Please join us for the Entrance Examination on Saturday, February 25.
Required: Two #2 pencils and a check payable to CLS in the amount of $50.00. Students should arrive a minimum of 15 minutes prior to the examination start time to allow for registration and check in. The examination takes roughly 3 ½ hours, including two breaks for students in which refreshments are provided.
Exam Overview
Latin School administers the Scholastic Testing Service (STS) Educational Development Measurement Evaluation . Students taking our entrance exam should currently be 5th, 6th or 7th graders. There is no realistic way to study for the exam-students often say "either you know it or you don't", but a good night's sleep and breakfast are highly recommended.
The examination assesses progress in three foundational areas: mathematics, reading comprehension and language. Scores are compiled in national percentiles; in effect, your child’s achievement will be reported in comparison to all other fifth, sixth and seventh graders who take the test nationally. Each of the three areas are further divided into two categories:
Math Computation measures a student's knowledge of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The student must compute problems of varying degrees of difficulty. No calculators are to be used. Math Reasoning measures the student's ability to solve math concepts and problems.
Reading Vocabulary measures vocabulary. Reading Comprehension measures a student's understanding of short passages.
Writing List measures the mechanics of grammar. Language Arts measures a student's understanding of sentence construction, phrases and clauses and language expression.
Scoring
The Battery Average is the composite of all six categories. This score is the strongest single indicator of a student's suitability for the Latin School curriculum.
After we have received and analyzed the entrance exam results, prospective student will be notified of their score and admissions decision by mail. A comprehensive discussion and explanation of the entrance examination and results, is available through the following parent meeting (the date and time of which will be included in the decision letter). Registration and tuition assistance information will be made available that evening. Parents have historically found this evening to be extremely valuable and we strongly encourage all families to at least have one parent present.
Admissability
For 5th graders taking the exam, an overall score of 90% or better will be considered for admission. For 6th and 7th graders taking the exam, an overall score of 85% or better will be considered for admission. Each individual applicant is reviewed extensively to ensure that the admissions committee arrives at an accurate conclusion. Underperforming students are strongly encouraged to retake the examination at the next opportunity.
Please contact Carl Goodmonson, Director of Admissions, with any additional questions on testing or results.