Prepping/Scamming the Cogat

[Anonymous]

Why is anyone commenting on a thread from three months ago when there is no new information to share or ask for?

[Anonymous]

Because one poster likes to proclaim every so often that people from anywhere but the US are so much better than people who were born here to non-immgrant parents.

It doesn't really have anything to do with the topic of "Prepping/Scamming the CogAT," but I guess there's no accounting for taste.

[Anonymous]

Poster speaks the truth.

[Anonymous]

So do high school students cheat when they practice for the SAT using old test questions in a format similar to the exam? Aren't they at risk of getting into Yale when they don't belong?

Did I cheat for the CPA exam by studying old exams.

Did your Doctor cheat when studying old USMLE's?

Better yet, is the publisher of the Cogat potentially invalidating the test by providing sample questions online?

Do teachers invalidate it when they practice for each section the day before using sample questions provided by CoGat?

What is this lady's beef? Is it the number of questions, or how they are grouped together in a mock exam?

It's really a weak point she makes and to act ethically superior because she teaches her kid what a flipped block looks like in a mirror, verses in a print out, because there is no difference. You are prepping and at the same time they are learning to think abstractly. She says you aren't making your kid smarter, but she is? Excuse me, but aren't classrooms filled with books that kids learn from?

[Anonymous]

The 88 page, "Prepping/Scamming the Cogat" post returns yet again!

For those of you thinking of getting your popcorn out might want to hold off. This is the new version 2.0 of the AAP forum. I am afraid that the heyday of this thread has long past. No more discussions of GoCATs, trained monkey's taking SATs, menopausal beached whales, illicit prepping activities in dark back alleys, that damned test prep culture from hell (we all know who...) or decisive court actions involving Mercer Publishing.

Moving forward, please limit your discussions to why AAP is not representing the truly gifted student population without resorting to using snark. Whining is allowed though. You may also use the term "snowflake", if you have to but it is not encouraged. GE parents are further encouraged to post in their own VA Public Schools forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The 88 page, "Prepping/Scamming the Cogat" post returns yet again!

For those of you thinking of getting your popcorn out might want to hold off. This is the new version 2.0 of the AAP forum. I am afraid that the heyday of this thread has long past. No more discussions of GoCATs, trained monkey's taking SATs, menopausal beached whales, illicit prepping activities in dark back alleys, that damned test prep culture from hell (we all know who...) or decisive court actions involving Mercer Publishing.

Moving forward, please limit your discussions to why AAP is not representing the truly gifted student population without resorting to using snark. Whining is allowed though. You may also use the term "snowflake", if you have to but it is not encouraged. GE parents are further encouraged to post in their own VA Public Schools forum.

Just in time, too. I was worried this thread was going to end with only 1309 posts.....can't we once and for all acknowledge that prepping a kid for a test designed to measure their innate ability to solve problems they've never seen before sort of defeats the purpose? I fully expect to be assaulted with all the wah, wah! this is just like studying or preparing for any test b.s. and gen ed is too slow for my child who needs a challenge" nonsense, but have at it. Don't think folks would get so upset defending it if they felt deep down that they were doing the "right" thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The 88 page, "Prepping/Scamming the Cogat" post returns yet again!

For those of you thinking of getting your popcorn out might want to hold off. This is the new version 2.0 of the AAP forum. I am afraid that the heyday of this thread has long past. No more discussions of GoCATs, trained monkey's taking SATs, menopausal beached whales, illicit prepping activities in dark back alleys, that damned test prep culture from hell (we all know who...) or decisive court actions involving Mercer Publishing.

Moving forward, please limit your discussions to why AAP is not representing the truly gifted student population without resorting to using snark. Whining is allowed though. You may also use the term "snowflake", if you have to but it is not encouraged. GE parents are further encouraged to post in their own VA Public Schools forum.

Just in time, too. I was worried this thread was going to end with only 1309 posts.....can't we once and for all acknowledge that prepping a kid for a test designed to measure their innate ability to solve problems they've never seen before sort of defeats the purpose? I fully expect to be assaulted with all the wah, wah! this is just like studying or preparing for any test b.s. and gen ed is too slow for my child who needs a challenge" nonsense, but have at it. Don't think folks would get so upset defending it if they felt deep down that they were doing the "right" thing.

LOL, let the people who want to study, study all they want. Let those who don't want to study, go watch TV. To each his own.

Worry about your own kids.... In my world, studying, preparation, and commitment are ALWAYS a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The 88 page, "Prepping/Scamming the Cogat" post returns yet again!

For those of you thinking of getting your popcorn out might want to hold off. This is the new version 2.0 of the AAP forum. I am afraid that the heyday of this thread has long past. No more discussions of GoCATs, trained monkey's taking SATs, menopausal beached whales, illicit prepping activities in dark back alleys, that damned test prep culture from hell (we all know who...) or decisive court actions involving Mercer Publishing.

Moving forward, please limit your discussions to why AAP is not representing the truly gifted student population without resorting to using snark. Whining is allowed though. You may also use the term "snowflake", if you have to but it is not encouraged. GE parents are further encouraged to post in their own VA Public Schools forum.

This GE parent will feel free to post here and in any other forum she pleases. Any Gen Ed parent will tell you that AAP affects the GE population by depleting GE classrooms of kids with average to slightly above average learning abilities. This argument has gone round and round, but suffice it to say that as long as AAP continues admitting massive amounts of students, rather than just those who absolutely need a different learning environment, I and other parents who feel the same way will continue expressing our opinions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The 88 page, "Prepping/Scamming the Cogat" post returns yet again!

For those of you thinking of getting your popcorn out might want to hold off. This is the new version 2.0 of the AAP forum. I am afraid that the heyday of this thread has long past. No more discussions of GoCATs, trained monkey's taking SATs, menopausal beached whales, illicit prepping activities in dark back alleys, that damned test prep culture from hell (we all know who...) or decisive court actions involving Mercer Publishing.

Moving forward, please limit your discussions to why AAP is not representing the truly gifted student population without resorting to using snark. Whining is allowed though. You may also use the term "snowflake", if you have to but it is not encouraged. GE parents are further encouraged to post in their own VA Public Schools forum.

This GE parent will feel free to post here and in any other forum she pleases. Any Gen Ed parent will tell you that AAP affects the GE population by depleting GE classrooms of kids with average to slightly above average learning abilities. This argument has gone round and round, but suffice it to say that as long as AAP continues admitting massive amounts of students, rather than just those who absolutely need a different learning environment, I and other parents who feel the same way will continue expressing our opinions.

+1 (applause)

[Anonymous]

Here's a link to an interesting story in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/nyregion/private...ed-erb-entrance-test.html?_r=0

A private school association there is recommending to its member schools that they drop the standardized test requirement for entrance to their schools. The reason? Scores have become meaningless because of too much prepping for the tests. Could this be a look at what will happen in the future in FCPS?

This is from another thread, but fits in here. I read this article and was interested to see how similar the situation in New York is to ours here in FCPS.
It does look like school officials will become tired of getting back test scores that are becoming less and less useful for the purposes for which they are intended. Eventually, they may turn away from standardized tests as a method of identifying students for AAP.

[Anonymous]

The problem here is not so much prepping (you cannot make a kid smart- but you can make them more test smarter or test aware) but the inordinate amount of kids that get into AAP in FCPS- either too liberal of a range of test scores that are eligible as well as parents appealing (with school support- brown nosers). This makes a huge difference on how AAP is treated- as well as Gen Ed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem here is not so much prepping (you cannot make a kid smart- but you can make them more test smarter or test aware) but the inordinate amount of kids that get into AAP in FCPS- either too liberal of a range of test scores that are eligible as well as parents appealing (with school support- brown nosers). This makes a huge difference on how AAP is treated- as well as Gen Ed.

I agree with you, but this thread is titled "Prepping/Scamming the CogAT," so the New York times article about schools dropping the standardized test requirement because of too much prepping seemed to fit in here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The 88 page, "Prepping/Scamming the Cogat" post returns yet again!

For those of you thinking of getting your popcorn out might want to hold off. This is the new version 2.0 of the AAP forum. I am afraid that the heyday of this thread has long past. No more discussions of GoCATs, trained monkey's taking SATs, menopausal beached whales, illicit prepping activities in dark back alleys, that damned test prep culture from hell (we all know who...) or decisive court actions involving Mercer Publishing.

Moving forward, please limit your discussions to why AAP is not representing the truly gifted student population without resorting to using snark. Whining is allowed though. You may also use the term "snowflake", if you have to but it is not encouraged. GE parents are further encouraged to post in their own VA Public Schools forum.

Just in time, too. I was worried this thread was going to end with only 1309 posts.....can't we once and for all acknowledge that prepping a kid for a test designed to measure their innate ability to solve problems they've never seen before sort of defeats the purpose? I fully expect to be assaulted with all the wah, wah! this is just like studying or preparing for any test b.s. and gen ed is too slow for my child who needs a challenge" nonsense, but have at it. Don't think folks would get so upset defending it if they felt deep down that they were doing the "right" thing.

LOL, let the people who want to study, study all they want. Let those who don't want to study, go watch TV. To each his own.

Worry about your own kids.... In my world, studying, preparation, and commitment are ALWAYS a good thing.

+1000

[Anonymous]

...a resident of the Upper East Side who writes a blog about parenting and politics, recalled trying to get her daughter, Rosemary, now 9, into a private school that prohibited practice courses or exams. She said the situation was frustrating. Many parents wanted to follow the rules, but they worried about leaving their children at a disadvantage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/nyregion/private-schools-are-expected-to-drop-dreaded-erb-entrance-test.html?_r=1&

Even when parents are expressly told that should not be using practice courses or exams, apparently some parents worry that others are not following the rules. What does it teach very young children when their parents don't follow the rules?

[Anonymous]

So those of you who think prepping is a good thing, of course you will be including how hard your child worked to prepare for the tests on your parent questionnaire, right? Still waiting for an answer to this.