Curriculum and Academics

Many Roman Catholic high schools don't use the SSAT or ISSE admissions tests as part of their admissions requirements. For instance, Roman Catholic high schools in the Archdioceses of New York and Brooklyn/Queens administer the Test for Admission Into Catholic High Schools or TACHS.

Elsewhere in the country, you will find the Cooperative Admissions Exam (COOP) or the High School Placement Test (HSPT). What the admissions staff are looking for is readiness for high school level academic work. The tests are generally given in the late fall of grade 8. Study.com offers a Practice and Study Guide for the COOP exam.

This video from Petersen's offers strategies for taking the HSPT.

Diocesan and archdiocesan high schools generally admit most of their new students from elementary schools within their own dioceses. (A diocese is a legal territory and entity under the control and jurisdiction of a bishop.) Consequently, most of the students have been educated to certain standards that are well-known within that diocese. Standardized tests are not necessary in order to develop a student profile. That profile is already well-known. as well, the teachers and principals of the diocesan elementary schools themselves are known quantities. That being the case, it is simply a matter for the admissions office to identify any marginal performers and decide on those applicants. The testing per se has already ben done.

Questions?

Standardized testing is part of most private schools' admissions requirements. There are several reasons why schools use standardized admissions tests. The first reason is that they level the admissions playing field. Every candidate for admission must take the same admissions test. Fairness is the name of the game. The second reason is that schools want to be able to assess candidates' proficiency in core academic subjects. In other words, can the candidate who wants to come to my school do the work we do at our school?

The two most commonly used independent school tests are the SSAT or Secondary School Admission Test and the ISEE or Independent School Entrance Examination.

About the SSAT

From the SSAT handbook, page 12: "The SSAT is the required admission test at many of the best independent schools in the world. This test is one important step on the path to an independent school education. Your SSAT score is one part of your complete application to an independent school, and while it is important, it is not the only criteria for admission. The SSAT is designed for students in grades 3 through PG and is administered on three levels (Elementary, Middle, and Upper)."

The SSAT is probably unlike any test your student has ever taken. That’s because it’s designed to find the best students in a large pool of excellent students. The SSAT’s questions are significantly different—in their difficulty and their content—from questions on other standardized

In What is AP?, we looked at the organization that has created one of the world's most popular college prep programs. This companion article will look at the other college preparatory program known as IB. The organization behind the IB program, the International Baccalaureate Organization, was founded in 1968. With its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IB Organization serves over 1.3 million students in 147 countries.

What is the IB?

Most people think of the IB or International Baccalaureate as the organization which sponsors the highly-regarded college preparatory IB Diploma Programme. Indeed the IB Diploma is where it all started. The IB Diploma is the college preparatory component of a curriculum that begins early childhood and ends with pre-college and pre-career programs.

The International Baccalaureate Organization has grown into four programs: Primary Years, Middle Years, Diploma, and IB Career-related Programmes. This, then, is one of the major differences with Advanced Placement. Practically speaking, Advanced Placement encompasses only the college preparatory years in the academic continuum, although it now offers a Pre-AP designed to encourage students. The IB Organization offers programs that begin with 3-year-olds and end with college preparatory and career-related diplomas.

The IB Diploma Programme

Since you are interested in finding out the similarities and differences between the two top college prep academic programs, let's look under the hood of the IB Diploma Programme and find out what's involved. Essentially the

What is AP?

AP or Advanced Placement Program is a three-year sequence of high school coursework offered by the College Board in over 34 subject areas. The idea behind offering AP courses is to provide college-bound high school seniors with a level of academic playing field. You see, it doesn't matter whether you are a high school student in Dubuque, Iowa, or Darien, Connecticut, AP courses and the end of course examinations are the same wherever they are offered. The course content is the same. The teaching objectives are the same. The preparation for the final examinations is the same. Because the standard is the same everywhere and the final examinations are proctored and graded by the College Board, college admissions professionals can compare student academic achievements with confidence. They know exactly what AP means when they see it on your transcript. They know exactly what your AP scores represent.

This brief video explains the impact of AP credit and placement.

That is the intrinsic value of AP Courses and their examinations from a college admissions point of view. Admissions professionals want to know that the math courses that an applicant took at a public high school in Kansas are the same as those an applicant from a private school in Tennessee took. In other words, they want to compare apples to apples. When one applicant is offered a high school math course

American private high schools generally prepare their graduates for academic work after graduation. With that in mind let's take a look at the various academic options which you will find in American private schools.

Because private schools are indeed private or independent, as opposed to being state schools, they can set their own curricula and the qualifications of their faculty. Most private high schools meet or exceed the course requirements mandated by the state education department for the state in which the school is located.

For example, here are the State of Minnesota's graduation requirements:

Minnesota students are required to complete three kinds of requirements by the time they graduate. Students must:

• Satisfactorily complete the state course credit requirements under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.024.

• Satisfactorily complete all state academic standards or local academic standards where state standards do not apply.

• Meet graduation assessment requirements.

Course Credits

Students complete the academic standards by taking a core course of study that equips them with the knowledge and skills they need for success in postsecondary education, highly skilled work, and civic life. In order to graduate, your child’s high school coursework must include at least the minimum state course credit requirements. A course credit is equivalent to a student successfully completing an academic year of study or mastering the subject matter, as determined by the local school district.

Students must complete a minimum of 21.5 course credits as follows:

• 4 credits of language arts

• 3 credits of mathematics, including algebra,