STS is pleased to announce the debut of the HSPT® E-Score CD-Rom. The E-Score allows schools to test students individually or to provide make-up tests and receive immediate results. STS ships the CD-Rom for free and schools may purchase test sessions in groups of 5 or 10. All that is required for testing is a PC that runs Windows 2000, XP or Vista. For more information on the E-Score, call 1.800.642.6STS.
How many of our nation’s CEOs or leading businessmen can be described as simply “a very nice guy”? Dr. O.F. “Bud” Anderhalter, the late president and co-founder of Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. (STS), was one of the rare few who was described simply and powerfully as a very nice guy. Many of those who knew Dr. Anderhalter had no idea that he’d founded a successful testing company. They knew him instead as a dedicated family man, golfer, and liturgist, who was almost always wearing a suit.
Dr. Anderhalter passed away on February 11, 2008 just three days before his 86th birthday. He was a beloved figure at Scholastic Testing Service, a former mathematics professor at St. Louis University, and the proud grandfather of 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. He will continue to be dearly missed by his loved ones as well as his STS and church families.
With fondest memories,
John D. Kauffman, Ph.D.
Scholastic Testing Service, Inc.
In response to inquires from educators regarding our gifted assessments, Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. now offers the Torrance® Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), Figural Forms A & B in Spanish. This new edition provides a Spanish edition of the Directions Manual and Response Booklets to help students who are not yet proficient in English.
The Figural TTCT is available at all levels, kindergarten through adult. This instrument has been used widely throughout the world to help in the identification of the creatively gifted. The TTCT has also been proven to be effective with diverse student populations because examinees draw their responses from their own personal experiences.
Order the Torrance® Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) in English or Spanish to help with your gifted assessments. Two forms are available for those schools that wish to pre- and posttest.
At this time of year, many 8th graders and their families are making final decisions about which high school they will attend for the following school year. If your prospective high school uses the HSPT® as a part of their admissions process, then making sure your HSPT® scores get where they need to be is a big concern.
While many assume that the HSPT® score distribution system is similar to college entrance exams like the SAT and ACT, it is actually quite different. There is no national coding system for the HSPT®. Many high schools test independently, so the results for the students that test there are sent only to that location. In some geographic regions, a cooperative of high schools test collectively, often under the direction of a Catholic diocesan education department. In these cases, students may be presented with the option of sending their scores to several different high schools by coding them on their answer sheet on test day.
Whether your high school tests individually or cooperatively, the distribution of test results to students and their families is always determined by the school or diocese.
If you have not yet received a copy of your test scores, and you believe you should have, or if you need to have your scores sent to another high school, the first step is always to contact the high school where you or your student tested. Because the schools and dioceses determine their own score distribution systems, we can never send results to a student unless the request is made by the school or diocese that administered the test to the student.
STS congratulates all graduating 8th graders on the upcoming completion of their elementary education and wishes them the best of luck as they embark on the adventure of an enriching high school education at any one of the excellent high schools that utilize the HSPT® as a part of their admissions process.
Recently, I received a note from the Texas Association for Gifted and Talented that really surprised me. According to TAGT, there are day care centers in some Texas districts, that rename themselves as preschools. These agencies then order the standardized tests used by districts for the purpose of screening and identifying gifted students.
Certain assessments, including standardized tests, have been recognized as serving districts well in the identification process of potential giftedness in students.When these assessments are used to “prep” students for gifted testing, the security/validity of the testing instruments has been jeopardized by these schools. This is even more disconcerting when you consider that district coordinators have few options when choosing standardized tests/instruments to use in the identification process for giftedness. It is totally inappropriate for districts to attempt to serve students in a gifted program when those students were unfairly advantaged through preliminary test preparation. Districts need to be aware of this practice and monitor their identification processes to insure that truly gifted students are the ones being identified.
STS offers products to identify and serve all students who demonstrate high potential and gifted capabilities.We hope that we can all work together to make sure that testing instruments are used appropriately.
“The Creativity Man,” E. Paul Torrance, was recently celebrated at the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) in Minneapolis on November 10. The celebration also featured the “Torrance Kids”, who were part of the original group of students tested for the development of the Torrance® Tests of Creative Thinking. These “Torrance Kids” became successful attorneys, inventors, and entrepreneurs. Their success is further evidence of the predictive validity of the Torrance Tests and further proof of the importance of identifying and supporting creatively gifted children.
After the NAGC conference, many of Dr. Torrance’s colleagues and admirers agreed to work to establish an international network of educational professionals who will continue to emphasize Dr. Torrance’s legacy. This mission is crucial because the current educational climate often ignores the diverse needs of gifted students.
With so much emphasis on No Child Left Behind, it is often said that the gifted can get along all right “in spite of us.” But neglecting creatively gifted youth would be disastrous for our country’s future. If the gifted are undiscovered who will be our nation’s leaders? Who will be our great problem solvers? Who will be those who think “outside the box?” Who will be the next “Torrance Kids”?
We must also remember that the gifted among us may also be struggling with learning disabilities. In fact, the legendary “Creativity Man” considered himself to be learning disabled. Dr. Torrance wrote many articles about the “Learning Disabled Gifted” to enlighten and encourage others, and Garnet Millar documented Dr. Torrance’s personal struggles in his biography, The Creativity Man.
To nurture the next generation of “Torrance Kids”, educators must be
> encouraged to discover the creatively gifted in their classrooms.
> Taught to see the “learning disabled gifted” and given screening
> tools that can assess
> students from all backgrounds – including underserved and
> underrepresented
> communities.
STS is committed to discovering and nurturing the “Torrance Kids” among us. Tell us what you are doing in your schools and communities to help this underserved population.
Social networking is in theory a great idea. People of all demographics are able to share information and learn about others from the comfort of their own homes. However, are you aware of how colleges and employers are using “facebooking” as part of their screening process?
There’s a great new exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago called Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. I recently visited this exhibit and it’s a must see for the whole family.
The Star Wars exhibit is divided into four different areas including an artifacts display, design lab, robot theater, and Millennium Falcon. Among the featured artifacts are the actual costumes of Han Solo, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Storm Troopers, and Sand People. There are also mini replicas of the Star Destroyer, AT-AT Walker and the Millennium Falcon. Did you know that the Millennium Falcon was originally 70 pounds? By the time they made The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, director George Lucas had to cut the weight back by half because the falcon was doing too many twists and turns.
The Design Lab features an engineering based approach to the transportation created for the movie. Here you can build a magnetic speedster with legos and magnets and then test it out by propelling it across a magnetic track.
The Robot Theater is a place where C-P30 takes you into the land of robots. He talks about some of the robots in the movies and discusses the real life robots of today. Star Wars helped launch the robot industry because it showed how useful robots could be.
Finally the Millennium Falcon is outside the exhibit. You can sit in the cockpit of the falcon and experience a simulation of traveling at light speed. Make sure you get your timed boarding pass for the Millennium Falcon before entering the rest of the exhibit. Boarding passes are usually gone by noon.
This exhibit runs through January 6, 2008. Don’t miss your chance to see this. Order your tickets now at www.msichicago.org and share your experiences at the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit.
Are cell phones coming to your elementary school? A recent article from the Clarion-Ledger in Mississippi addresses the controversial subject of parents buying cell phones for younger children.
The organization for National School Safety and Security opposes the possession of cell phones during school hours. The nation’s largest school district, the New York City Public School System, has also banned the possession of cell phones during the school day despite strong opposition from parents and students (to read more, click here). But with companies like Verizon, Cingular, and Enforma designing phones specifically for children between the ages of 8-14, the cell phone debate is moving from the high school and junior high arena and into the elementary schools. Feel free to share with us how your school district is handling this issue.
STS is pleased to announce the debut of the HSPT® E-Score CD-Rom. The E-Score allows schools to test students individually or to provide make-up tests and receive immediate results. STS ships the CD-Rom for free and schools may purchase test sessions in groups of 5 or 10. All that is required for testing is a PC that runs Windows 2000, XP or Vista. For more information on the E-Score, call 1.800.642.6STS.
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How many of our nation’s CEOs or leading businessmen can be described as simply “a very nice guy”? Dr. O.F. “Bud” Anderhalter, the late president and co-founder of Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. (STS), was one of the rare few who was described simply and powerfully as a very nice guy. Many of those who knew Dr. Anderhalter had no idea that he’d founded a successful testing company. They knew him instead as a dedicated family man, golfer, and liturgist, who was almost always wearing a suit.
his 86th birthday. He was a beloved figure at Scholastic Testing Service, a former mathematics professor at St. Louis University, and the proud grandfather of 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. He will continue to be dearly missed by his loved ones as well as his STS and church families.
There’s a great new exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago called Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. I recently visited this exhibit and it’s a must see for the whole family.