Change to HGC Testing to make it more accessible to a more "diversified" group?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think more secrecy about the test would actually be better. No one should be prepping for these at all. People who seek out information about he test through back channels and tutors are 100% cheating. MCPS should be able to use any methods they want to select students.

How is it cheating? I'm the PP who says they should make the test public.

People prep for everything! It's called being prepared and knowing what to expect. You do better when you're aware of what is expected.

Do you think SAT prep courses are also cheating?

At least if everyone knew, then everyone could have the opportunity to prep.

[Anonymous]

I heard the latest iteration of the county's HGC program was inspired by the Handicapper General character from the Vonnegut short-story, "Harrison Bergeron".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more secrecy about the test would actually be better. No one should be prepping for these at all. People who seek out information about he test through back channels and tutors are 100% cheating. MCPS should be able to use any methods they want to select students.

How is it cheating? I'm the PP who says they should make the test public.

People prep for everything! It's called being prepared and knowing what to expect. You do better when you're aware of what is expected.

Do you think SAT prep courses are also cheating?

At least if everyone knew, then everyone could have the opportunity to prep.

It is not cheating but it gives those who can afford prep an edge. MCPS is trying to avoid that.

[Anonymous]

Except it does not work. Nothing is going to be a secret in this day and age. Transparency is much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Except it does not work. Nothing is going to be a secret in this day and age. Transparency is much better.

Yet here we all are wondering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Except it does not work. Nothing is going to be a secret in this day and age. Transparency is much better.

Yet here we all are wondering?

The first year they do something people will always wonder. After that, it is those in the known know and those who are left out will be left out. At least in Fairfax county, everyone knows.

[Anonymous]

Knows what? Rich families bring in outside testing to enhance their kids chances of being in a program that takes a large number of kids and is not even called a gifted program anymore?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more secrecy about the test would actually be better. No one should be prepping for these at all. People who seek out information about he test through back channels and tutors are 100% cheating. MCPS should be able to use any methods they want to select students.

How is it cheating? I'm the PP who says they should make the test public.

People prep for everything! It's called being prepared and knowing what to expect. You do better when you're aware of what is expected.

Do you think SAT prep courses are also cheating?

At least if everyone knew, then everyone could have the opportunity to prep.

The purpose of the HGC is to create a cohort of highly gifted children. Not to accommodate your well prepped, middling child.

Despite what you think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more secrecy about the test would actually be better. No one should be prepping for these at all. People who seek out information about he test through back channels and tutors are 100% cheating. MCPS should be able to use any methods they want to select students.

How is it cheating? I'm the PP who says they should make the test public.

People prep for everything! It's called being prepared and knowing what to expect. You do better when you're aware of what is expected.

Do you think SAT prep courses are also cheating?

At least if everyone knew, then everyone could have the opportunity to prep.

The purpose of the HGC is to create a cohort of highly gifted children. Not to accommodate your well prepped, middling child.

Despite what you think.

It's okay. I'll take my middling, prepped, hard-working kid over your 'highly gifted' kid who thinks he's naturally smart and doesn't need to work as hard. IME, hard work can often get you even farther than raw talent.

My middling, prepped kid did fantastic at the HGC. We're not wealthy enough to live in potomac or Bethesda, so our home school is a Focus school. Flame away, but we wanted a bit 'more' for our bright (but not a genius) kid.

So we prepped for the HGC. And guess what, my kid learned that if you work at something, you will do well! Excellent lesson.

[Anonymous]

Sorry folks but prep or not, a child who does well on the test also has to have other qualifiers. So to say that prepping hurts the hgc community somehow, I just don't believe it. Getting into the hgc is not just about one test score, and everyone who seem frazzled by prepping needs to understand that.

I am in the camp of using hgc test score as one of the many benchmarks. Might as well let all parents know so that all parties can choose to prep (or not) to their hearts' desire.

[Anonymous]

I learned it was the Cogat test from googling (I found board of education appeal decisions). Then I went to Amazon and bought a $20 prep book. My child completes the test in the book and was accepted. In other words, possible to prep without spending $2000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I learned it was the Cogat test from googling (I found board of education appeal decisions). Then I went to Amazon and bought a $20 prep book. My child completes the test in the book and was accepted. In other words, possible to prep without spending $2000.

This is what we did. And I don't feel the tiniest bit of guilt. There were questions in the book that were easy to answer but would be difficult for kids who had never seen that type of question before.

If they made the test public, than ALL families could prep for it if they wanted to. All this secrecy is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I learned it was the Cogat test from googling (I found board of education appeal decisions). Then I went to Amazon and bought a $20 prep book. My child completes the test in the book and was accepted. In other words, possible to prep without spending $2000.

Ok, so let's say your child is in Mr. Smith's intro to Bio class in 9th grade. Kids from last year have scanned some old tests of his and out them up online. You print them out for your child to study ahead of time. Because you want to teach him that working hard on something pays off! Of course this is cheating. It is just the same as intentionally seeking out cogat tests online. Parents who do this are the reason they are changing the criteria for admission.

[Anonymous]

Here's an article about how the gifted program screening went terribly wrong in Los Angeles when parents started googling the test and prepping their kids. Even the article calls it cheating: http://laschoolreport.com/cheating-parents-misis-conspire-to-slow-down-lausds-gifted-program/

[Anonymous]

That's silly. My child only missed a few on the practice test. Pretty sure child would have done well on actual test even if we hadn't done the practice one.