CogAT this year for 2nd grade

[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?

No one is making the case that admission to this program is based solely on one component or test. The only common sense argument is to take control, where possible, of those prerequsite elements within one's control. Chance still favors the prepared mind.

[Anonymous]

Who is talking about paying money? Any competent parent, with motivative, opportunity and a little time can mentor/coach/tutor/prep/ their children if money is an issue. Money does not have to change hands for some.

[Anonymous]

I guess my fundamental issue with the idea of test prep for the CogAT is the same reason why I am against the SOL's. Prepping for the test does not help the children in anything other than taking the test. The time spent teaching to the SOL's is time that could be better spent teaching the kids thinking skills rather than facts for the SOL's. For example, Science is not about the facts of the water cycle...science is about the hypothesis testing and logical based problem solving skills.

Why are we (as a society) forcing our small children to be evaluated rather than learn? Learning can occur in lots of ways. Playing baseball/softball/kickball teaches kids strategy. Unsupervised playing outside teaches kids how to work out conflicts and real leadership.

Training for the CogAT teaches the kid how to take a test.

Once one is finished with school, test taking does not matter. On the job, I have had to deal with conflicts, I have had to deal with demanding clients, and I have to solve difficult problems daily. I rarely have to take tests.

[Anonymous]

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

For us, it was 10 minutes a day and for two weeks. No prep the day before. We only did what dc wanted to do. DC would never sit still for 30 minutes a day, lol. No prep the day before. A good nights sleep and a good breakfast on test days. No talk about the test or AAP or any other pressure. Too much prep is not a good thing. The kid senses that this is a BIG DEAL and worries about making mom and dad happy. That's a terrible burden to put on a 7 year old.

[Anonymous]

...Why are we (as a society) forcing our small children to be evaluated rather than learn? Learning can occur in lots of ways. Playing baseball/softball/kickball teaches kids strategy. Unsupervised playing outside teaches kids how to work out conflicts and real leadership.

All the club sports and travel teams are kids play on and practise 6 -10 H/ week for coaches who prefer they do nothing else with their time is teaching strategy? Hmmmh!

No one is forcing you to prepare your kids. Preparation is your choice. If tests are used to evaluate kids, define a cut, or form the basis of who moves up then some parents and their children choose to prepare for this if that's their preference. Others don't. Same with sports. Kids need the cut times to get to Junior Olympics (JOs). Some achieve this by more practise, training and repetition. Competition in sports are no different from academics. In fact, some might argue that sports will prepare one for the cut throat environment in Ivy halls and on Wall Street. Some like it some don't. But, the American mantra is competition, free markets, and "pull oneself up by one's bootstraps". This is a lesson many of us learn eventually.

[Anonymous]

For us, it was 10 minutes a day and for two weeks. No prep the day before. We only did what dc wanted to do. DC would never sit still for 30 minutes a day, lol. No prep the day before. A good nights sleep and a good breakfast on test days. No talk about the test or AAP or any other pressure. Too much prep is not a good thing. The kid senses that this is a BIG DEAL and worries about making mom and dad happy. That's a terrible burden to put on a 7 year old.

Come now. 24/7 video games and television (noted >>>>>>> 30 min/day) is the real terrible burden put on our 7-year-olds. Thirty minutes/day of focused reading, writing and arithmetic is a burden I happily will impose on my 7-year-old. Try it you may prefer it to television and video games. Many adults, in addition, may also benefit from this habit. Adulthood and voting rights are not prerequisites for this 30 minute daily burden. Many normally developing 3 year-olds have no problem with this.

[Anonymous]

Come on now....you make an laughable assumption that all my kid does is watch 24/7 TV and play video games. We don't own a game system. Voting rights? 3 year olds? Oh gosh. Seriously?

What my kid won't sit still for is 30 minutes of test prep a day. B-o-r-i-n-g! Sitting down and learning about astronomy, physics, or fashion design? No problem! I just don't believe that learning should be so structured at home. During the school year the kid spends all day in a classroom structure doing what's expected. At home we follow our interests without a silly timer.

My kid gets O's and G's in school, is reading at least two grades ahead of grade level and sailed into the AAP program first round....so I think we've got a good thing going with the study habits, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Normal seven year-old kids need to learn to sit down for 30 min/day (reading, writing or doing arithmetic). If they can sit down for movies and video games they can sit down for reading, writing and arithmetic. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. Kids can still play in the sand.

[Anonymous]

Come on now....you make an laughable assumption that all my kid does is watch 24/7 TV and play video games. We don't own a game system. Voting rights? 3 year olds? Oh gosh. Seriously?

What my kid won't sit still for is 30 minutes of test prep a day. B-o-r-i-n-g! Sitting down and learning about astronomy, physics, or fashion design? No problem! I just don't believe that learning should be so structured at home. During the school year the kid spends all day in a classroom structure doing what's expected. At home we follow our interests without a silly timer.

My kid gets O's and G's in school, is reading at least two grades ahead of grade level and sailed into the AAP program first round....so I think we've got a good thing going with the study habits, thank you.

Of course, your MIT and Harvard bound kid is excused from reading, writing, or doing arithmetic for a mere 30 minutes/day. This will retard his astronomical accomplishments to date.

[Anonymous]

One wonders about "parents" or "ex and/or step parents" these days.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with "boring" tasks...I suspect these same kids (that can't read or write for 30 minutes/day) don't and can't make their beds, take out the trash, cut the grass and clean their rooms because these are b--o--r--i--n--g tasks.

These boring tasks have built character in past years. Now a child's activities are dicated only and solely by the child's "own" interests ... not the parents. Sounds like a popularity contest for parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Normal seven year-old kids need to learn to sit down for 30 min/day (reading, writing or doing arithmetic). If they can sit down for movies and video games they can sit down for reading, writing and arithmetic. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. Kids can still play in the sand.

I'll even go you one further. It is easier to get a seven year-old to sit down and work on something like test prep than getting an 11 or 12 year old to do it. It never will get easier.
I'm glad mine went along with me in those days. I think it has helped alot and will in the future because DC will see these standardized tests for many years to come. Not my idea to take these tests, it's just the way it is.

[Anonymous]

Wow, look at all the histrionics! Like I said, my kid can certainly apply him/herself when the situation calls for it (doing chores, making the bed, picking up, doing an assignment, assigned reading, etc...). If it's a school assignment, the kid can easily work more than 30 minutes getting it just right. We just didn't think being comfortable taking the CoGat merited 30 minutes a day for the summer.

Once again with feeling, We had no problem with the CoGat as far as taking it and in regards to the scores that got DC into the AAP pool. DC likes taking tests and did well.

[Anonymous]

And the debate goes on. BTW, the crazees got to me, I bought the book and got to say, it is pretty darn good. Definitely beneficial and fun to do whether it is to Cogat or not to COgat.

[Anonymous]

And, oh ya, for those interested, the name of the book is '4 Practice Tests for Cogat' from Cogat Thank you, anonymous poster who got bashed for starting this post.

[Anonymous]

Nonsense. If you think the rationale for a 7-year-old kid to put his or her fanny down for 30 minutes/day of reading, writing and arithmetic is soley to take "GoCAT exams" and the like your world view of intelligence, knowledge, and fun is severely limited. I do not care whether it is summer or winter, vacation or school a NORMAL 7-year-old child should be able to spend 30 min/day reading, writing or doing arithmetic (goes for a NORMAL adult -- whether at work, home or in school). The last I heard we still live in a literate 21st century country and not in the wild. Since when did 30 min/day of reading, writing and arithmatic become the beast of burden for a 7-year-old? I suspect it starts with the parents, ex parents or step parents ... and not the child.