Well, the PSAT is out of 1520 and SAT is 1600, so it’s more nuanced than that.
Reference: my LPS averages are 1350 and 30.
Yes and no. The PSAT is also much easier and the SAT covers material that is farther on, so the extra questions are no advantage. Taking the SAT in the fall of your 10th grade year and getting a 730 in Math is impressive, and as I said the I think the verbal may be in context of another first language.
If you want to see where the rubber meets the road look at the number off National Merit Finalists Stuyesant HS produces every year. That is a school that is entry by test, so it makes sense.
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Have we not yet figured out that while a good SAT score can be helpful in college admissions, it’s really not the most important metric. Top boarding schools are not SAT test prep academies. Their goal is a rigorous education - in many areas that are not measured by the SAT. The fact that public schools in affluent areas have similar average SAT scores is more a testament to how much test prep is paid for by those with means to achieve those high scores.
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Oh sure, and Commonwealth is even smaller - I think another key difference is, for Commonwealth or a BUA (another small day school with high scores), they select for academics (and niceness/interestingness) not for other hooks. They don’t recruit for sports or filling a big musical group etc in the same way. Also those 2 are newer schools, so virtually no legacy students (yet).
I don’t know enough about St. Mark’s to guess…
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That is true. In addition to focusing on athletics and arts, the bigger schools in the North East have to make their classes diverse with students from many international countries and are also need-blind, which may contribute to this score profile. Also, their focus is more on rigorous academics as @NYMom139 pointed out.
PSAT is easier than SAT but most of the material in SAT math ( now more geometry and some trig with digital SAT) are all covered by 10th grade for most students.
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I mean I somewhat disagree- I got a 35 on my ACT with zero test prep- and I know others like that too. So I think it’s that those with the means to pay have access to better public schools.
100% and I don’t think one way is right, or wrong, but do lead to different outcomes (by this measure).
I have one kid in a (good) LPS and one in a small rigorous day and the level of work is night and day. Both are getting solid educations, but one will think college is very, very easy, other will just be prepared.
That said, I have a good friend whose kid goes to a boarding school with a low acceptance rate and the coursework seems much closer to LPS…(and parent thinks easier than her LPS back in day).
Personally I think no assumptions should be made about schools without clear data:)
I applied to Commonwealth lo these many years ago, so they must have some legacies. I think probably a few though because it is small, back then it was tiny. It was def the most interesting and intellectual school I applied to, but they had no FA to offer then so had to choose another.
Covered before the beginning of 10th grade, which is when OP took it? I would say by spring yes, but most kids doing Alegebra II and Geometry in 9th & 10th and schools vary the order.
Just putting this here for OP. Note the info on expected improvement in score. I think this information that admissions will have:
You are totally right, Commonwealth is older (My memory was fuzzy on founding date). But odds of one taking advantage are pretty low since so few alums and such a niche school. I do know BUA has had 1 (2?) so far, though of course more will come online pretty rapidly now.
Anyway, I still think the smaller day schools can (and do) focus more on pure academics as they don’t need to fill so many other sorts of slots (filling the squash team or the musical) and I assume value SSAT more. BUA/Commonwealth aren’t test optional either.
And all neither here nor there - the schools are very different experience. I went to a biggish boarding school and it feels/felt very different than a Commonwealth, for sure. I believe the culture of my own HS has change some, but back then it definitely wasn’t cool to be the smart kid and care about grades.
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Like you, we live in an area with several BS and day schools. We found that the students at day schools were far more likely to go all-in on test prep – parents secretly guarding the names of the “best” tutors, starting prep the summer after freshman year, etc. The BS kids were less likely to prep and then, if they did, in a weekly class on campus.
I’m not sure if this was the result of more parent involvement of day parents, no time in a BS student’s day for this, or other things. It was, however, a notable difference.
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I agree with you on this. Among other factors, I think one thing that has changed at boarding school which has led to more SAT/ACT tutor prep than in the past has simply been the use of Zoom, with its inherent remote scheduling flexibility.
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I suspect that could be true (though I haven’t really seen an obsession with test prep beyond what i would think is a fairly normal approach around here - may exisit though) and simultaneously also they have higher SSATs going in.
While I am sure different parents have different motivations for sending their child to a BS, I will share that my motivation has nothing to do with getting a high SAT score. Not to mention that would be a lot of pressure on a kid. My motivation is to ensure that I am putting my child in a school where I believe she will be happy and thrive (small classes, lots of opportunities to connect with teachers, etc.). My son is coming up after her and is academically exceptional (99% on standardized tests) and while he would do well in the classes offered at a BS, he would hate the sports requirement and 6 days a week of school. So, what will make him happy will be a local day school.
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Well that’s the purpose of BS- this proves nobody should be sending their kid to BS because they think they will be more prepared academically (if they have a good LPS, most do not have SAT averages of 1350). Private school is pretty uncommon in my district (besides catholic) because we’re a very small public school (avg class size is 15 or so, I have plenty of classes much smaller). I totally get that most public districts are not like that, but people should not be sending their kids to BS purely for college prep (again, if they are in a good public system).
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FWIW, I’ve noticed that many BS have seriously modified their sports requirement and now have an afternoon activity requirement that includes theater, robotics, yoga, etc. And that Saturday classes seem to be the exception among the schools we looked at. Just in case someone else is considering BS w those concerns!
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To add to this: I go to a quite rigorous magnet school. Since I knew I would get a good enough score, I did not prep for the SAT or the PSAT. I was able to read a few more books.