READING MATTERS
Resources to help with the education decision process
NATIONAL Catholic Schools Week is a great time for New Yorkers to shop around for the education of a lifetime. To enter prepared, however, it’s worth reading up on Catholic education and the tests required.
The best place to start is the free 12-page book “Experience the Catholic School Difference,” published by the Archdiocese of
New York. Download
the PDF at CatholicSchoolsNY.org. The site also has a school-finder for requesting more information or applying online, or you can call 646-7942885.
Whether you’re a parent looking for insights or a student looking to prep for the exams, these books are worth a look.
Master the Catholic High School Entrance Exams,
26th Edition (Peterson’s) Completing the exams required to get into Catholic high schools is a major stressor for students, so look for high-quality test prep books. This is a comprehensive resource covering test formats and scoring. It also offers subject reviews and different types of questions for the most popular parochial school placement tests — the Test for Admission Into Catholic High Schools and the High School Placement Test.
The authors provide 10 full-length practice tests — four per test in the book and one each online — with detailed answer explanations, as well as diagnostic tests for each exam. There are also supplemental videos and over 3,000 practice questions for the difficult concepts found in the verbal, math and ability sections of the exams.
Catholic High School Entrance Exams Prep,
3rd Edition (The Princeton Review)
This covers the TACHS, the
HSPT and the Cooperative Admissions Examination Program. Princeton promises “powerful tactics to help you avoid traps and beat the tests and essential strategies to help you work smarter, not harder.”
It includes comprehensive content reviews for all test topics, including analogies, reading comprehension, math, vocabulary and quantitative skills, as well as up-to-date information about recent changes.
There are also six fulllength practice tests (three for the HSPT, two for the COOP and one for the TACHS) with detailed answers and explanations, as well as practice drills at the end of each chapter and walk-throughs of many sample questions. Choosing a Catholic School: A Practical Guide by Sister Judith Russi (Redemptorist Publications)
Sister Judith lays out your choices when it comes to Catholic schools, with an insider’s flair and knowledge. Catholic Schools and the Common Good by Anthony S. Bryk, Valerie E. Lee and Peter B. Holland (Harvard University Press)
Published in 1993, this book looks at a broad range of Catholic high schools to determine whether or not students are better educated in these schools than they are in public schools.
The stats suggest that kids in Catholic schools perform above average, including minority and disadvantaged students.
It attributes this to high expectations, supportive staff and parents and attention from teachers.
Saving Minds, Saving Souls: Revitalizing Catholic Education Through
Witness by Sarah Thomas (New Degree Press)
This is an interesting selfpublished memoir by a Catholic school-educated woman who became a teacher and realized how secular Catholic schools had become. She combines data and interviews with educators to conclude that “witness is the key to building the brightest future possible” for students.
Parish School: American Catholic Parochial Education From Colonial Times to the Present by Timothy Walch (National Catholic Education Association)
For those with time for a deep dive, this is a fine history of Catholic schools in the US.
“Parish School” traces the contours of American Catholic parochial education, beginning with its origins in the missionary and Colonial eras, and analyzes the importance of these schools to American Catholics.
The School Choice Roadmap: 7 Steps to Finding the Right School for
Your Child by Andrew Campanella (Beaufort Books)
This covers all school choice policies, from public school open enrollment to private school scholarships.
The book also discusses different kinds of public schools, including charter, magnet and online, as well as private schools and even homeschooling.