Teaching English to Young Children

If you would like your child to master English as a second language (ESL), don't wait until he starts learning English at school. From a very early age you can lay the foundations which will ensure that English as a second language will come naturally and easily to your child.
You needn't worry that introducing English will have a negative affect on your child's native language ability: research studies have clearly shown that learning a second language does not interfere with the first! In fact there is overwhelming evidence that introducing a second language improves childrens' all round cognitive ability and overall performance.

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If your mother tongue is not English, speaking to your child in English may not be a good idea as it is likely to feel forced and unnatural. Here is a list of practical steps you can take to help your young English learner to excel. These strategies can be used for introducing any language, but this article focuses on English. The author used these methods for teaching her children French, with great success.
From birth, play songs in English to your ESL baby. Bedtime and whilst travelling in the car are good opportunities. Choose songs with repetitive and catchy choruses. Just hearing the English words is great "ear massage" and the English pronunciation and intonation will become embedded in your child's cognitive awareness. The aim is to expose your child to the nuances and sounds of the language. Tunes resound in our heads long after the music is turned off, making song a great medium for language learning.
Purchase musical DVD's in English. Choose those which demonstrate the lyrics through actions. Children as young as 18 months will enjoy watching the colourful scenes while they effortlessly pick up English vocabulary.
Search for educational television programmes and DVD's in English. These are available on a wide variety of topics. Choose those which particularly appeal to your child's taste. Balance your child's viewing between English and native language programmes.
Find an English speaker - a babysitter, neighbour or friend - who could spend time with your child on a regular basis. Arrange for this person to speak only English with your child. Arm your "language helper" with a supply of English picture books for reading to your child. The aim here is not to formally teach your child English but, through conversation, reading and play, to lay down a basic understanding and a grasp of pronunciation which can be built upon later.
There are many free ESL and EFL activities (English as a foreign language) for teaching English to beginners. Choose resources that offer interactive English exercises with voiceovers by native speakers. If possible, sit with your child while he works at the computer and offer guidance when needed. Start teaching your child to read English as early as possible, especially if your native language is not based on the Latin alphabet. There are many websites which offer free English reading programmes. Select a site with interactive exercises that give instant feedback and encouragement. Choose a phonics-based reading scheme. Research confirms overwhelmingly that the phonics method is the most effective for learning to read English. A good phonics programme will teach these sound combinations systematically, giving new readers the skills to decode unfamiliar words.
If you implement these strategies during your child's early years, he will have a solid grounding in English by the time he reaches school age. Later he will be able to take advantage of the wealth of resources available free on the Internet, interact with English speakers all over the world, and become part of the international community. His fluency in English will even improve his career prospects. Your early efforts to introduce him to English as a second language child will benefit your child for the rest of his life!

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Cheap Asia Travel

Traveling around Asia for more than 10 years and living in Indonesia for almost 7 years now. From my first experiences I had the feeling it was quite different to deal with domestic or international flight. For sample, in most countries when you purchase domestic flight ticket you won't get any differences price between two "one way" tickets OR one "return" ticket. Except of course a slightly discount for the return ticket.
Now, when is coming to international air travel it is harder to find Cheap Asia Travel tickets. Sometimes, you can even get cheaper return ticket. So if you plan to travel in many different cities (round trip with many transit stop) it can be hard to find good deals. However the following advice should helps you find the Asia Cheapest Flight available online.

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I separate this article in two parts, international and domestic flight.
First, let's talk about international flight. I suggest you to start by looking for the available airplane companies which deserve the concerned country you are flying to or from.
For sample, if you are in Indonesia and want to flight to Australia, you will most likely have to choose between Garuda and Quantas. There are possibilities to use other flights companies such as Malaysia Airlines or Singapore Airlines. But you will loose a lot of time during your trip as you will have to transit to this cities.
As you will see in the following article about domestic flight, Air Asia is one of my favorite when is about to flight in Indonesia. And this is also true when is to find the Asia Cheapest Flight as they deserve more than fifty cities in the region.
About domestic flight, I experienced two totally different experiences in Indonesia and Australia.
In Indonesia, if you want to buy a domestic flight ticket you will have plenty of choices. Indonesia is a vast Archipelago of tropical and Virgin Islands constitute of more than twelve's thousand islands. More than three thousands of these Islands are inhabited and I believe that more than hundreds of them get an airport. So, you can imagine the number of possibilities and market available in Indonesia. The main company airlines in Indonesia are Garuda (also provide international flight), Merpati, Mandala, Lion Air, Adam Air, Star Air, Batavia, etc..
Find the cheapest airline ticket is one thing, but don't forget about safety. I don't have any statistics about safety right now so I prefer not mention specifically any of them. But if you had read the newspaper these last few months, you probably know what I'm talking about. Some of the above names are probably famous around the world right now, but probably not for the cheapest airfare.... But don't worries too much as airplane remind one of the safest transportation systems in the world.
After you had eliminated the worst flight company from your newspaper research, you can start compare price between few of the companies. Just go to Google, type the company name and you should find their web site in manner of seconds. If you looking for ticket long in advance (let's say more than three weeks), you will find that most of ticket have similar quotes with the international and most reputed national company.....Garuda Indonesia. And that's the problem in Indonesia if you want to order domestic flight more than three weeks in advance...No cheap airfare ticket available. Obviously there is another way to find cheap domestic ticket plane if you want to order you ticket long time in advance. You can use Air Asia. They have very cheap airfare and good website. This is a service from Malaysia, and they provide many other cities and countries around Asia. A really good solution for Cheap Asia Travel.
In Indonesia, AirAsia only deserve the main cities such as Jakarta, Denpasar (Bali), Medan, Surabaya, etc... Globally, they fly over fifty cities around Asia. The service is limited (no seat pre-reserved in check-in), but it is safe and their fees really defy all concurrences for this range and types of services. They really get the Cheapest Flight in Asia I have seen so far. In Australia, it seems to works mostly like in the others western countries. More you booked in advance more chances you have to get a cheap airfare. I heard Quantas have some interesting packages available, like you buy a kind of atonement and can get great discount for a certain number of flight. If you need a lot of flights it could be advantageous. But the cheapest way to buy airline ticket is probably to book online with Blue Virgin or Jet Star. Sometimes, its worse make some deep research to get better fee. For sample, once I was looking for a cheap airfare between Sydney and Darwin. Blue Virgin offered 450 AUD (via Brisbanne) and Jet Star doesn't have this possibility. But when I check more deeply some others cities, I found out that I can get Sydney-Adelaide for 99AUD and Adelaide-Darwin for 167 AUD with Jet Star. Total 266 AUD. I just saved 184 AUD. Sometimes you will find better price with Blue Virgin. It all depends of the availability. So good search and good luck.
By the way, JetStar also provide some of the Asia Cheapest Flight as they deserve many others country such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc...

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Easy Mental Math

The problem is quite simple: you have a bunch of items, most of which are priced below USD 100, and you want to know how much they're worth all-in-all. In short, you need to do some mental addition. Some people tend to shy away from this because they think is something that would require a Nobel laureate. However, that is absolutely not the case.
Okay, let's start with simple addition of two-digit numbers. Any two-digit number comes in the form XY, where X is the first digit and Y is the second. Now, suppose we have two 2-digit numbers that we need to add: XY and ST. Sounds tricky? Here's a concrete example.

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Let's Get it On!
If a big bag of peanuts costs USD 27 and a pound of high-quality lettuce costs USD 16, then let's try to get the total amount.
Here's a quick rundown of what you would do.
1: Problem: 27 + 16
2: Split: (20 + 6) + (10 + 6)
3: Rearrange: (20 + 10) + (7 + 6)
4: Add: (30) + 13
If you would have to work on multiple numbers, the process is the same - except that you can choose to add the first two items first, and add the third item to the sum of the first two. Here's a quick example.
Not Just Two Pieces?
Suppose we also threw in a bottle of mayonnaise worth USD 12 to the bag of peanuts and the lettuce.
We first add the peanuts and lettuce, which gets us USD 43. 1: Problem: 43 + 12
2: Split: (40 + 3) + (10 + 2)
3: Rearrange: (40 + 10) + (3 + 2)
4: Add: (50) + 5
Note that the decimal places (that is, the "cents" part of the price tag) was not included in this calculation. If we included it then it would be too complicated. However, what you can do to compensate for the inaccuracy is to round the price up to the nearest whole number. For example, if the price of mayonnaise is USD 12.55, then round it up to USD 13.
As you add more and more stuff into your shopping cart, just do the same process over and over. You'll be surprised that after a little bit of practice (which takes less than 20 minutes), you'll feel like you're just one exam short of being a rocket scientist!

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Lessons From Dynamic English

Back in 1983, I was hired to teach English in rural northern Japan. I had no experience teaching, and didn't speak a work of Japanese.
No matter--I had the requisite four-year college degree and a thirst for adventure.
My employer/boss/teaching partner was Grif Frost, a 27-year-old budding entrepreneur who had married the Japanese exchange student who had once lived with his family. He ended up living near his wife's parents in Mutsu, and did what any self-respecting
English-speaking person did in Japan in 1982--he started an English school.

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Now, Grif had no experience teaching, either. He had a master's in International Management and a couple of toddlers at home. Without training, he developed an approach he called "Dynamic English"--a high-energy, full-body, take-no-prisoners form of English as pure entertainment. He focused on presenting classes that were "Fast, Fun and Friendly", and was notorious for his colorful puppets, loud singing, dramatic storytelling, and excessive sweating.
In one memorable moment, I was spreading my arms wide to demonstrate the concept of "big" when my blouse burst open. Talk about a visual aid!
We became something like rock stars among the kindergarten children. Imagine a hundred Japanese five-year-olds seeing big white Americans with squeaky oversized plastic mallets (great for elimination during "Simon Says"), an overflowing bag of what looked suspiciously like toys, and boisterous "Good Morning!" greetings. The kids would literally fall over laughing at our stunts, and never got tired of our silly songs and wild games.
We were doing what came naturally--fully engaging the students in a way that created real awareness of language, objects, directions, shapes, colors, and verbal and musical sounds. Our older students were thrilled with this active approach, so different from the "This is a pen" lessons they'd chanted in their mandatory English classes in middle school. By providing new triggers, surprising methods, and hilarious material, we were offering novel stimuli, fresh perspective, and 100% focus on the present.
Little did we know that a Harvard psychologist would later describe these same characteristics as essential for mindful learning! Dr. Ellen Langer, author of The Power of Mindful Learning, talks about the importance of being open to novelty, drawing distinctions, being aware of differing contexts and perspectives, and orienting in the present.
Learning a language can be incredibly tedious or outrageously active and exciting. We played with English and our students not only learned the lessons quickly but laughed heartily, burned calories, and created a whole new mindset about what it takes to learn something new.
Grif relied on mindful learning in developing his approach to teaching English--he was completely open from the beginning, and was never hampered by ideas of what teaching should look like.
He was creative about using games and songs he'd loved as a kid and turning them into fresh and powerful tools for teaching. He shifted the lesson plans when dealing with various age groups and English levels, and constantly improved his approach by paying attention to the responses and being fearless about making changes and trying out new ideas.
Instead of sticking with the meditation lesson plan, I've opted for the excitement of learning mindfulness in a way that is thoroughly engaging and surprisingly active. In fact, the basic guidelines for Real-World Mindfulness Training are remarkably similar to those for Dynamic English:
* Stay open to new things--including your approach to learning in general.
* Look for subtle differences in similar objects or ideas.
* Discover new uses for old tools.
* Explore shifting perspectives.
* Shake up stale notions.
* Engage all senses.
* Get physical whenever possible.
* Jump into the moment wholeheartedly.
* Be sure to have fun every single day.
Whether you're learning a language or developing mindfulness, the key is this: keep it dynamic.
And never underestimate the value of large squeaky plastic mallets.

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Buying The Best Furniture For School Laboratory

Buying furniture for a high school science laboratory involves watchful consideration of the sort of experiments which will be carried on there. In addition, the requirements of the students must be regarded who will be using the laboratory. For instance, a science laboratory that is designed to endorse learning through teamwork needs science tables to facilitate multiple students. In the same way, personal tables are ideal for science laboratories that are made for sustaining independent learning.

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Seating
Seating is an important element of the furniture of a high school science laboratory. It comprises of chairs and stools that are well-suited with the tables. Even though most of the students prefer to stand during experiments, majority of the science laboratories consist of an instructional part for the period of sitting while the teacher is giving a lesson. Other furnishing elements in a science lab involve precise requirements of the school, for example storage units and shelving.
Science Tables
Science tables are available in an array of diverse styles and dimensions. These tables offer a wide surface area that is perfect for conducting experiments (although the dimensions of the tabletop may disagree). Standard size of a science table is typically 24"x48" to 24"x60". This size may vary significantly, however. Usually big tables are perfect for multiple use. On the other hand, small tables are functional for separate laboratories.
Another important consideration is to evaluate the material used in the science tables. Ideal surface in science table should be both chemical as well as fire-retardant. It helps defending the students and furniture against potential accidents.
Storage space, a sink, wheels and overhead storage are other important aspects of a science table.
Important Considerations for Middle School Science Laboratory Furniture
The fundamental requirements of a middle school science laboratory are same as those for a high school. It is essential however to cautiously regard the average height of the students while buying science laboratory furniture for a middle school. Typically middle school students feel comfortable in utilizing furniture that is designed for adults. However if the middle school science laboratory is intended to be used by grade six student, it is recommended to purchase small-scale furniture accordingly. Laboratory table accessories such as stools and chairs should be hard-wearing, durable and storage areas must be easy-to-use for middle school students.
Where to Buy School Laboratory Furniture
You can buy school laboratory furniture from a conventional furniture store near you or via online. Another good idea is directly buying used furniture from schools that are renovating their laboratories. However you need to ensure that the furniture bought is not broken, outmoded or old-fashioned. Remember, the role of the laboratory is central in the contemporaneity as well as repute of your school.

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Boosting Middle Schoolers Test Taking Confidence

What is it about 6th grade math that makes it so tough on first year middle school students? The jump from an elementary school to middle school can be very stressful to a ten or an eleven year old. Upon entering a new environment, these 6th grade students have many things on their mind:
Where are my classes? What level of math class are my friends taking? How will I ever going to remember my locker combination... Despite having these thoughts, 6th graders are exposed to a broad world of mathematics. A great way to tackle 6thgrade math is to learn to be confident about doing it.

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Tips to increase a student's confidence before a math exam

Chat with your classmates
Simply talking about that newly learned basic fraction concept or that right triangle question with another 6th grade math student would help your understanding.
Ask other students when you feel confused. When you are confused about a simple algebra equation or an inequality with absolute value, asking other math students can help you understand. Learning from your classmates is the best way, since adult explanations are often complex and, sometimes, superfluous.
Asking questions is active participation. In developing an understanding of fundamental concepts, 6th grade math students should always ask questions about confusing math concepts that they do not understand.
Actively asking your questions can greatly reduce your inner anxiety. Simply knowing that other 6th grade math students around you care about your learning helps to motivate you and boosts your math confidence. No longer should you think that math is a dry and lonesome subject.
Start a habit of completing all homework assignments and checking them
Middle school math follows the same concept. 6th grade math students should allot time at home to practice homework problems.
Early on in elementary school, there might not be math homework for majority of the week. But, middle school math covers a broader scope of knowledge so that middle school math teachers assign more homework problems.
6th grade math students should start a habit of setting aside a certain amount of time everyday to complete math homework. At first, the increasing number of math homework problems may seem daunting.
I remember how much I had protested for playtime during my early middle school years... My mom and dad would listen to me but explain just how important completing my math homework is.
Missing a day or two might not be a big deal, but it hurts in the long run. If you do not develop a proper doing-math-homework time, then, most likely than not, you will never be able to catch up on or understand new math materials.
Seeing other 6th grade math students succeed while you fall behind depletes your math confidence.
Through continuous practice of those math homework problems, you will solve similar math problems more quickly. Speed matters most on getting a high score on your math test. Prepare early for math tests. Study small chunks of math materials/notes each day.
Studying requires the proper distribution of work. Cramming is an ineffective study technique. Middle school math students who cram for a math test cannot commit the essential algebra equations or the geometry formulas into their memory.
Ineffective memorization comes back to haunt the students later on. They will have trouble recalling what they have learned on cumulative math exams or in higher-level math courses. Persistent cramming can increase the math students' stress and anxiety. Not willing to change their studying techniques, these middle school math students feel more pressured in studying and less confident to do well.

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How to Study Elementary Grade Math

Is it really that hard to study Mathematics, even elementary grade math? How then can you help your kids study Mathematics and make it easy for them? We can instill in our kids study habits which will help them a lot especially in studying mathematics.
Here are some studying tips that you can use or impart to your child/children and which will make Math learning easier for all of you:
• Go to class everyday. You may laugh at this because it would sound so ordinary a tip but you should realize that mathematics is a subject that is collective or cumulative. Everyday there are new concepts to learn and become skilled at.
• Listen well during Math class. There are sometimes tips that are suddenly discussed in passing and if you did not listen well then you might miss that important tip or trick that may be emphasized during the discussion and which may be useful in the future.

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• Jot down everything. Make notes of everything that is being discussed or written on the board. There are times when what is being discussed would seem so easy and simple but once your child get down to doing the procedure himself he would find out that it is not really that easy. Good notes will serve as a very good guide and reminder in solving the mathematical problem/s. It should compliment and go hand-in-hand with our tip on listening well and can be done simultaneously and easily with practice.
• Do not hesitate to ask questions. If something is not clear or you do not understand, ASK! • Listen to others who post or ask their questions. When others ask their questions, listen well. You would not know if you might just be listening to the answer to your own questions or you might be listening to a question and answer that you have not crossed your mind.
• Always review your notes. Taking a look at or reviewing your notes often will help you prepare questions for portions or concepts that you may find puzzling or you need to delve into.
• Be sure of the Math symbols you use. Mathematics has a lot of symbols or notations being used specifically in its formulas and equations. Always be sure that you have the correct notations for specific concepts or equations.
• Put formulas and concepts on separate index cards. This will help you memorize these formulas or concepts easily and you can check them out and study them during your spare time.
• Join a study group. If you are having a hard time or are getting confused with your Mathematics concepts, joining a study group will help you get a better perspective and grip on these concepts or formulas.
• Practice. Practice makes perfect so they say and Mathematics is one area where it is important to practice your concepts and formulas. Being able to provide solutions to various math problems or with various scenarios will not only promote but enhance your math skills more.
• Have time to study. Being able to understand or comprehend Math concepts and formulas does not equate to mastering them. You should be able to work on studying and working on your assignments as well as preparing for evaluation tests thus you need to have enough time to study well.
• Have fun while taking on Math. Whenever you have to take on Math lessons or skills tests, it is best to do them with fun. Have fun by playing Math board games, skills tests or brain twisters while tackling your Math concepts and enhancing your skills in problem solving. Your attitude towards the study of Math will make it easier for you to learn it. A positive attitude will widen your perspective on things and remember Math is all about how you perceive things in a broad way
Looking back at your scores and previous tests will help a lot to enhance your Math skills because you will be able to concentrate on those areas which you found confusing before. So keep those old exams and skills tests.
• Do not hesitate to ask for help. When after doing everything you can and you still need answers to some of your questions then ASK FOR HELP!

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Elementary and Middle School Science

Back in the old days, a typical school science weather forecaster consisted of a three dial unit that told temperature, humidity and barometric pressure. Things have changed. Today, elementary science datalogger technology, also referred to as probeware with sensors, designed specifically for science education can still tell those three things, but a whole lot more.

These systems are easy enough to be operated and understood by an elementary school student and yet powerful enough to be used in advanced science applications. The new educational technology includes a portable datalogger that acts like a mini weather station. Designed especially for younger students, this handheld device contains five built-in sensors and an LCD display. It's ideal for displaying and recording daily weather patterns and supplies real time data on sound, light, temperature, humidity and barometric pressure.

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This type of hand held device can also include ports for plugging in a wide range of additional sensors. This type of unit can be used for observing and collecting data on things such as motion, heart rate, pH levels, voltage and many others. You simply plug the sensor in and start collecting data. Many of the new sensor technologies auto-identify the sensors and are auto-calibrated to save time and frustration in getting the unit up and running. It's easy to use and the kids in the class love it because they are more engaged with this 'hands-on' approach to learning.
The newest technology runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, similar to those found in most cell phones. The advanced battery technology allows the new, innovative technology to collect data for over thirty days on a single charge.
Data logging software is an integral part of the technology package. It is critical for displaying real-time data for students and many new software packages are very easy to use. You can download data that's been collected away from the computer, analyze it and even copy the chart or graph into other applications such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Excel. There's quite a bit of technology packed into these compact, pocket-sized, easy-to-use mini weather stations. Whether directly hooked up to a computer or on its own outside the classroom, these mini data loggers do an incredible job of supplying information to the user. And it makes learning fun for the class, as it's a hands-on unit that delivers immediate feedback on the changing conditions it's monitoring.

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Franchise in Indonesia

In Indonesia, the franchise system began to be known in the 1950s, with the advent of motor vehicle dealers through the purchase of a license. In order for a franchise can evolve rapidly, the main requirements that must be owned by one territory is a binding legal certainty for both the franchiser and the franchisee.Therefore, we can see that in a country that has a clear legal certainty, franchise fast-growing, for example in the U.S. and Japan. Benchmark for certainty of law will be the format franchising in Indonesia began on 18 June 1997, by the issuance of Government Regulation (PP), Republic of. 16 of 1997 on Franchising. PP. 16 year 1997 about this franchise has been revoked and replaced by Regulation no 42 of 2007 on Franchising.

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Furthermore, other provisions that support the rule of law in business format franchising is as follows:
Decree of the Minister of Industry and Trade Decree no. 259/MPP/KEP/7/1997 Date July 30, 1997 on the provisions of Business Registration Procedure of Franchising.
Regulation of the Minister of Industry and Trade Decree no. 31/M-DAG/PER/8/2008 Concerning Franchising
Law no. 14 of 2001 on Patents.
Law no. 30 of 2000 regarding Trade Secret.
Many people are still skeptical of legal certainty, especially in the field of franchising in Indonesia. However, the current legal certainty to try to format franchising is much better than before 1997. This can be seen from the increasing number of umbrella laws that can protect the franchise business. The developments of franchising in Indonesia, particularly in the field of fast food restaurants are very rapid. This is possible because our entrepreneurs as a receiver-based franchise (franchisees) are required to develop its business through a master franchise received by searching or appoint franchisee continued. Using the pyramid system or cell system, a network of business format franchise will continue to expand. There are several franchise associations in Indonesia, among others APWINDO (Indonesian Franchise Association), WALI (Franchise & License Indonesia), AFI (Indonesian Franchise Association). There are several franchise consultants in Indonesia, among others IFBM, The Bridge, Hans Consulting, FT Consulting, Ben Warg Consulting, JSI and others. There were several exhibition Franchise in Indonesia which regularly hold roadshows in various regional and national outreach, among others, the International Franchise and Business Concept Expo (Dyandra), License Expo Indonesia (Panorama convex), Info Franchise Expo (Neo and Magazine Indonesia).
Two of the new comers in this industry are Bobby Steak and Simply Homy - Guest House.

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Private School Test Preparation

Most private schools require an admissions test as part of the admissions process. The two most common tests are the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) and the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT), and there are several other tests used by parochial schools.

Timelines

Dates, fees and times offered vary by test and schools have different admission deadlines. Why Take a Test?

The same rationale carries through from private school testing to admissions tests used when entering colleges and universities and then graduate schools. Additionally, private schools use the test to help place students in academic programs where they will succeed. Each school evaluates test scores according to its own standards and requirements.

Independent School Entry Exam

The Independent School Entry Exam (ISEE), offered by the Educational Records Bureau (ERB) has three versions: the Lower Level is for applicants to grades 5 and 6, the Middle Level for grades 7 and 8, and the Upper Level for grades 9 to 12. The ERB offers free "What to Expect on the ISEE" preparation material for each level and a comprehensive student guide with testing dates at their web site.
At each of its three levels, the ISEE consists of three parts: carefully constructed and standardized verbal and quantitative reasoning tests that measure capability for learning; reading comprehension and mathematics achievement tests that provide specific information about a student's strengths and weaknesses in those areas; and, an essay section.
ISEE test results include a Test Profile, which contains information on how the student's performance compares to other candidates in the same grade who have taken the test in the past three years. The Analysis section gives detailed information on the individual student's strengths and weaknesses, based on the specific types of questions he or she responded to on the ISEE test.

Secondary School Admission Test

The Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) is administered on two levels: the Lower, for students in grades 5 through 7, and the Upper, for students in grades 8 through 11. The multiple-choice aptitude test consists of verbal questions to test vocabulary, verbal reasoning and ability to relate to ideas logically; quantitative (math) questions to test ability to solve problems involving arithmetic, elementary algebra and geometry, and concepts; and, reading comprehension sections.
In addition, the test includes a writing sample portion, which asks students to respond to a topic statement. A study guide with practice tests is available for $29 from the web site.

SSAT results include scaled scores - verbal, quantitative, reading and total - as well as percentile ranks for each category, compared with other students taking the SSAT over the past three years. For students in grades 5-9, national percentile rankings are provided to compare the student's performance to the national student population, including those not taking the SSAT. For students in grades 7-10, the results also predict twelfth grade SAT scores.


Other Private School Tests

Other tests - primarily used by parochial high schools - are the Cooperative Admission Exam Program (COOP), which provides a sample test and student handbook at their web site, and the Test for Admission into Catholic High Schools (TACH), which provides a student handbook at their web site. The High School Placement Test (HSPT) from Scholastic Testing Service also is used by parochial schools and other schools for testing eighth graders for placement into high school.

Other Test Preparation

In addition to the free ISEE prep materials, numerous private companies offer test preparation classes, and a variety of test preparation books are available at bookstores to help students get ready for these private school admission tests. It is recommended that students take a few practice tests to become familiar with their format before taking the actual test.

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