Advancement · Data & Impact

Every applicant rated
on the same five things.

Interview impressions drift: a confident parent lifts a quiet child’s score, and one interviewer’s 3 is another’s 4. Rate each criterion on its own with evidence from the interview. The rubric totals each file, ranks them and shows each interviewer’s average, and flags ratings that look like a single impression.

Rate an interviewWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Grant writer’s desk, $49 for 55 items.

Interviews

The worked example is made up: two sixth-grade interviews by the same interviewer, one rated 3 on every criterion, and a kindergarten group visit with a total of 10. Applicant codes, not names. Saved on this device only.

Loading the interview form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Advancement · Data & Impact$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per interview: applicant code, grade, date, interviewer, format, five criteria rated 1 to 4 with descriptors, written evidence and five fairness checks. Works out the total out of 20; ranks complete interviews and averages each interviewer’s totals; flags identical ratings across every criterion, low totals to read with the whole file, a parent answering for the student and skipped fairness steps.
Who it is for
Admissions directors, interviewers and admissions committees at independent, charter and private schools.
Format
Browser rubric with a saved record per interview. Prints one interview, every interview in a table or a blank rubric for the interview room; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Grant writer’s desk ($49) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Data & Impact space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Agree the core questions for each grade before interviews start.
  2. Write evidence during or right after the interview.
  3. Rate each criterion on its own.
  4. Check the interviewer averages before committee.
  5. Read every total with the rest of the file.

Rate an interview

Rating the same way

What each rating meansRatingWhat you sawExample, grade 6 task1 Not yet seenNo sign of it in this visitDid not start the puzzle2 EmergingSome, with a lot of promptingStarted after two hints3 ClearShown on their ownSolved it one way4 StrongShown on their own, beyond the taskSolved it two ways; checked itWhat each rating means1 Not yet seenWhat you saw: No sign of it in this visitExample, grade 6 task: Did not start the puzzle2 EmergingWhat you saw: Some, with a lot of promptingExample, grade 6 task: Started after two hints3 ClearWhat you saw: Shown on their ownExample, grade 6 task: Solved it one way4 StrongWhat you saw: Shown on their own, beyond the taskExample, grade 6 task: Solved it two ways; checked it
Descriptors keep two interviewers from meaning different things by the same number.

Structure beats impressions

Decades of hiring research find that structured interviews, with the same questions and a rating scale with descriptors, predict later performance far better than open conversations. The same holds for admissions: common questions and evidence make two interviewers comparable.

Young children

A four-year-old’s visit is a small, noisy sample: a missed nap or a new room changes everything. Weigh preschool and kindergarten interviews lightly, and look for what a child did on their own rather than what they could not do on the day.

Sources

  1. Schmidt, F. L. and Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2).
  2. Levashina, J. and others (2014). The structured employment interview: narrative and quantitative review. Personnel Psychology, 67(1).
  3. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Position statement on early childhood assessment (naeyc.org).
  4. National Association of Independent Schools. Principles of good practice for admission (nais.org).

The worked example is made up. Use the rubric alongside your school’s admission policy and nondiscrimination obligations. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.