age 3 do correlate strongly with IQ scores at age 21, Joseph Fagan of Case Western Reserve University has found. But results at the lower end of the scale may be the most useful: IQ tests were originally developed to differentiate normal children from those needing special education. An IQ of 130 versus 120, Fagan says, “is not going to make a big difference in how someone turns out.”