HGC Appeal result is out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They are disruptive.
They aren't receptive to different learning styles
They are too shy and don't advocate for themselves
They don't do well in new situations
They have issues working together with peers

It's not intended to be the Center for Highly Well-Behaved, Adaptable, Outgoing, Collaborative Children. And in my children's experience, it isn't.

+1. Yes.

HIGHLY GIFTED Center.
Otherwise change the name and mission.

Didn't they actually just change the name to Centers for Enriched Studies (?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They are disruptive.
They aren't receptive to different learning styles
They are too shy and don't advocate for themselves
They don't do well in new situations
They have issues working together with peers

It's not intended to be the Center for Highly Well-Behaved, Adaptable, Outgoing, Collaborative Children. And in my children's experience, it isn't.

Actually, my 4th Grader's HGC class is very poorly behaved and the teacher has to work very hard to get the inflexible ones to work with the other kids in the class. It is an exhausting environment!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They are disruptive.
They aren't receptive to different learning styles
They are too shy and don't advocate for themselves
They don't do well in new situations
They have issues working together with peers

It's not intended to be the Center for Highly Well-Behaved, Adaptable, Outgoing, Collaborative Children. And in my children's experience, it isn't.

+1. Yes.

HIGHLY GIFTED Center.
Otherwise change the name and mission.

Didn't they actually just change the name to Centers for Enriched Studies (?)

Yes... hence the change in the entrance criteria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC remains in the wait pool. The letter does reveal the median SAS score of the selected students in the Center. My son's score is exactly the same as the median score... However, " the score is not determinative of selection and is one of the multiple factors reviewed".

I know a kid whose SAS score is much higher than median score got successful appeal and now is accepted in HGC.

It makes you wonder why they did not accept this child to begin with.

Because the median score is not a minimum.

I cannot see a reason to exclude a child whose score is much higher than the median score.

Really? You think ONE score defines who should get in HGC. The majority is the teacher's recommendation, not the score.

They are disruptive.
They aren't receptive to different learning styles
They are too shy and don't advocate for themselves
They don't do well in new situations
They have issues working together with peers

There are a ton of reasons kids aren't picked and the entire appeals process is a joke and a waste of time and money of our school budget spent paying people to go thru the appeals process. Actually the entire HGC program is a joke. Parents fighting for a few places in a subpar curriculum that they basically just want to either get their kid out of their homeschool, put them with kids that like learning, or to brag to other parents about. It costs millions each year to do this program and bus them around. MCPS needs to follow other local counties and do more in house to kids that are gifted. Not allow parents to play and appeal the program.

Ha - at my kids' elementary school, the traits you cited are usually present in one kid or another who is admitted to the hgc from our home school. And certainly those are not reasons why a kid should not be admitted - in fact, I'd argue some of them are reasons why the kids should be admitted!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They are disruptive.
They aren't receptive to different learning styles
They are too shy and don't advocate for themselves
They don't do well in new situations
They have issues working together with peers

It's not intended to be the Center for Highly Well-Behaved, Adaptable, Outgoing, Collaborative Children. And in my children's experience, it isn't.

+1. Yes.

HIGHLY GIFTED Center.
Otherwise change the name and mission.

Didn't they actually just change the name to Centers for Enriched Studies (?)

Yes... hence the change in the entrance criteria.

I feel like mcps is trying to dumb down the HGC with the name change and the very shortened test this year. When my DC took it a couple of years ago, the test was so much longer. This year it was 30min. It does seem like mcps took the metis report to heart and are now putting more importance on the "soft skills" rather than the test scores. I think this is a disservice to the really smart kids and the program itself.

If this is how the center is going to be going forward, then I wouldn't bother sending my kid on a 45min bus ride each way since more than likely, there will now be other very bright kids who don't go to the center and stay at the home school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Yes... hence the change in the entrance criteria.

I feel like mcps is trying to dumb down the HGC with the name change and the very shortened test this year. When my DC took it a couple of years ago, the test was so much longer. This year it was 30min. It does seem like mcps took the metis report to heart and are now putting more importance on the "soft skills" rather than the test scores. I think this is a disservice to the really smart kids and the program itself.

If this is how the center is going to be going forward, then I wouldn't bother sending my kid on a 45min bus ride each way since more than likely, there will now be other very bright kids who don't go to the center and stay at the home school.

OK, then don't. I'm not saying that to be snippy, either. It's just the reality: if you don't like the program, then don't send your kid to it. (If you have another, younger kid to potentially send.)

[Anonymous]

Seems like they are moving towards a pullout in every school..that is what the pilot is. No bus ride required but a scaled down program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like they are moving towards a pullout in every school..that is what the pilot is. No bus ride required but a scaled down program.

I'd be fine with that instead of "hgc" -- since it's no longer a "gifted" center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC remains in the wait pool. The letter does reveal the median SAS score of the selected students in the Center. My son's score is exactly the same as the median score... However, " the score is not determinative of selection and is one of the multiple factors reviewed".

I know a kid whose SAS score is much higher than median score got successful appeal and now is accepted in HGC.

My kids'S score was higher than the median and he was rejected. On appeal, we learned his teacher's recommendation sank his application. She had told us during a p/t conference that she "didn't believe" in gifted education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC remains in the wait pool. The letter does reveal the median SAS score of the selected students in the Center. My son's score is exactly the same as the median score... However, " the score is not determinative of selection and is one of the multiple factors reviewed".

I know a kid whose SAS score is much higher than median score got successful appeal and now is accepted in HGC.

My kids'S score was higher than the median and he was rejected. On appeal, we learned his teacher's recommendation sank his application. She had told us during a p/t conference that she "didn't believe" in gifted education.

So, did no kid from her class ever get selected to HGC?

Seems to me that the test scores are not given much weight anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC remains in the wait pool. The letter does reveal the median SAS score of the selected students in the Center. My son's score is exactly the same as the median score... However, " the score is not determinative of selection and is one of the multiple factors reviewed".

I know a kid whose SAS score is much higher than median score got successful appeal and now is accepted in HGC.

My kids'S score was higher than the median and he was rejected. On appeal, we learned his teacher's recommendation sank his application. She had told us during a p/t conference that she "didn't believe" in gifted education.

A few years ago when my DC went, the letter we got showed the median scores in three catgories -- verbal, nonverbal and quantitative -- along with my DC's scores in those categories.

Is it still like that, or do they only show the overall median score for the accepted group?

If it no only shows one median score, I wonder why they changed it?

[Anonymous]

In the schools that were part of the pilot program, parents were only given the overall median percentile for students tested at their school and their own child's overall percentile among those tested nationally.

It really does seem as though they are testing out a shift from a program for the "highly gifted" to one for kids who are regarded as strong students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the schools that were part of the pilot program, parents were only given the overall median percentile for students tested at their school and their own child's overall percentile among those tested nationally.

It really does seem as though they are testing out a shift from a program for the "highly gifted" to one for kids who are regarded as strong students.

We are in the pilot program (at RCES which is opening up an in house program). Kid admitted to the inhouse "enriched studies" program. I guarantee you my kid did not have good teacher recommendations, report cards are a mix of Ps and Is. Did score well on the test however.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the schools that were part of the pilot program, parents were only given the overall median percentile for students tested at their school and their own child's overall percentile among those tested nationally.

It really does seem as though they are testing out a shift from a program for the "highly gifted" to one for kids who are regarded as strong students.

I've had two kids in the HGC, and that's what it mostly was already, in my opinion. There were some kids there who were "highly gifted" (from what I could tell), but I don't think that my kids are. They're just smart kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the schools that were part of the pilot program, parents were only given the overall median percentile for students tested at their school and their own child's overall percentile among those tested nationally.

It really does seem as though they are testing out a shift from a program for the "highly gifted" to one for kids who are regarded as strong students.

I've had two kids in the HGC, and that's what it mostly was already, in my opinion. There were some kids there who were "highly gifted" (from what I could tell), but I don't think that my kids are. They're just smart kids.

DP... I agree with you, having a DC that went to HGC a couple of years. But, the recent changes make me think that HGCs are being "dumbed down" even more.