What should I expect on the day of the Eighth Grade Entrance Exam?

Those who have pre-registered will be taken by the Student Ambassadors to one of the examination rooms.  Phone registrations and walk-ins will check in at the front desk.

The exam lasts approximately three hours. At the end of the standardized exam, students will be given an essay question, with a thirty minute time limit.

Before leaving the exam room, each student will be given a packet.  The packet contains the following information:

• Important Information and Dates to Remember (deadlines, acceptance letter mailing date; scholarship delivery day; registration night)
• Admission Information Form: application and $35 fee
• Three Recommendation Forms: to be given to current math, science and English teachers
• Mathematics Teacher Recommendation Checklist: to aid in the placement of math
• Record Release Form: to be given to your current school. Transcripts, standardized test scores and attendance records are to be sent directly to Duchesne Academy.

What can I do to prepare for the Eighth Grade Exam?

Since the entrance exam is specifically for eighth graders, it is important for students to work to their potential from the start of their middle school/junior high years. Reading is a very important component of the test, so it is suggested that students read as much as possible during those years. The material content is not so much as important as the fact that the student reads often. A side benefit is that it will encourage students to become lifelong readers.

There are test preparation books available at bookstores throughout the area. You may call Duchesne’s Recruitment Office for further information.

Duchesne’s College and Testing Counselor gives the following advice to students taking Duchesne’s entrance exam: “It is important for students to come having had a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast.  Girls who think of themselves as ‘poor test takers’ or ‘anxious test takers’ should come with confidence and do their best. This entrance exam is designed to be an opportunity for a student to show her strengths as it is multi-faceted and across the curriculum.”