CogAT this year for 2nd grade

[Anonymous]

When I first saw the title to this thread I was just flabbergast that people would seriously prep their kid for the CogAT.... but having read some of the thread, I can see the value of giving your child a little practice. And for $26, I'm willing to give it a try. I wouldn't have been willing to spend $100 or pay for a prep class.... but the practice tests I found on Amazon are $26. If my kid doesn't get in... no biggie... but I want her to do her best without being confused by the newness of the test. Plus, I can use the left over practice tests for my younger child when he gets to 2nd grade.

I guess I'm absorbing the "crazy" just a little.

Go for it, girl. Why do you think swim and track times have kept coming down over the years (or the number of perfect 800 scores on the SAT keeps going up)? Boys and girls prep and practise. The brain (and intelligence) is no different from the body. They share the same constituents, materials, and substances. Training does help (both body and brain).

Anyone who does not understand this is simply an illiterate fool -- simpleton -- intoxicated by the fumes of faith.

[Anonymous]

My question is not so much that prep is not helpful, but prep for the test is not making the child smarter. It is teaching them how to take this one test. And the test is not that important (GBRS counts more than CogAT for AAP, based on stories on the boards.).

With that said, if the child enjoys the challenge, it does not matter. However, in the big picture, this is not preparing the child for anything other than taking the CogAT.

[Anonymous]

Fair enough. We aren't going to contest the GBRS score whatever it turns out to be. I know two practice tests won't make my kid smarter. Just want child to give the CogAT a good solid shot. That's all.

I know a very middle of the road kid who got a 1%-ile on the NNAT this past year. Now, he may not be a rocket scientist, but he's surely not among the lowest 1% of kids who took the test. I'm guessing he did not understand the test. I want to minimize that confusion and maximize whatever analytical or intellectual skills my child has.

[Anonymous]

My question is not so much that prep is not helpful, but prep for the test is not making the child smarter. It is teaching them how to take this one test. And the test is not that important (GBRS counts more than CogAT for AAP, based on stories on the boards.).

With that said, if the child enjoys the challenge, it does not matter. However, in the big picture, this is not preparing the child for anything other than taking the CogAT.

Please define "smarter", "stronger", and "faster"? I know there are "biological limits" ... man will never prepare and train to run faster than the speed of light, or lift an elephant or rival a computer in storage capacity and processing speed.

[Anonymous]

Steve Austin or Jaime Sommers for example... 8)

[Anonymous]

This thread cracks me up! You people are nuts! One, two, three....push!

[Anonymous]

If you want to obtain higher scores in any test or examination then prepare with many similar types of problems. If you wish to swim faster or hit a baseball with more accuracy you'd better get in the pool or batting cage.

Simple advice for the wise.

Ignore this at your peril

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want to obtain higher scores in [b]any test or examination[/b] then prepare with many similar types of problems. If you wish to swim faster or hit a baseball with more accuracy you'd better get in the pool or batting cage.

Simple advice for the wise.

Ignore this at your peril

for most, the goal is to obtain a fair evaluation of AAP potentials through the test; for some, it's to obtain a spot in AAP.

[Anonymous]

for most, the goal is to obtain a fair evaluation of AAP potentials through the test; for some, it's to obtain a spot in AAP.

Sounds like bull crap. Take your scripture and preach in heaven. The rest of us on earth have to pass tests in school from pre-K on -- including tests in the pool, lacrosse and baseball fields, tennis courts and gymnasia. These tests are not about fair evaluation of potential; they about whether you make the cut or team.

Of course, there are a few who live off trust funds (trust fund babies) set up by grandpa for whom the results of a test are meaningless and serve no purpose -- save obtaining a "fair" evaluation of potential.

[Anonymous]

...or the lack thereof

[Anonymous]

I think the main goal with the Cogat is to make the dang pool. Once you've made the pool, your chances are pretty good (barring a crappy GBRS).

[Anonymous]

To make the dang pool, and leave no stone unturn, some prepare. Chance favors the prepared mind. I prefer my surgeon and pilot to prepare even if they are "geniuses" and there is a 1 chance in 1,000 the plane or brain goes down. For the unlucky one, or turn -- this is 100 percent fatal without a second chance at redemption!

Others may choose not to follow this advise. To each her own.

[Anonymous]

Pp: the problem is two fold: one, a high cogat is not sufficient to get in. Gbrs needs to be good. The money is better spent on a Wisc. Second, do you really want to focus a sever year old in test prep for the summer?

[Anonymous]

Why not? sounds like a low bar






Doesn't sound like preparation is a big deal here ... low bar? After all we are not talking about the MCAT and medical school

What's the big deal .. even for a 4 year old? Take it in stride!











W

[Anonymous]

What's 30 min/day preparation over a 3-month summer? Sounds like psychological trauma to a 7-year-old? Only in America!