CogAt or Fairfax Test?

[Anonymous]

You know, perhaps the purpose of this new test is to put the scoring on a more realistic standard.

Since this test is only being administered to Fairfax County, the entire score pool is students from this district.

So falling in the 99% or 98% percent range will mean that you place at that range against our grading pool, NOT all the kids across the country.

This will make it easier for the district to pull out the top 2-3% ish of 2nd graders for our program, instead of the large numbers we had this past school year.

Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know, perhaps the purpose of this new test is to put the scoring on a more realistic standard.

Since this test is only being administered to Fairfax County, the entire score pool is students from this district.

So falling in the 99% or 98% percent range will mean that you place at that range against our grading pool, NOT all the kids across the country.

This will make it easier for the district to pull out the top 2-3% ish of 2nd graders for our program, instead of the large numbers we had this past school year.

Just a thought.

No. Its easier and cheaper to just rescale the raw score, if they wanted a different scaled score for FCPS, instead of implementing an entirely new test.
Anyway, its easy enough to pull out the top 2-3% based on the current scores.

[Anonymous]

What is the Fairfax Abilities Test (FxAT)?
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will be introducing a new Fairfax Abilities Test (FxAT) to our 2nd Graders this fall. This new test is replacing the previously used Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). The FxAT is a customized form of the CogAT specifically designed for use in FCPS. This assessment is used as a part of the screening process for advanced academic services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know, perhaps the purpose of this new test is to put the scoring on a more realistic standard.

Since this test is only being administered to Fairfax County, the entire score pool is students from this district.

So falling in the 99% or 98% percent range will mean that you place at that range against our grading pool, NOT all the kids across the country.

This will make it easier for the district to pull out the top 2-3% ish of 2nd graders for our program, instead of the large numbers we had this past school year.

Just a thought.

No. Its easier and cheaper to just rescale the raw score, if they wanted a different scaled score for FCPS, instead of implementing an entirely new test.
Anyway, its easy enough to pull out the top 2-3% based on the current scores.

But they don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's the deal: too many parents had a copy of the CogAT test. They were prepping their kids. Kids were coming in with answers memorized or looking at items and saying, "Oh yeah, I've done that one..."

Fairfax went to the publisher and said that they were done with them--too many copies were out there. So the publisher developed another version of the test that only Fairfax has. No copies are out there anywhere except within FCPS. Security is extremely tight. The test will look the same in format.


Mercer is just publishing its own practice test and selling it. They are NOT the test publisher.

How on earth do you know this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the deal: too many parents had a copy of the CogAT test. They were prepping their kids. Kids were coming in with answers memorized or looking at items and saying, "Oh yeah, I've done that one..."

Fairfax went to the publisher and said that they were done with them--too many copies were out there. So the publisher developed another version of the test that only Fairfax has. No copies are out there anywhere except within FCPS. Security is extremely tight. The test will look the same in format.


Mercer is just publishing its own practice test and selling it. They are NOT the test publisher.

How on earth do you know this?

I heard the same thing from someone in the central office staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the deal: too many parents had a copy of the CogAT test. They were prepping their kids. Kids were coming in with answers memorized or looking at items and saying, "Oh yeah, I've done that one..."

Fairfax went to the publisher and said that they were done with them--too many copies were out there. So the publisher developed another version of the test that only Fairfax has. No copies are out there anywhere except within FCPS. Security is extremely tight. The test will look the same in format.


Mercer is just publishing its own practice test and selling it. They are NOT the test publisher.

How on earth do you know this?

I heard the same thing from someone in the central office staff.

Yeah, yeah... heard it from someone's sister-in-law's uncle's neighbor's little brother...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the deal: too many parents had a copy of the CogAT test. They were prepping their kids. Kids were coming in with answers memorized or looking at items and saying, "Oh yeah, I've done that one..."

Fairfax went to the publisher and said that they were done with them--too many copies were out there. So the publisher developed another version of the test that only Fairfax has. No copies are out there anywhere except within FCPS. Security is extremely tight. The test will look the same in format.


Mercer is just publishing its own practice test and selling it. They are NOT the test publisher.

How on earth do you know this?

Directly from the school test coordinator and the AART at the elementary school in Fairfax County where I teach.

[Anonymous]

DD told me that they had a CogAT practice test today at school! I wonder now if FxAT is just a different name for CogAT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's the deal: too many parents had a copy of the CogAT test. They were prepping their kids. Kids were coming in with answers memorized or looking at items and saying, "Oh yeah, I've done that one..."

Fairfax went to the publisher and said that they were done with them--too many copies were out there. So the publisher developed another version of the test that only Fairfax has. No copies are out there anywhere except within FCPS. Security is extremely tight. The test will look the same in format.


Mercer is just publishing its own practice test and selling it. They are NOT the test publisher.

How on earth do you know this?

I heard the same thing from someone in the central office staff.

Yeah, yeah... heard it from someone's sister-in-law's uncle's neighbor's little brother...

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Can't handle the truth, 'eh? Well, bless your heart!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know, perhaps the purpose of this new test is to put the scoring on a more realistic standard.

Since this test is only being administered to Fairfax County, the entire score pool is students from this district.

So falling in the 99% or 98% percent range will mean that you place at that range against our grading pool, NOT all the kids across the country.

This will make it easier for the district to pull out the top 2-3% ish of 2nd graders for our program, instead of the large numbers we had this past school year.

Just a thought.

No. Its easier and cheaper to just rescale the raw score, if they wanted a different scaled score for FCPS, instead of implementing an entirely new test.
Anyway, its easy enough to pull out the top 2-3% based on the current scores.

The CogAT is too easy to differentiate kids, especially the kids from Fairfax county as our kids are mostly well educated starting from a young age. The misses for many kids are carelessness, not intelligence. The solution is to make the test much harder so the variance will be bigger. The test will then be more reliable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD told me that they had a CogAT practice test today at school! I wonder now if FxAT is just a different name for CogAT.

My kid had a practice test at school too! She said the questions were easy but she could not recall what they looked like. She did remember that there were some math questions and the largest numbers were between 10-19. Does this sound more difficult than the previous tests?

[Anonymous]

i thought the last test was all pictures.. not any math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i thought the last test was all pictures.. not any math.

CogAT Form 7, yes.

http://faculty.education.uiowa.edu/dlohman/pdf/CogAT7%20overview%20handouts.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i thought the last test was all pictures.. not any math.

Just called a friend and her DD has exceptional memory. The girl said the practice questions have math problems. It seems true that this year the testing includes developed skills on top of potentials.
So test prep has no real use unless it really improves "developed skills". I think I like it - well, may change my mind if my child does not do well