What is standardized testing? 

Standardized testing is a common educational tool that schools use to measure student achievement. You may have already encountered tests in your school like the ERBs, MAP, or other state or district testing. When you apply to independent schools like ours, you often take and submit standardized test scores as part of your application. Standardized tests give us information about your academic abilities compared to other applicants in the pool, since they are administered and scored consistently.

The common forms of standardized testing that we encounter in boarding school admissions are the Secondary School Admissions Test (SSAT) and the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE), but we also review other state and local testing that compares your academic progress to other students.

Standardized testing measures certain aspects of academic achievement in a controlled and consistent manner. Our applicants come from thousands of different schools, with different grading systems, teachers, and learning environments. Standardized testing gives us a consistent measure that we can use to compare applicants. Most tests include sections on math and literacy that are scored compared to all other test-takers, as well as an unscored writing sample. 

Our schools also ask international students for whom English is a second language to take a fluency test. Common tests include the TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo. 

What are your standardized testing requirements?

In the last several years, each of our schools has modified our requirements for standardized testing. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted access to standardized tests, and many schools, colleges, and universities have acknowledged more publicly what we have always known: standardized testing does not fully demonstrate an applicant’s potential for success in the classroom or as members of our school communities.

Currently, each of our schools uses a slightly different approach to testing requirements. Some of the MABS group require standardized testing, some recommend that you submit it, and some make it fully optional. Outside of our five schools, some schools will not even accept standardized testing. Our policies are also slightly different for international students who may need to take a fluency test. 

Because each school uses a slightly different approach, we urge you to talk with an admissions officer at each school about the testing policies, which test(s) they accept, and how to submit scores. We are also happy to talk with you about what your scores may mean in the context of our applicant pools. 

How do you use standardized testing in your admissions process? 

Regardless of our policies, all five of the Mid-Atlantic Boarding Schools use standardized testing in the same way in our admissions process. Test scores (and the unscored essays) are part of a holistic review that considers all aspects of your application. Among the academic factors, we also review grades, teacher recommendations, and your own writing. We also consider your talents in athletics and the arts, and your impact on the communities you live in through service, friendship, and character.

This is to say, testing is only one small piece of what we consider as we review each candidate. For many candidates, it does not fully demonstrate their true and full potential. A low test score might indicate an academic weakness, but it also might be that the student is simply not a good test taker. Likewise, we have all encountered students with strong test scores who earn very weak grades through lack of effort, attention, or other skills. Test scores do not determine your admissions decision; they are only helpful in conjunction with the rest of the information we learn about you.

Because testing is not the only, nor the most impactful, factor in admissions at our schools, we are able to make decisions without them. If you are not able to or choose not to submit testing, we may ask for additional recommendations, essays, or documentation from your school, so we have enough information to use.

Should I submit scores if the school has a test optional policy? 

As more and more schools have adopted “test optional” policies, students are left unsure of the best move to make. Putting the choice on students feels like an additional stressor in an already stressful process. We appreciate this dilemma, which is why we try to be as open and honest as possible with the question!

We look at it this way: If you have the choice, you should submit standardized testing if you feel like it is a strength of yours that will add to your application. You likely have taken standardized testing at some point in your academic career. If you felt like those tests were manageable and you did well on them, go ahead and take the SSAT. You will have a sense after the test of how well you did, and you will have the option to wait and report scores (or not) to our schools once you receive them. If you are unsure of what your scores mean, call us and discuss! We can give you a sense of how your scores may be interpreted by the admissions committee. 

Most importantly, please know that you are much more than a test score, and our admissions process is designed to help you show your best self, achievement, and potential. 

Matthew Wolinski

Director of Admission & Financial Aid

St. Andrew’s School