Over the past few weeks, the eighth graders either took the HSPT or the ISEE. Last weekend, I took the HSPT at La Salle and I interviewed a couple other eighth graders who also took the tests. The HSPT stands for “High School Placement Test” which every eighth grader has to take to get into some private high schools. The alternative to the HSPT is the ISEE which stands for “Independent School Entrance Exam”. The ISEE is said to be the more difficult of the two, but one of the two usually has to be taken in order to be accepted into a private high school. The HSPT and ISEE are split into different sections for reading skills, language skills, verbal skills, two sections for math skills, and an essay.

I, personally, took the HSPT last weekend and found the test to be a lot easier than I expected. Many of the eighth graders expected the test to be a lot harder than the test actually was for them. There certainly is a lot of pressure for the eighth graders to do well, however. When I interviewed Sophia Islas, she said that she was anxious and nervous to take the test but is calmer now that the test is over. Ella Arroyo said that she also over anticipated the test and was very nervous. Both of them agreed in saying that they over anticipated the test a bit and found the test easier than they previously thought. They are also both nervous for their acceptance letters, as am I. The eighth graders will receive their acceptance letters towards the end of February or at the beginning of March.