A New Addition to Private School Applications
When applying to private middle and high schools in the Bay Area, students and their families have a lot to do: most schools require transcripts, letters of recommendation, interviews, essays, and tests.
While tests like the HSPT, ISEE, and SSAT have historically been the most common entrance exams used by local schools, this year there’s a new test on the scene: the Star.
What is the Star Assessment?
It’s actually possible that your child has already taken a Star test! The Renaissance Star Assessment has been used in recent years by California schools as a standardized test to track students’ academic progress during the school year.
However, this year, a few schools like Menlo School and Woodside Priory are going to be using it as an admissions requirement for the first time. Applicants will need to go to the school they’re applying to and take the entrance exam version of the Star test. Their scores can then be sent to any other schools they’re applying to that have this requirement.
Star assessments are computer-adaptive, multiple-choice reading and math tests. Let’s take a closer look at what that means!
The Format of the Star Test
The following are some key features of the Star assessment that students applying to private schools will take.
- Computer-adaptive
- Students will encounter more advanced and challenging questions if they answer questions correctly, and easier questions if they answer incorrectly.
- Time limit per question
- Instead of an overall time limit, students are automatically advanced to the next question if they’re stuck on one for too long (the standard time limit is about 4 minutes).
- Reading and Math
- There will be two sections of the test, 34 questions each.
- The reading section will test reading comprehension and verbal skills.
- The math section will test math content knowledge and problem-solving skills.
- Difficult!
- While the test scales in difficulty to the student’s level, it is designed to have hard questions that not all students will be able to answer.
Computer-Adaptive Tests
Adaptive tests, such as the Star assessment, that scale to the challenge level of the student are valuable because they can help provide a nuanced understanding of each student’s current level. They also aim to be more fair than traditional tests because they can meet each student where they are.
However, students can find them difficult and demoralizing. Many kids feel like they can tell when they’ve answered a question wrong because the next one feels much easier. This can sometimes make them lose confidence and get frustrated with themselves. To prepare students for this, we make sure to expose them to adaptive practice and get them in the right mindset.
It can help to explain that this isn’t like a test you take in school – those are usually about topics you’ve just been taught, so teachers expect you to be able to answer most of the questions correctly. But an adaptive test is different! The test will intentionally try to find the upper and lower limits of your knowledge by pushing you past the point where you know the answers.
How Can We Help?
Here at AJ Tutoring, we can support your student in preparing for their Star test! We have a program that will provide test-taking strategies, grade-level content review, and exposure to the pressure of a timed and adaptive test.
AJ Tutoring can also help with any other entrance tests, as well as other components of the application, like the writing sample and interview! We are passionate about supporting students and their families through the challenges of the admissions process.
