Entrance Exam

Kehillah will not consider the SSAT or the ISEE in our admissions process this year.

Kehillah applicants have the option of submitting scores from standardized exams (like the ERB, CAASPP, or MAP) administered at their schools as a part of their eighth-grade academic program. However, Kehillah will not evaluate students differently if they do not submit scores from these exams.

Through Kehillah’s holistic admissions process, we hope to learn as much as we can about each student’s personal and academic journey and to understand each of their interests, dreams, and needs. The most powerful and important parts of the application are the self-portraits that students offer in their personal statements and the stories that parents, teachers, and others share over the course of the admissions process.

All of us at Kehillah have long been concerned about the intense pressure that high school and college entrance exams – and the testing culture these exams foster – place upon young people. In a year when students are grappling with the sweeping effects of the pandemic on their educational experience, sense of community, and personal well-being, we know that these exams are bound to generate even more pressure. For these reasons, we have decided to suspend our use of the ISEE and SSAT and dedicate this year to exploring and designing alternatives that better reflect our mission and values.