Standardized Testing

What is Concord Academy’s relationship with standardized testing? 

CA’s mission commitment to learning for learning’s sake means that our faculty designs curricula that focus on what is best for talented high school students in each academic field.  We offer rigorous work that calls upon each student’s analytical power, imagination, and capacity for sustained, deep exploration.  We do not teach narrowly to Advanced Placement syllabi, nor to the College Board SAT and Subject Tests.  Yet our teachers understand that our students must take standardized examinations; they keep this fact in mind as they construct the program of the school.  Students thrive in Advanced Placement examinations across a wide range of subjects and our students score very strongly on SATs.  While CA offers optional preparation on campus for the College Board examinations, and most departments help students prepare for the Advanced Placement tests, the school refuses to default to those tests as it constructs its academic program.