Abacus Mom

NYC ERB / ISEE and SSAT Test Prep and Tutoring: Now is the Time to Book for Fall 2011

If you live in NYC and you're still dithering about ERB/ ISEE or SSATtest prep for Manhattan or Riverdale private high school or middle school admission, now is the time to get cracking. 

We know your child is about to leave for camp.  Unfortunately the ERB / ISEE is still right around the corner.  Tutoring definitely helps improve scores, and you want to hire a compassionate, savvy, efficient tutor who can get the job done right, minimizing your family's stress.

Luckily, in many cases, tutoring can start in the fall, but you want to book now because the best ERB / ISEE tutors can service only a limited number of students.  Private School Authority's Anthony-James Green is already nearly at full ERB capacity, and our second-in-command, Nick, is right behind him.

Right now, you can get a free ERB ISEE Guide for a limited time.  The guide demystifies the testing process.

If you sign up in the next few weeks for ERB ISEE tutoring, we will work our hardest to ensure that Anthony or Nick come to you at the day and time that work best for your family's fall schedule.  We give scheduling priority on a first-come, first-served basis, recognizing that your fall may not be finalized yet.

We look forward to hearing from you about your ISEE needs:  212-712-2228 or info@privateschoolauthority.com

 

 

Asians and New York City Private Schools

As someone who works with Asians and non-Asians helping them cultivate the social skills and messaging necessary to succeed in NYC private school admissions, I was fascinated by Wesley Yang's exceptional article, Paper Tigers / Asian Like Me.  New York Magazine describes the essay:

Amy Chua’s triumphalist screed about intense Asian-style parenting triggered hysteria among other parents scared that their children were falling behind. But the Tiger Child generation has the opposite fear: that their upbringing has bled them of the assertiveness and social skills necessary to succeed as American adults.

In the article, Yang describes what he believes are the social skills usually necessary to succeed in the American workplace and in romantic life.  As a student of social skills as well as a coach who teaches them within the private school admissions context, I am fascinated by the parallels between my work and Yang's findings. 

Yang's essay references Hunter College High School and Stuyvesant, two elite selective NYC public schools that are majority Asian.  As a Hunter graduate and a frequent visitor to Stuy, I believe Yang accurately captures the white/Asian dynamic.  After reading Yang's essay, you may find yourself reexamining how you perceive other people and how other people perceive you.

Is Junior Kumon the Fast Track to Private School Kindergarten?

Some parents think so.  According to Kate Zernike's article, Fast-Tracking to Kindergarten?

Ms. Goldman, who works at an agency representing artists, took her son, Huxton, to Kumon last September, shortly after he turned 5, in an effort to make sure, she said, “that he wouldn’t be behind the curve” when he started kindergarten the next year.

If she was hesitant, her children’s preschool was “disgusted,” she said. But she saw immediate results — Huxton began reading, adding and subtracting — and Eze, newly 3, started soon after.

What do I think?  I discuss my position on Kumon with my NYC private school admissions clients.

Oddly enough, you can find the Kumon article in the New York Times' "Fashion and Style" section. 

ISEE for NYC Middle School and High School: It's a Little Late Now: ISEE Misgraded

Sarah Maslin Nir of The New York Times reports that 7000 students received incorrect grades from the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) on their Lower Level or Upper Level ISEE exam.  7,000 Private School Applicants Got Incorrect Scores, Company Says

Funny that caught in this embarrassing situation, the ERB played down the importance of the ISEE:

Parents of the students affected received notification of the error and the revised scores for the Independent School Entrance Exam in letters sent by same-day service from the Educational Records Bureau, known as the E.R.B., which administers the exam. In the letters, officials from the E.R.B. played down the importance of the test scores, saying they were just one of many components of applications that might include grade point average, essays and teacher recommendations.

I'm happy to say that none of my 2010-2011 NYC private middle school and high school applicant clients called me to complain--because they have already been admitted to their desired private school choices.  The rest of their applicant packages--including application essays, parent and student interviews, and extracurriculars--were strong thanks to our work together. 

To boost your child's whole package in the 2011-2012 NYC private high schools and middle schools application process, contact me for more information at 212-712-2228 or eglickman(at)abacusguide.com.  Please hurry--my schedule is filling fast.

For ISEE support, contact Manhattan's top ISEE tutor, Anthony-James Green, at 914-400-3859 or anthonyjamesgreen@gmail.com. 

www.privateschoolauthority.com

Kindergarten ERB / WPPSI Test Prep Kit Performance Section: Best ERB Toys and Books

Parents tend to worry about the performance section of the ERB / WPPSI test used in NYC private school kindergarten admission.

"No question Joe is verbal.  But can he perform? What is the ERB performance section anyway?"

The ERB / WPPSI performance section tests children's eye hand coordination, processing speed and accuracy, and non-verbal reasoning skills.

Nowadays you can buy ERB test prep books specifically designed to crack the ERB performance section:

Aristotle Circle ERB Test Prep Workbook

Bright Kids ERB Test Prep Workbook

However, some families prefer to go around the problem: that is, prep their preschoolers in the skills and capabilities the ERB / WPPSI performance section tests rather than specifically working on the test questions themselves. 

If you fall into this camp, here are some useful ERB prep performance section books and toys.

ERB PERFORMANCE TEST PREP KIT

Coding

The Write Start: A Guide to Nurturing Writing at Every Stage, from Scribbling to Forming Letters and Writing Stories 

I Can Draw Animals (Kid Kits)

Melissa & Doug Jumbo Triangular Colored Pencils 24 pack 

Melissa & Doug Triangular Crayons - 24 pack 

Matrix Reasoning

Building Thinking Skills Primary

Early Visual Skills

Colorama Game

Picture Concepts

Same or Different Workbook

Block Design

Block Buddies

Tangoes Jr.

Picture Perfect

Magna Tiles

Kindergarten ERB Test Prep: Is ERB Prepping Cheating? Can You Get Caught?

Would you believe that just a few years ago, most New York kids applying to private school kindergarten took the ERB test (WPPSI) cold?

More concerned moms bought a few toys like Mighty Mind , Block Buddies and  BrainQuest.

Then in 2009, two companies--Bright Kids and Aristotle Circle published ERB prep workbooks, essentially giving parents access to the test questions:

Aristotle Circle ERB/WPPSI III Workbook

Bright Kids ERB Preparation Guide

With the genie out of the bottle, naturally many parents grabbed copies.

Then, in 2010, Karen Quinn published her Testing for Kindergarten, and the ERB people themselves released the test contents.  They cautioned that it was OK to prep with their "official" ERB test prep materials, but not commercial materials.  OK.

Meanwhile, more and more nursery schools began explicitly as well as implicitly prepping their preschoolers for the ERB.

So in 2011, is prepping for the ERB cheating?  Most importantly, can prepping get your child disqualified from private school kindergarten, as many people have long believed?  The private schools have publicly claimed that ERB scores no longer even carry much weight:  Private School Screening Test Loses Some Clout  Is that true?

What I found in 2010-2011 is that despite what the NYC private schools claimed, ERB scores continue to be as critical as always in private school kindergarten admission.  Prepping is rampant, and given that the ERB itself releases materials, and many nursery schools prep, the line between prepping and cheating is now almost completely blurred.

Interestingly, Pearson, the company that designs the WPPSI, the test from which the ERB is derived, is currently revising the exam.  When the changes will affect the ERB is not yet known, but I am guessing 2012.  At that point, there will doubtless be minor changes in commercial materials explicitly designed for the kindergarten ERB.  Stay tuned. 

 

Help for Hyperlexia (Thoughts on Gilman's The Anti-Romantic Child)

If you have, or work with, hyperlexic or other special needs children, you will be interested in Priscilla Gilman's new memoir, The Anti-Romantic Child. The book is about Gilman's experience shepherding her young hyperlexic son, Benj, through babyhood, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school.  Gilman covers in great detail Benj's developmental delays, social skills deficits, experiences with pediatricians, therapists, mainstream and special schools, and relationships.  Some of the unnamed schools Gilman references are on Manhattan's Upper West Side which adds an extra layer of interest as readers can try to guess which schools they are.

At one point, Gilman applies to twenty NYC private and public schools.  (Thank goodness, Benj is accepted to one.)  A developmental pediatrician tells Gilman,

"You can't be average and you can't be difficult or probematic to get into a private school in New York City.  Schools in New York City don't want average kids, and they also don't want kids who cry and break down, they don't want fragile kids.  You have to have at least 84 percent composite score on the ERBs (the standardized test required for admission to private school in New York.)"

Reading the book, I felt sorry for Gilman that she did not have access to Toby Glick, an extraordinary special needs educational consultant who specializes in helping families understand their children's problems and get the right therapists and schooling.  A year or so ago, I referred a hyperlexic child to Toby.  Right away, after Toby read the child's evaluations and spoke to his teachers, she was able to help the boy get into an appropriate school.  (And that family did not have to apply to twenty schools.)  If you have a special needs child or know someone who does who needs help, you can reach Toby at 646-300-1881 or Toby(at)ParentConfidante.com.

Free, Expert Information on NYC Private School Admission

We have just emailed out the April edition of our exclusive monthly newsletter, News about Schooling, Enrichment, and Parenting.  It's not too late to get your free copy. 

Simply email info(at)abacusguide.com or click on newsletter sign up form We'll send your copy right out.  You'll learn about NYC (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Riverdale, Westchester) private school admission for kindergarten, middle school and high school, enrichment, tutoring, ERB, including WPPSI, WISC and ISEE, educational toys, and latest education news.

NYC Kindergarten Private School Interview: Does My Child Need Playgroup Assessment or Coaching?

A client asked me today if her four-year-old needs kindergarten interview/playgroup assessment and coaching, a service offered by a test prep company.

No!!!

Speaking as an educational consultant who makes her living helping families succeed in and manage the stressful private school admissions process, I try to make my clients' lives easier, not harder.  Kindergarten interview/playgroup assessment and coaching is an unnecessary program.  I would never offer or recommend it.

At NYC private school interviews, children often write and recognize their names, draw pictures, cut, paste, do simple addition and subtraction, listen to stories and directions, talk to teachers and peers, do puzzles, build--all tasks that children do everyday in nursery school.  Children do not need playgroup tutoring.   

Big ERB WPPSI News: WPPSI-III Becoming WPPSI-IV?

When New Yorkers talk about the ERB for entry into preK, kindergarten, and 1st grade, they are referring to an exam that consists of subtests from a longer exam, the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI).  This delightful so-called IQ test developed by David Wechsler in 1967 has gone through several iterations including WPPSI-R and the currently administered WPPSI-III.  But now in very big ERB/WPPSI news: the folks at Pearson who publish the WPPSI are hard at work on a new, revised version, called, predictably: the WPPSI-IV. 

From Pearson's website:

The clinical division of Pearson is revising the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI).  The WPPSI consists of a number of subtests that  measure verbal, performance, and processing ability from a cognitive/intellectual perspective.  In this revision, existing WPPSI content is being updated, and new items, subtests, and tasks are being added, including new and revised artwork.

Memo to English-speaking clinical, school, and neuropsychologists, educational diagnosticians, psychometricians, psychometrists, and speech language pathologists--this may be the research job for you!  Here's your chance to test helpless children--just check Pearson's website.  Or even better:

If you think you or your children are qualified as an examinee for one of the projects listed below, please let us know of your interest by signing up for the Pearson Research Registry.

No thanks!

All New Yorkers reading this post are wondering:

• When will the WPPSI-IV replace the WPPSI-III?
• Since the ERB consists of a subset of WPPSI subtests, how will the ERB itself change?
• How will the ERB scoring change?
• Just how effective are my ERB test prep workbooks going to be if the test is changing?

The answer: it's too early to say.  Since research is going on now, I will be surprised if the WPPSI test changes before 2012.  Certainly the folks at ERB and private school admissions directors will enjoy parents' uncertainty in the time being, and hope that the changes tamp down on rampant prepping.  However, this is a Spy vs. Spy situation, so look for revised WPPSI test prep products coming soon.