"We prepare students to engage in the world that is and to help bring about a world that ought to be."
Friends Drops Admissions Tests for Young Children
After consultation with other schools, Friends determined that standardized tests for Kindergarten and Grade 1 applicants were not effective tools.
The Class of 2027 will enter Friends Seminary through a different path than students have in recent years. Beginning this admissions season, Friends will no longer require Kindergarten and Grade 1 applicants to take a test administered by the Educational Records Bureau (ERB). The School based the decision on the findings of a task force commissioned by the Independent School Admissions Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY), of which Harriet Burnett, Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management, was a member. Friends is one of two schools to drop the testing requirement before ISAAGNY formally sent a letter to its member schools in mid September.
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The primary issue is that the test is not a valid predictor of future academic success," said Harriet. "Test prep companies were becoming so common that people considered them a legitimate business. It has become too easy prepare and earn high scores."
The ERB has administered the test since 1966. It charges a fee per student although financial assistance is available. Initially, the idea of a uniform assessment for all independent schools benefitted both educators and students. However, in recent years, as admissions has become more competitive—especially in New York City—it became too easy to work around the system.
Harriet emphasized that previous classes were not shortchanged. "The test is just one element of a thorough process. We strongly believe it is unfair to put so much pressure on young children and families to take a test on which we can no longer rely and which has become the most stressful part of the process. This isn't a decision you make quickly. We needed the years of data to assess the true value of the tests."
Friends Seminary actively promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in all its programs and operations, including admissions, financial aid, hiring, and all facets of the educational experience. To form a community which strives to reflect the world’s diversity, we do not discriminate on the basis of race or color, religion, nationality, ethnicity, economic background, physical ability, sex, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. Friends Seminary is an equal opportunity employer.
Friends Seminary — the oldest continuously operated, coeducational school in NYC — serves college-bound day students in Kindergarten-Grade 12.
