No CogAT tests given to kids who are current 5th graders?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

NotThatKindofDoctor wrote:Thanks! Honestly, the whole GT thing wasn't even really what I cared about. Her psychiatrist asked for the CogAT profile to help get a fuller picture about her strengths and struggles (she has ADHD and anxiety so it can be hard to sometimes sort out what the causal mechanism is for a struggle.) Sucks we don't have that, though I'm aware MCPS doesn't give the CogAT for that purpose.

Also, I cannot tell you the confusion we created when we emailed the MCPS Accelerated and Enriched Instruction Office who absolutely insisted we were wrong and everyone had gotten the CogAT. They acted like we were dumb for not being able to find it on ParentVue. Took the principal escalating to someone to get an actual answer

Ugh, that is not reassuring to hear from AEI-- you were clear you were talking about a 5th grader? They should know who got what when better than anyone!

And the CogAT last year was only the abbreviated screener anyway (3 tests rather than 9) so it might not have been what you needed anyway. (I read they are doing the full one this year, though.)

I think it is just 3 section. At least my 2nd grader said they are testing for 3 days and it il doesn’t take long on each day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AEI annoyed me by sending me a letter that my child wasn't designated G&T.

My kid entered MCPS in 7th grade, and when you looked at the letter, he was designated as not G&T, because he had 99% MAP scores in Reading and Math, but no COGAT score ("data missing."

I asked how he was supposed to be designated G&T if they hadn't actually applied the test, and they "reviewed his case" and 6 months later, they designated him G&T (which means absolutely nothing in MCPS, as others have pointed out, but it's better than being not being designated G&T because the school couldn't be bothered to test him.)

Ok that's wild considering it was apparently their standard operating procedure to determine GT without CogAT for years. I would be annoyed, too.

It's also just a shame how poorly it's all run. I grew up in Louisiana where public schools were often not great, to put it mildly. Most private schools weren't much better. GT made a big difference in not only supporting my education but also getting me excited about school.

I naively thought that MCPS GT would be even better given the average school was already far and above most of my childhood experiences. But instead I'm left wondering why it even really exists

MCPS G-T doesn’t exist. People on this board say MCPS has the designation because it is required by the state. And selection for CES MS and HS magnets is entirely dependent on MAP scores, which is a test of exposure, rather than COGAT which is a test of giftedness. COGAT isn’t used at all.

The COGAT is easily prepped for and everyone who looks at the scores knows it. It is a proxy for an intelligence test that costs a lot less. You can watch videos, buy books, and attend COGAT prep classes. It is being dropped in many places because families who want their kid in the GT programs, or their equivalents, simply prep for the COGAT.

This means that is as much a test of exposure as the MAP, the real difference is that every kid in school has a chance to be exposed to the material on the MAP while that is not the case for the COGAT.

That’s not accurate. MAP is a test of exposure so it’s more easily prepped for than the COGAT by teaching kids the material for higher grades earlier. There are several private tuition centers in MoCo that offer MAP tutoring after school, and on weekends with the advertising of “raise your MAP scores by 40 points.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

NotThatKindofDoctor wrote:Thanks! Honestly, the whole GT thing wasn't even really what I cared about. Her psychiatrist asked for the CogAT profile to help get a fuller picture about her strengths and struggles (she has ADHD and anxiety so it can be hard to sometimes sort out what the causal mechanism is for a struggle.) Sucks we don't have that, though I'm aware MCPS doesn't give the CogAT for that purpose.

Also, I cannot tell you the confusion we created when we emailed the MCPS Accelerated and Enriched Instruction Office who absolutely insisted we were wrong and everyone had gotten the CogAT. They acted like we were dumb for not being able to find it on ParentVue. Took the principal escalating to someone to get an actual answer

Ugh, that is not reassuring to hear from AEI-- you were clear you were talking about a 5th grader? They should know who got what when better than anyone!

And the CogAT last year was only the abbreviated screener anyway (3 tests rather than 9) so it might not have been what you needed anyway. (I read they are doing the full one this year, though.)

I think it is just 3 section. At least my 2nd grader said they are testing for 3 days and it il doesn’t take long on each day.

I think they said it would be the full one this year on the AEI webinar? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eDN6iGZaJhI&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwVERDUAOfG5ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR6ER54oaz4PGxZJvuJ3b_wGgYuRM8sy45NX8qqjdRG40sYJl0Xs2f8zhKnd4w_aem_vBiwfKo3bijOfbf1sLi9Aw