Which standardized test?

[Staceyshoe]

As part of an application process, ds1 will need to take a standardized test.  We've done the ITBS and Stanford before, and I didn't find the information terribly helpful.  Since he needs to take a test, I would prefer to use one that provides really good information, particularly for advanced learners.  Several of the tests listed on the application as options are unfamiliar to me.  Which would you choose?

-Educational Report Bureau (ERB)

-Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS)

-Stanford Achievement Test
-Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS)

-TerraNova

-Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE)
-EXPLORE

-STAR
-something else?  (It has to be nationally normed.)

One potentially complicating factor is scheduling because we can't do a Saturday administration.  I've shied away from EXPLORE in the past because a non-Saturday test would have required travel and an overnight stay.  But I may consider the inconvenience if the information from the test is a lot better than what we can get from a locally proctored test.

[Arcadia]

ISEE is widely accepted by private schools here so that is what I would have picked for my kids if we were applying to private schools now.

Our libraries have the prep books for ISEE with the SAT/AP/ACT books.

[EKS]

If this is for an application, I would choose the test based on convenience rather than the amount of information you will personally glean from the results.

[Dmmetler]

Belin-Blank can work with you to arrange a private administration of the EXPLORE. I would say that it's most useful when it's significantly out of level and the student isn't going to hit ceilings.