今天是美国寄宿中学申请的截止日期，刚刚递交了申请的同学们，对于 Character Skills Snapshot（简称 CSS）一定不陌生。

CSS 是 SSAT 申请系统附带的一个针对申请者而进行的性格测试。有大约400所美国高中会接受 CSS 系统生成的测试结果作为了解申请者的参考资料。

其中根据学校不同要求可以分为“必须要求递交”“强烈推荐递交”“建议递交”三类，据此不难看出，虽然学校要求的严格程度不同，但是大部分的学校是极为重视这份报告的。

SSAT 官网给出的说明是：“CSS 测试是一个为让学校全面了解学生而设立的评估系统”。问卷分为两种题型：选择题和情景判断题，一共29道题。测试结果对学生进行7个维度的评估，包括：

Initiative 主动性
Intellectual Engagement 求知欲
Open-Mindedness 开放意识
Resilience 应变能力
Self-Control 自制力
Social Awareness 社会意识
Teamwork 团队精神

从2017年9月份 CSS 测试系统开放以来，经过四年的实践验证，CSS 测试系统的结果能够非常准确地展示出学生的个性特色。

这为学生自我认知和学校了解学生提供了客观可信的支撑，也让众多申请家庭和学校都极力肯定测试体系开发和研究者们的智慧。

今天，融尚南希伙伴想要荣幸地向大家介绍，CSS 测试体系的开发者正是融尚南希伙伴的 IEC 团队顾问老师 Ray Diffley。

融尚南希伙伴独家合作资深教育顾问
毕业于顶尖走读 BB&N、文理学院鲍登学院
美高小藤校 Choate Rosemary Hall 招办主任23年
私立学校招生专业人员协会 AISAP 董事
品性培养联盟 Character Collaborative 董事

Ray 刚刚经历了疯狂忙碌地和融尚南希伙伴的同事们一起审核申请文书的工作阶段。

但忙碌之余，出于对“品性培养教育”的热爱，他还是向我们分享了关于美高申请性格测试系统 CSS 的研发背景、设计理念，以及顶级美高对于品性培养的重视及培养体系等专业信息。

今天的伙伴专栏我们就邀请到了 Mr. Diffley ，本文分享内容分中英双语，大家可以选择自己更习惯的语言。

同时我们也邀请了 Mr. Diffley 在北京时间1月24日，参加融尚南希伙伴线上活动，就品性培养的话题开展网络研讨会。

欢迎同学家长参与，届时研讨会会进行同步翻译。

In the winter of 1994 as a rookie admission officer at Choate Rosemary Hall, I sat in admission committee debating candidates with the then Director of Admission Andrew Wooden, who later went on to head several schools, and his senior associate, Tom Southworth, who went on to be Director of Admission at Loomis Chaffee and recently Lawrenceville.

Actually, come to think of it, we were in committee debating whom to take from the waitlist as a space had come open. There were maybe 10 kids on the “slate”, and we could only take one. I mostly listened to these wise and respected industry leaders as they navigated a conversation that led to an offer of admission for one lucky candidate.

I confess, I was not sure exactly why they selected that candidate for the opening, but I remember them saying words like: “the glue of the community”; “quality values”; “knows who he is and knows how he fits here” and “has a spark”. I’ll never forget that moment as it launched the ensuing 28 years, to this day, of my passionate work with student assessment and character development.

Along the way, I’ve worked with top researchers and leaders on intelligence and assessment, with testing groups and character groups, all the while doing my best to put forth ideas and mechanisms to help move the work forward.

This journey leads us to today’s world, where character and pathways to “success” however you define it, are vital to most students and families and the central work of most schools as well. I’d like to talk to you about that journey and what it means to you and your family.

The first experience I was involved in took place in a collaboration between Choate and Yale in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Highly regarded intelligence and assessment expert, Dr. Robert Sternberg, and his team at Yale, paired up with my colleagues in admission at Choate to develop assessments for admission candidates. That work developed to my leading an effort with the SSAT organization in 2010’s to help develop “assessments of the future” that would tap into human character and potential for success. That groundbreaking work resulted in the development of SSAT’s Character Skills Snapshot, which is currently in practice in the secondary school admission process.  Finally, character has risen to the highest levels I’m proud to say.

As a board member serving the Character Collaborative, a non-profit group made up of college and prep school admission officers, researchers, reformers and key educators, I can share that colleges and universities are looking hard at ways to elevate character in the college admission process. Efforts are under way, as I type, which I will share more about in our upcoming SNF webinar on January 24th.

Ray Diffley

1994年冬，我还是个初出茅庐的面试官。在 Choate 招办委员会上，与当时的招办主任 Andrew Wooden 以及高级副主任 Tom Southworth 激烈地辩论着。

Andrew 后来在多所学校担任校长，而 Tom 之后先后担任 Loomis 和 Lawrenceville 招办主任。

回想当时，学校有一个名额，我们在委员会上辩论决定，录取等待名单上的哪个学生。当时有近10个强有力的竞争者，而我们只能选一个。

我大部分时间都在聆听这些睿智、受人尊敬的行业领袖们的谈话，讨论中我感受到他们逐渐达成一致，并最终选中了一位幸运的候选人。

我必须承认，当时我并不太清楚他们选中那位候选人补缺的具体原因，但我仍然清楚记得他们提到的关键词：“社区中的粘合剂”、“积极的价值观”、“了解自己，明白怎样融入这里”以及“有眼缘”。

我永远都不会忘记那一刻，因为它开启了我接下来27年直到现在，对学生评估和品性培养的热情。

一路走来，我一直与顶尖的研究人员、智力和评估方面的领导者、测试团队和品性研究小组合作，同时尽我所能提出想法和机制来帮助推进这项工作。

这段旅程将我们带到了今天的世界，品性和通往“成功”（无论你如何定义“成功”）的道路，对大多数学生和家庭至关重要，也是大多数学校的核心工作。

所以今天我想和你谈谈这段旅程，以及它对你和你的家人意味着什么。

我参与的第一项工作是在90年代末本世纪初，Choate 与耶鲁大学的合作中进行的。在耶鲁大学，德高望重的智力和评估专家 Robert Sternberg 博士和他的团队，与我在 Choate 招办的同事们一起，为招生制定评估标准。

这项工作在过去10年中发展为我在 SSAT 机构中倡议领导的项目，帮助开发“对未来的评估”，探究个体的品性和成功的潜力。这一开创性的工作最终成为了 SSAT 的性格技能评估（Character Skills Snapshot），目前正在中学录取过程中采用实施。

现在，我可以自豪地说，品性发展和评估的重要性已经不言而喻。

作为一个由大学和预科学校招生官、研究人员、教育改革者和重要教育工作者组成的非营利性组织“Character Collaborative”董事会成员，我可以分享的是，众多大学都在努力寻找在大学招生中提升品性评估比重的方法。

变化已经在悄然发生，我将在1月24日即将到来的融尚南希伙伴网络研讨会上，和大家分享更多进展。