Entrance exams and private school admissions

What type of entrance exams are there and what role should they play in private school admissions?

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There are many different types of entrance exams. These are used by lots of private and independent schools across Canada, the US, and worldwide to make admissions decisions.

Different schools require different types of standardized tests for admissions, and in fact some schools don’t require them at all. And for schools that do require students to take a standardized test, there’s lots of variation in how much weight is given to the test in admissions decisions.

Different types of private school entrance exams

To begin, it may be helpful cover some of the main types of entrance exams or tests used by schools in admissions decisions. Private schools in Canada may require applicants to write one or more of the following tests as part of the admissions process:

• SSAT: This is the Secondary School Admissions Test, required by a number of private and independent schools across Canada. It has a verbal, quantitative, reading comprehension, and writing section.

• OLSAT: This is the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test. It’s a multiple-choice, K-12 assessment that measures reasoning skills, with several different types of verbal, non-verbal, figural, and quantitative reasoning questions. It’s sometimes administered for admissions into gifted and talented programs.

• SAT: This is the Scholastic Aptitude Test is widely used for college admission in the United States. It’s also used by some private schools in the US and Canada. It has four sections: reading, writing and language, math (no calculator allowed), and math (calculator allowed).

• TOEFL: This is a Test of English as a Foreign Language. It’s a standardized test used by many private schools to measure the English-language abilities of non-native speakers. It’s accepted by many academic and professional institutions worldwide.

• ISEE: This is the Independent School Entrance Exam, used by many schools in the US Canada, and across the world. It tests auditory comprehension, reading, math, and reading, and has a primary (grades 2-4), lower (grades 5-6), middle (grades 7-8), and upper level (grades 9-12).

What role do entrance exams play in private school admissions?

One question is, what role do entrance exams play in private school admissions? The answer: this varies widely.

One the one hand, some schools don’t require any sort of entrance exam at all. For instance, at Appleby College, in Oakville, Ontario, students aren’t required to take any admissions test if they apply before a certain date.

Other schools require entrance tests for all prospective students. These schools emphasize these tests in a wide range of ways, from minimal to substantial.

Most private schools, though, consider the results of standardized tests in context. “Many schools take a holistic approach, so the SSAT or other entrance exam is considered to be only one component that is balanced against other criteria, including a student’s academic achievement, extracurricular activities, spark factor, and social-emotional skills,” says Bryan Ide, Educational Director at Key Education.

In fact, this appears to be the trend: entrance exams are normally considered as only one part of the big picture. This means that a poor result on an entrance exam can be compensated for in many ways, such as by strong grades or a good interview. “For us, the SSAT is only a small piece of the overall picture. We look for correlation with the report card and if there are any discrepancies, then we may do more investigation,” says Maggie Houston-White, executive director at Havergal College, a private girls’ school in Toronto, Ontario.

Brentwood College School, in Mill Bay, British Columbia, uses a similar approach, according to Clayton Johnston, director of admissions: “We have our own aptitude assessment (though we do accept the SSAT). It, coupled with the interview, help determine potential. We are more concerned about potential, though, than test scores, transcripts, and past academic successes.”

At UTS, in Toronto, Ontario, entrance exams are weighed more heavily. This is mostly because it’s a school with a strong focus on high-level academics. And even at UTS, the first standardized test, the SSAT, is used to whittle down their huge pool of applicants. “Since we receive 350-400 applications for 96 spots in grade 7, we use the SSAT as our first measure in order to reduce our pool to about 200 students who will write a second UTS test and be part of a multiple mini-interview,” says Vice Principal Garth Chalmers.

How much emphasis should be placed on entrance exams?

The question remains: what role should entrance exams, such as the SSAT, play in school admissions? This is a hotly debated topic in the private school community in Canada.

One thing that seems clear is that there is no unequivocal answer to this question, one that applies to all schools. As we’ve seen, different schools place different emphases on entrance exams in their admissions decisions, ranging from substantial to none at all. And this is as it should be.

For instance, at a highly academic school or a gifted school, with rigorous standards and a very challenging curriculum, more emphasis will naturally be placed on standardized tests such as the SSAT. At other schools, it often makes sense to place less emphasis on these tests (or to not use them at all), and to focus more on other parts of the application, such as report cards, interviews, and extracurriculars.

In all cases, though, schools should consider entrance exams holistically, as one part of the overall picture. And almost all do. After all, some very talented students aren’t the best test-takers—they tend to underperform on tests. And there are many ways to demonstrate academic ability besides standardized tests such as the SSAT.

And remember, schools focus on far more than academic abilities in admissions. They’re also interested in prospective students’ aims, passions, motivation, and character, among other things.

To learn more about the admissions process, read our guide. You can also read our experts’ advice guide to getting in.