TESTING – Rounds 1 and 2

The deadline for completed applications for Kindergarten was Wednesday, November 18th. Applications will no longer be accepted. For those who completed applications and Stanford-Binet 5 testing with an approved psychologist, Round 1 decision letters will be mailed on December 21st, 2009. The cut off scores will be posted on this site at the same time.

More detailed information is available in the application packet.

There are two rounds of testing. In the first round, the parent takes the child to an approved psychologist, who is trained to give an assessment of intellectual reasoning, the Stanford-Binet, Fifth Edition (SB5), for HCES.

The only scores eligible for consideration are those from the first administration of the SB5, given during the period of September 8, 2009 to December 8, 2009. Children, who have had experience with the SB5 any time within one year of administration of the test for HCES admissions, are ineligible to apply.

Parents are required to pay the fee of $275 to the psychologist. Full fee waivers are available to those who qualify. More information is available in the application. Please contact the Admissions Director if you need further information.

There are two rounds of testing. Round 1 starts after parents submit their application. Parents receive an appointment card for the child to sit for the Stanford-Binet, Fifth Edition (SB5), which is administered individually by an approved psychologist. When the parent calls one of the 2009-2010 psychologists to schedule an appointment for their child to be tested, the parent will then send the appointment card with either the fee for the test or the fee waiver letter from the admissions office.

■ Reasonable accommodations to the testing requirements will be made for children with documented learning or physical difficulties. Please contact the Admissions Director for more specific information about possible testing accommodations.

■ The SB5 is available only in English. The child must have adequate fundamental skills in English to benefit from the HCES program. Please contact the Admissions Director for more specific information about languages other than English.

■ The psychologist will send a report of the child’s SB5 score to the parents and to the admissions office. Children who score at or above an eligibility score are invited to a second round of testing at the school (“Round2”). The Director of Admissions determines the cut-off score based upon the approximately 200 spaces available in the on-site testing. Parents receive a letter at each stage of the admissions process as to whether or not their child will receive further consideration.

■ If a child is eligible to attend the on-site testing, there are two important documents included in the letter notifying the parent of the testing date and time. The Parents’ Observation form and the Preschool Teachers’ Observation form request specific information about the child’s observed behaviors. There is no essay.

■ At “Round 2,” children meet in small groups, where trained consultants observe the child’s behaviors in individual and group tasks, as well as in interacting with peers and a teacher. The testing room simulates a typical preschool classroom.

■ The Director of Admissions offers placements to 24 boys and 24 girls based upon the recommendations of the HCES admissions committee. All information from the application and from the evaluation processes is de-identified, so that the admissions selection committee bases decisions without knowledge of the child’s name or family. Selection is primarily determined by the observations collected during Round 2.

■ A waiting list of 12 boys and 12 girls is generated from the Round 2 finalists. In the event of vacancies at HCES, the waiting list is used to fill vacancies until the start of the third grade

Far more eligible children seek admission to the Hunter College Elementary School than can be placed. The process does not mean that children who are ineligible are not intellectually gifted.

We thank you for considering testing your child for Hunter College Elementary School as a possible opportunity for your child and for HCES.