Academic Preparation

As Northmount is a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 Boys School, we recognize the importance of helping our young scholars get into their high school of choice. Getting into the high school of choice is heavily dependent upon good grades, SSAT Scores, and in some cases EQAO results as well as other standardized test results. In addition to marks, most Independent High Schools rely heavily on an interview with the student and his parents as well as his presentation of a portfolio. Throughout their Northmount experience, our boys are prepared for their admission challenge in Grade 8 in the following ways:

Canadian Achievement Test (CAT3)

Students in Grades 2, 4, 5, & 7 write the Canadian Achievement Test

Ontario Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) test

The EQAO is written by all students in grades 3 and 6 in the government funded systems as a means of assessing how they are meeting the overall curriculum mandate of the Province of Ontario. This exam will also help the boys adjust to the rigors of the SSAT that they will write in Grade 8. Along with preparing the boys for the SSAT, both the CAT and the EQAO provide valuable information to the school on how well the boys are doing and in identifying items that students are still missing. This exam gets our students into the routine of writing time specific standardized exams. We don’t put a lot of pressure on the boys, but they start to understand the difference between this type of test and those that their teachers prepare for them.

This past year, the CAT and the EQAO revealed the shortcomings in the areas of "making inferences" and "making connections" in Reading; and with "data management" in Math. Our teachers were then able to work with these items throughout the current year and help students grow in their overall academic ability.

Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT)

Students in Grade 8 write the SSAT – for the most part! Parents need to register their son to write this exam and typically only boys who are going on to an Independent High School will do so. The SSAT is very rigorous. Students from Northmount do well on this exam because of the program they receive with us and because our students are given preparation sessions throughout the fall to prepare for the exam. Many parents will also sign their son up for private lessons as well as purchase practice exercise books.

Interview

Students, throughout their Northmount experience, are given opportunities for public speaking, both in class in Morning Assembly, where some of the fear usually associated with speaking in front of others starts to lessen. They also meet with Faculty in their Grade 8 year and talk about the interviews they will face and are given strategies to help prepare for the interview.

Portfolios

We take great pride in our boys when they are accepted into their high school of choice. As you can see we work very hard at helping them get there. Some of the Independent High Schools, and many of the specialty programs within the government funded system, require students to present a portfolio of their work. Our boys start to work on a portfolio in Kindergarten and continue to do so until the end of Grade 8. In both Grade 7 and 8 the portfolio changes in format from that which they used in lower grades. The portfolio takes on a more "professional" feel and look and allows for a change in order and arrangement depending on the interview the student is going to go through.