prepping for cogat test .. is it cheating?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most people IRL don't prep. Most people on DCUM do prep. It's not cheating, it's preparing. I gave my child an NNAT workbook this year to familiarize him with the types of questions he would receive. That's not cheating. They do the exact same thing for SOLs every year. Are the kids all cheating on SOLs?

The teacher at my kid's center asked the students how many prepped for the admission tests; according to her, over 80% raised their hands. So I suspect the number of preppers is far higher than you seem to think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people IRL don't prep. Most people on DCUM do prep. It's not cheating, it's preparing. I gave my child an NNAT workbook this year to familiarize him with the types of questions he would receive. That's not cheating. They do the exact same thing for SOLs every year. Are the kids all cheating on SOLs?

The teacher at my kid's center asked the students how many prepped for the admission tests; according to her, over 80% raised their hands. So I suspect the number of preppers is far higher than you seem to think.

Yeah, my kid said the same, but I think it varies around the county. We’re at a high SES center w/ highly competitive parents so it was no surprise. That’s why FCPS moved to local norms and how our in-pool score landed at 140+. The new local standards are certainly pushing many non-preppers to start prepping at these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A better discussion is what's the most effective way to prep for CogAT.

Agree! Anyone who wants to compete these days preps. Those who don't are putting their kids at a big disadvantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people IRL don't prep. Most people on DCUM do prep. It's not cheating, it's preparing. I gave my child an NNAT workbook this year to familiarize him with the types of questions he would receive. That's not cheating. They do the exact same thing for SOLs every year. Are the kids all cheating on SOLs?

The teacher at my kid's center asked the students how many prepped for the admission tests; according to her, over 80% raised their hands. So I suspect the number of preppers is far higher than you seem to think.

Yeah, my kid said the same, but I think it varies around the county. We’re at a high SES center w/ highly competitive parents so it was no surprise. That’s why FCPS moved to local norms and how our in-pool score landed at 140+. The new local standards are certainly pushing many non-preppers to start prepping at these schools.

We're not at a high SES school which makes it surprising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A better discussion is what's the most effective way to prep for CogAT.

Agree! Anyone who wants to compete these days preps. Those who don't are putting their kids at a big disadvantage.

It's toxic to put kids under this kind of pressure. I can see why higher-educations and other school districts are eliminating these tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny how many people swear up and down hat it’s cheating, but nobody can provide a source.

+1. It’s just a way to rationalize why their kid didn’t do better.

The scores raise marginally on retakes but just because of familiarity with the test. For most tests taken at school there’s a mock up session for this purpose.

The test shouldn’t be taken less than 6 months apart but that only has to do with the bank of questions, there’s a limited number and questions may repeat.

There are countless studies on SAT and other tests that prepping doesn’t help much. But to each his own, prep if you think your child needs it, don’t if you feel it’s not appropriate. My view is that it’s a waste of time past 2-3 familiarization sessions, and I think it’s better to develop actual skills like math and reading that are much more useful in the child’s academic career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people IRL don't prep. Most people on DCUM do prep. It's not cheating, it's preparing. I gave my child an NNAT workbook this year to familiarize him with the types of questions he would receive. That's not cheating. They do the exact same thing for SOLs every year. Are the kids all cheating on SOLs?

The teacher at my kid's center asked the students how many prepped for the admission tests; according to her, over 80% raised their hands. So I suspect the number of preppers is far higher than you seem to think.

I don’t think this would be an accurate way to determine how many prep. Kids that age will raise their hand because they their friend raised their hand, or because they thought they were supposed to prep and didn’t want to get in trouble. Asking a bunch of 2nd graders if they practiced is not going to give accurate information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people IRL don't prep. Most people on DCUM do prep. It's not cheating, it's preparing. I gave my child an NNAT workbook this year to familiarize him with the types of questions he would receive. That's not cheating. They do the exact same thing for SOLs every year. Are the kids all cheating on SOLs?

The teacher at my kid's center asked the students how many prepped for the admission tests; according to her, over 80% raised their hands. So I suspect the number of preppers is far higher than you seem to think.

I mean, you're at a Center school, probably one of the ones in a high SES area, right?

We're at a Title I school, I'm guessing the answer at our school is very different than yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny how many people swear up and down hat it’s cheating, but nobody can provide a source.

+1. It’s just a way to rationalize why their kid didn’t do better.

The scores raise marginally on retakes but just because of familiarity with the test. For most tests taken at school there’s a mock up session for this purpose.

The test shouldn’t be taken less than 6 months apart but that only has to do with the bank of questions, there’s a limited number and questions may repeat.

There are countless studies on SAT and other tests that prepping doesn’t help much. But to each his own, prep if you think your child needs it, don’t if you feel it’s not appropriate. My view is that it’s a waste of time past 2-3 familiarization sessions, and I think it’s better to develop actual skills like math and reading that are much more useful in the child’s academic career.

So funny, how much gaslighting there is in this post. Who are you trying to fool?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids got in to academic based magnet programs. We have never prepped them for a test. I wouldn't want my kids in these programs if they couldn't naturally do the work without intervention. Neither they nor I need that sort of stress. (I went to a magnet high school so I have some idea what it's all about. The kids who didn't need to prep always do better both academically and mentally.)

I went to AAP when I was growing up and it's changed a lot since then. It can be harder to get into with the new selection criteria, but with 20% of the kids going, it's not as difficult as it was back then. I'm not worried about my kids being able to handle the work; it's fairly light compared to what we did as third graders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids got in to academic based magnet programs. We have never prepped them for a test. I wouldn't want my kids in these programs if they couldn't naturally do the work without intervention. Neither they nor I need that sort of stress. (I went to a magnet high school so I have some idea what it's all about. The kids who didn't need to prep always do better both academically and mentally.)

I went to AAP when I was growing up and it's changed a lot since then. It can be harder to get into with the new selection criteria, but with 20% of the kids going, it's not as difficult as it was back then. I'm not worried about my kids being able to handle the work; it's fairly light compared to what we did as third graders.

I'm sure your kids mental health will thank you and you'll notice the difference when it doesn't. If you do, will your response be its not as bad now for you as it was for me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids got in to academic based magnet programs. We have never prepped them for a test. I wouldn't want my kids in these programs if they couldn't naturally do the work without intervention. Neither they nor I need that sort of stress. (I went to a magnet high school so I have some idea what it's all about. The kids who didn't need to prep always do better both academically and mentally.)

I went to AAP when I was growing up and it's changed a lot since then. It can be harder to get into with the new selection criteria, but with 20% of the kids going, it's not as difficult as it was back then. I'm not worried about my kids being able to handle the work; it's fairly light compared to what we did as third graders.

DP. I went to a GT program in a different state but I've heard that the old AAP program was very hard, too hard. So I've been satisfied with the rigor of the program for my oldest DC. And for my younger DC, I'm not sure if it's the changes from the pandemic or just overall lowering of the program to accommodate the rest of the school, but it's meeting his needs too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny how many people swear up and down hat it’s cheating, but nobody can provide a source.

+1. It’s just a way to rationalize why their kid didn’t do better.

The scores raise marginally on retakes but just because of familiarity with the test. For most tests taken at school there’s a mock up session for this purpose.

The test shouldn’t be taken less than 6 months apart but that only has to do with the bank of questions, there’s a limited number and questions may repeat.

There are countless studies on SAT and other tests that prepping doesn’t help much. But to each his own, prep if you think your child needs it, don’t if you feel it’s not appropriate. My view is that it’s a waste of time past 2-3 familiarization sessions, and I think it’s better to develop actual skills like math and reading that are much more useful in the child’s academic career.

I know. The service we hired would only guarantee a 200-point improvement, but I'm told with some work you can easily bring up 300.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny how many people swear up and down hat it’s cheating, but nobody can provide a source.

+1. It’s just a way to rationalize why their kid didn’t do better.

The scores raise marginally on retakes but just because of familiarity with the test. For most tests taken at school there’s a mock up session for this purpose.

The test shouldn’t be taken less than 6 months apart but that only has to do with the bank of questions, there’s a limited number and questions may repeat.

There are countless studies on SAT and other tests that prepping doesn’t help much. But to each his own, prep if you think your child needs it, don’t if you feel it’s not appropriate. My view is that it’s a waste of time past 2-3 familiarization sessions, and I think it’s better to develop actual skills like math and reading that are much more useful in the child’s academic career.

So funny, how much gaslighting there is in this post. Who are you trying to fool?

There are quite a few posters who like having these tests that are easy to game since it's just a matter of spending $$$ to get their average kids into these elite programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids got in to academic based magnet programs. We have never prepped them for a test. I wouldn't want my kids in these programs if they couldn't naturally do the work without intervention. Neither they nor I need that sort of stress. (I went to a magnet high school so I have some idea what it's all about. The kids who didn't need to prep always do better both academically and mentally.)

I went to AAP when I was growing up and it's changed a lot since then. It can be harder to get into with the new selection criteria, but with 20% of the kids going, it's not as difficult as it was back then. I'm not worried about my kids being able to handle the work; it's fairly light compared to what we did as third graders.

I'm sure your kids mental health will thank you and you'll notice the difference when it doesn't. If you do, will your response be its not as bad now for you as it was for me?

PP to whom you are responding: I guess my point is that the AAP now is "lite" on rigor. My kid is doing well so far, and would have been bored in Gen Ed. It's just a lot easier than what I remember as far as homework and depth. We're not talking the kind of pressure that TJ kids are under (or those 4th grade math geniuses on the other thread), so I don't think there will be mental health concerns!