Would you retake a 135 COGAT?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't sound like there's any specific weakness or reason for the rejection, unless the work samples the school submitted were sloppy or otherwise bad. Sometimes, the admissions decisions just don't make sense to anyone. Reapply next year with good work samples and a good parent questionnaire. Make sure you don't say something offputting to the committee members in the questionnaire. Hopefully, the process will work out for you next time.

Yes, the work samples submitted were pretty bad and then our work samples were even worse. This is my first time applying and I had no clue what to submit. There were even samples from 1st grade that the school submitted. Is that normal?

No, not normal for 1st grade samples to be submitted. I would’ve appealed w new samples but that deadline has passed. definitely apply next year and make sure your kid gets level III nxt year.

[Anonymous]

FCPS offers a free retake of CogAT so why not use it? My guess is that the kid's scores will likely to improve. This happened to my own child who has August birthday. The improved score will add strength to your reapplication. I agree with PPs that other parts of the packages need to be checked also.

[Anonymous]

I'd agree with the iready scores not being high enough. How are the scores in the spring?

[Anonymous]

DS was accepted with a 135 CoGAT and 3 CO/1FO. There was a noticeable difference in the CO write ups from the FO write up. The CO included more examples and clear demonstration of DSs interest, skill, and curiosity. The FO answers were less detailed and outline areas that he was on grade level for but not advanced in. I would guess that is where your answer can be found.

First grade work samples are weird, that shouldn’t happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS was accepted with a 135 CoGAT and 3 CO/1FO. There was a noticeable difference in the CO write ups from the FO write up. The CO included more examples and clear demonstration of DSs interest, skill, and curiosity. The FO answers were less detailed and outline areas that he was on grade level for but not advanced in. I would guess that is where your answer can be found.

First grade work samples are weird, that shouldn’t happen.

Someone told me the cutoff this year is 134 so I thought kid would have a good chance of getting in. Is the NNAT weighted heavily? Wonder if I should retake that one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd agree with the iready scores not being high enough. How are the scores in the spring?

Iready is garbage. Every single teacher we’ve ever had hates them and says they’re totally unreliable. Their sole purpose is to identify kids who need support - they’re otherwise pointless.

[Anonymous]

Admittedly, we're all just spitballing here. I really think the work samples were the thing that caused your kid to be rejected. If both the school and home submitted samples looked like a kid who couldn't perform in the classroom or handle advanced work, then that's why they rejected. Using first grade samples is especially weird, because it makes it look like the kid hasn't done anything even remotely adequate this year.

A lot of people here insist that the home work samples are ignored. I don't think that's quite true. I think the one time they are useful is when your kid has the test scores and GBRS, and the committee just needs reassurance that your kid can handle AAP level work. Even if the school samples are bad, if you provide home ones that show that your kid is capable of performing, that might be enough to tip the scales in favor of letting your kid in.

tl;dr. I think if you have good enough test scores and GBRS, then your kid is in unless there's some red flag. Bad school + home work samples is a red flag. Fix that for next year.

[Anonymous]

Definitely! In fact, take it 4 or 5 times and your kids score should go up a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS was accepted with a 135 CoGAT and 3 CO/1FO. There was a noticeable difference in the CO write ups from the FO write up. The CO included more examples and clear demonstration of DSs interest, skill, and curiosity. The FO answers were less detailed and outline areas that he was on grade level for but not advanced in. I would guess that is where your answer can be found.

First grade work samples are weird, that shouldn’t happen.

Someone told me the cutoff this year is 134 so I thought kid would have a good chance of getting in. Is the NNAT weighted heavily? Wonder if I should retake that one.

The cut off is for in-pool vs requiring parent refer and it is different for each school. It is not an automatic entrance into LIV. A 135 probably does have a good chance of getting in and the GBRS are not bad. That is why I am recommending you read them carefully. It could be that what the Teachers are highlighting as strengths are things that can be met in the Gen Ed class while the weaker areas are areas that would cause issues in LIV so the committee decided that Gen Ed was a better fit.

I think the appeals deadline has passed but I would look at addressing the issues that are raised in the FOs if you reapply next year. I don’t think it was test scores.

DS one FO dealt with writing and the Teachers included that his writing was on grade level but that he was advanced in his verbal descriptions. It gave me the impression that they were balancing out a weakness with a strength. Everything else was very positive.

[Anonymous]

No, I would have appealed tho.