In-Pool Results Thread 2024

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there ways to get kids ready for a WISC? Not "prep" but more just to make sure they don't do poorly bc they have never been exposed to such questions? Is it much like the CogAT?

Yes, there are companies that sell prep materials. If you’re curious about your child’s actual IQ, prepping will give you an inflated number. So it won’t be “real.” Most people don’t prep for the WISC, and so your child’s results will be compared to children who were never exposed to those questions.

If your goal, however, is solely to get a high number so that you can reject an appeal, you should be able to find prep materials to preview by running a search.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ways to get kids ready for a WISC? Not "prep" but more just to make sure they don't do poorly bc they have never been exposed to such questions? Is it much like the CogAT?

Yes, there are companies that sell prep materials. If you’re curious about your child’s actual IQ, prepping will give you an inflated number. So it won’t be “real.” Most people don’t prep for the WISC, and so your child’s results will be compared to children who were never exposed to those questions.

If your goal, however, is solely to get a high number so that you can reject an appeal, you should be able to find prep materials to preview by running a search.

Correction: appeal a rejection

[Anonymous]

Hi,

My 2'nd grade DC is in pool. Below scores -

NNAT - 144
Cogat - VQN - 148
Lowest in Cogat is Verbal which is - 129
VALLS Composite score - 690

Are these scores good? My concern is regarding the HOPE Score as his teacher has once complained that he is not paying attention in the class and disturbing others. We already talked to DC about this and then it looked like teacher saw some improvements(this was two months back). I am not sure if his Hope Score will sink his other NNAT/Cogat scores and derail his selection. Should i talk to the teacher and ask generally how he is doing in the class to get some idea where this might be heading?

thanks

[Anonymous]

To all the new parents on here. Before you drive yourself crazy with these scores and comparing your child to everyone else's. I'm just going to give you the answer straight-up.

While test scores are a factor, the most important thing is how your child is viewed by his/her teacher.

You can have fantastic scores but if the teacher thinks poorly of your child, you are NOT getting into level 4. You will be placed in level 2.

I don't want to burst your bubble but that is the sad reality.

The HOPE SCALE rating better have the boxes of Almost Always and Always checked off with maybe one or two Often. ANYTHING outside that range and YOU ARE NOT getting in.

You can appeal but chances are slim to none (real slim shady please stand up).

My child's score was:

CogAT: 143
NNAT: 160
WISC-V: 149 (Adminstered by GMU)

Didn't get in. Why? My child went undiagnosed with ADHD until recently and had difficulties sitting still in class and was not interested in doing some of the class activities. Therefore the teacher gave my child avg ratings on the hope scale.

I will be kind and say that my child's class had 30 kids for one teacher so the teacher was overwhelmed and did not have the capacity to give my child the assistance required.

This isn't to shatter anyone's hope/dreams but I wanted to give you a real insight as a parent that has gone through this rat race and unfortunately it comes down to how well liked your child is by his/her teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To all the new parents on here. Before you drive yourself crazy with these scores and comparing your child to everyone else's. I'm just going to give you the answer straight-up.

While test scores are a factor, the most important thing is how your child is viewed by his/her teacher.

You can have fantastic scores but if the teacher thinks poorly of your child, you are NOT getting into level 4. You will be placed in level 2.

I don't want to burst your bubble but that is the sad reality.

The HOPE SCALE rating better have the boxes of Almost Always and Always checked off with maybe one or two Often. ANYTHING outside that range and YOU ARE NOT getting in.

You can appeal but chances are slim to none (real slim shady please stand up).

My child's score was:

CogAT: 143
NNAT: 160
WISC-V: 149 (Adminstered by GMU)

Didn't get in. Why? My child went undiagnosed with ADHD until recently and had difficulties sitting still in class and was not interested in doing some of the class activities. Therefore the teacher gave my child avg ratings on the hope scale.

I will be kind and say that my child's class had 30 kids for one teacher so the teacher was overwhelmed and did not have the capacity to give my child the assistance required.

This isn't to shatter anyone's hope/dreams but I wanted to give you a real insight as a parent that has gone through this rat race and unfortunately it comes down to how well liked your child is by his/her teacher.

Did you appeal? Did you heavily prep? Those are great scores and if not prepped, this is a perfect example of why test scores should be weighted more (but understandably are not because it's well known that some people heavily prep). Meanwhile, the current system allows the teacher/AART to effectively blacklist your child who probably needs AAP (again, assuming your child's scores don't reflect your overinvolvement and are a good gauge of intellectual abilty/needs).

I'm on the other end, with a child who is well liked by their teacher but scores, while good, are not out-of-this-world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ways to get kids ready for a WISC? Not "prep" but more just to make sure they don't do poorly bc they have never been exposed to such questions? Is it much like the CogAT?

Yes, there are companies that sell prep materials. If you’re curious about your child’s actual IQ, prepping will give you an inflated number. So it won’t be “real.” Most people don’t prep for the WISC, and so your child’s results will be compared to children who were never exposed to those questions.

If your goal, however, is solely to get a high number so that you can reject an appeal, you should be able to find prep materials to preview by running a search.

My goal is to get a score that reflects DC's ability. I know that going into tests completely cold can disadvantage a test taker so that their score is less reflective of ability. That's my concern. I'm not curious about DC's IQ and wouldn't have them take the test if it wasn't something that could be useful for AAP admission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ways to get kids ready for a WISC? Not "prep" but more just to make sure they don't do poorly bc they have never been exposed to such questions? Is it much like the CogAT?

Yes, there are companies that sell prep materials. If you’re curious about your child’s actual IQ, prepping will give you an inflated number. So it won’t be “real.” Most people don’t prep for the WISC, and so your child’s results will be compared to children who were never exposed to those questions.

If your goal, however, is solely to get a high number so that you can reject an appeal, you should be able to find prep materials to preview by running a search.

My goal is to get a score that reflects DC's ability. I know that going into tests completely cold can disadvantage a test taker so that their score is less reflective of ability. That's my concern. I'm not curious about DC's IQ and wouldn't have them take the test if it wasn't something that could be useful for AAP admission.

This is not the case with IQ tests. You’re supposed to go in cold to get a score that accurately reflects ability. Most people do not prep for a WISC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ways to get kids ready for a WISC? Not "prep" but more just to make sure they don't do poorly bc they have never been exposed to such questions? Is it much like the CogAT?

Yes, there are companies that sell prep materials. If you’re curious about your child’s actual IQ, prepping will give you an inflated number. So it won’t be “real.” Most people don’t prep for the WISC, and so your child’s results will be compared to children who were never exposed to those questions.

If your goal, however, is solely to get a high number so that you can reject an appeal, you should be able to find prep materials to preview by running a search.

My goal is to get a score that reflects DC's ability. I know that going into tests completely cold can disadvantage a test taker so that their score is less reflective of ability. That's my concern. I'm not curious about DC's IQ and wouldn't have them take the test if it wasn't something that could be useful for AAP admission.

You shouldn't prep for a WISC at all. If your kid indicates that they already know how to do some of the tasks because they practiced, or if they come across as someone who prepped, the proctor will say that in the score report. The proctor might invalidate the score altogether if they think your kid prepped and the score is not reflective of the kid's ability.

There's also no need to prep. The proctor will go through a few sample questions in each section with your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ways to get kids ready for a WISC? Not "prep" but more just to make sure they don't do poorly bc they have never been exposed to such questions? Is it much like the CogAT?

Yes, there are companies that sell prep materials. If you’re curious about your child’s actual IQ, prepping will give you an inflated number. So it won’t be “real.” Most people don’t prep for the WISC, and so your child’s results will be compared to children who were never exposed to those questions.

If your goal, however, is solely to get a high number so that you can reject an appeal, you should be able to find prep materials to preview by running a search.

My goal is to get a score that reflects DC's ability. I know that going into tests completely cold can disadvantage a test taker so that their score is less reflective of ability. That's my concern. I'm not curious about DC's IQ and wouldn't have them take the test if it wasn't something that could be useful for AAP admission.

This is not the case with IQ tests. You’re supposed to go in cold to get a score that accurately reflects ability. Most people do not prep for a WISC.

Isn't the CogAT an IQ test? It's obvious to me that there are some ways that children can err because they are not savvy test takers, which has nothing to do with IQ per se. How is the WISC so different?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ways to get kids ready for a WISC? Not "prep" but more just to make sure they don't do poorly bc they have never been exposed to such questions? Is it much like the CogAT?

Yes, there are companies that sell prep materials. If you’re curious about your child’s actual IQ, prepping will give you an inflated number. So it won’t be “real.” Most people don’t prep for the WISC, and so your child’s results will be compared to children who were never exposed to those questions.

If your goal, however, is solely to get a high number so that you can reject an appeal, you should be able to find prep materials to preview by running a search.

My goal is to get a score that reflects DC's ability. I know that going into tests completely cold can disadvantage a test taker so that their score is less reflective of ability. That's my concern. I'm not curious about DC's IQ and wouldn't have them take the test if it wasn't something that could be useful for AAP admission.

This is not the case with IQ tests. You’re supposed to go in cold to get a score that accurately reflects ability. Most people do not prep for a WISC.

Isn't the CogAT an IQ test? It's obvious to me that there are some ways that children can err because they are not savvy test takers, which has nothing to do with IQ per se. How is the WISC so different?

The CogAT is not an IQ test. It’s an aptitude test (as opposed to an achievement test - like the SAT) that’s meant to be administered to a group and tests school readiness skills. The WISC is one on one and test overall potential (supposedly). For example, a student who is a brilliant artist might have a very high IQ, but is horrible at math and can’t sit still so might score low on the CogAT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ways to get kids ready for a WISC? Not "prep" but more just to make sure they don't do poorly bc they have never been exposed to such questions? Is it much like the CogAT?

Yes, there are companies that sell prep materials. If you’re curious about your child’s actual IQ, prepping will give you an inflated number. So it won’t be “real.” Most people don’t prep for the WISC, and so your child’s results will be compared to children who were never exposed to those questions.

If your goal, however, is solely to get a high number so that you can reject an appeal, you should be able to find prep materials to preview by running a search.

My goal is to get a score that reflects DC's ability. I know that going into tests completely cold can disadvantage a test taker so that their score is less reflective of ability. That's my concern. I'm not curious about DC's IQ and wouldn't have them take the test if it wasn't something that could be useful for AAP admission.

This is not the case with IQ tests. You’re supposed to go in cold to get a score that accurately reflects ability. Most people do not prep for a WISC.

Isn't the CogAT an IQ test? It's obvious to me that there are some ways that children can err because they are not savvy test takers, which has nothing to do with IQ per se. How is the WISC so different?

CogAT is not an IQ test. It's considered an ability test. It's easy to prep for since there are fewer domains and the test is purely multiple choice with no interactions with anyone or need to justify any answers. The ceiling for the CogAT is pretty low, and at the top end, there's a huge gap in score between the kid who got everything right (perhaps with a lucky guess) and the kid who got one problem wrong (same ability, but not so lucky).

The WISC is one-on-one with a psychologist, where the kids have to explain their answers. It covers many more domains and gives a much more comprehensive view of the kid. There isn't as profound of a ceiling effect at the top, and a lucky guess could not drastically improve the score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ways to get kids ready for a WISC? Not "prep" but more just to make sure they don't do poorly bc they have never been exposed to such questions? Is it much like the CogAT?

Yes, there are companies that sell prep materials. If you’re curious about your child’s actual IQ, prepping will give you an inflated number. So it won’t be “real.” Most people don’t prep for the WISC, and so your child’s results will be compared to children who were never exposed to those questions.

If your goal, however, is solely to get a high number so that you can reject an appeal, you should be able to find prep materials to preview by running a search.

My goal is to get a score that reflects DC's ability. I know that going into tests completely cold can disadvantage a test taker so that their score is less reflective of ability. That's my concern. I'm not curious about DC's IQ and wouldn't have them take the test if it wasn't something that could be useful for AAP admission.

This is not the case with IQ tests. You’re supposed to go in cold to get a score that accurately reflects ability. Most people do not prep for a WISC.

Isn't the CogAT an IQ test? It's obvious to me that there are some ways that children can err because they are not savvy test takers, which has nothing to do with IQ per se. How is the WISC so different?

CogAT is not an IQ test. It's considered an ability test. It's easy to prep for since there are fewer domains and the test is purely multiple choice with no interactions with anyone or need to justify any answers. The ceiling for the CogAT is pretty low, and at the top end, there's a huge gap in score between the kid who got everything right (perhaps with a lucky guess) and the kid who got one problem wrong (same ability, but not so lucky).

The WISC is one-on-one with a psychologist, where the kids have to explain their answers. It covers many more domains and gives a much more comprehensive view of the kid. There isn't as profound of a ceiling effect at the top, and a lucky guess could not drastically improve the score.

You are wrong, it's an intelligence test, as is the NNAT, it's just different in length, number of subsets/domains, and format. Cognitive ability is just another word for intelligence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_Abilities_Test

It's possibly true that WISC is not quite as preppable, but I know from direct experience in educational research that at least one subset is amenable to experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ways to get kids ready for a WISC? Not "prep" but more just to make sure they don't do poorly bc they have never been exposed to such questions? Is it much like the CogAT?

Yes, there are companies that sell prep materials. If you’re curious about your child’s actual IQ, prepping will give you an inflated number. So it won’t be “real.” Most people don’t prep for the WISC, and so your child’s results will be compared to children who were never exposed to those questions.

If your goal, however, is solely to get a high number so that you can reject an appeal, you should be able to find prep materials to preview by running a search.

My goal is to get a score that reflects DC's ability. I know that going into tests completely cold can disadvantage a test taker so that their score is less reflective of ability. That's my concern. I'm not curious about DC's IQ and wouldn't have them take the test if it wasn't something that could be useful for AAP admission.

This is not the case with IQ tests. You’re supposed to go in cold to get a score that accurately reflects ability. Most people do not prep for a WISC.

Isn't the CogAT an IQ test? It's obvious to me that there are some ways that children can err because they are not savvy test takers, which has nothing to do with IQ per se. How is the WISC so different?

CogAT is not an IQ test. It's considered an ability test. It's easy to prep for since there are fewer domains and the test is purely multiple choice with no interactions with anyone or need to justify any answers. The ceiling for the CogAT is pretty low, and at the top end, there's a huge gap in score between the kid who got everything right (perhaps with a lucky guess) and the kid who got one problem wrong (same ability, but not so lucky).

The WISC is one-on-one with a psychologist, where the kids have to explain their answers. It covers many more domains and gives a much more comprehensive view of the kid. There isn't as profound of a ceiling effect at the top, and a lucky guess could not drastically improve the score.

You are wrong, it's an intelligence test, as is the NNAT, it's just different in length, number of subsets/domains, and format. Cognitive ability is just another word for intelligence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_Abilities_Test

It's possibly true that WISC is not quite as preppable, but I know from direct experience in educational research that at least one subset is amenable to experience.

Even the CogAT publisher doesn't claim that the CogAT is an IQ test.
https://mercerpublishing.com/cogat?srsltid=AfmBOooEFrpBxx1tin7B2eCdv1pEKkkuGHyef0uvwlzo54YdnI_mwyn6#faq

Yes, it measures intelligence. But it's far too crude of a tool to suggest that any specific CogAT score corresponds to an IQ. The CogAT ceiling effects are pretty profound and will give very distorted scores.

It's much more preppable than the WISC. There are vastly fewer domains in the CogAT. There are many prep materials online and on amazon. There's no one to check whether the kid seems prepped and invalidate the score if that is the case. Lucky guessing can make a huge difference at the top tails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there ways to get kids ready for a WISC? Not "prep" but more just to make sure they don't do poorly bc they have never been exposed to such questions? Is it much like the CogAT?

Yes, there are companies that sell prep materials. If you’re curious about your child’s actual IQ, prepping will give you an inflated number. So it won’t be “real.” Most people don’t prep for the WISC, and so your child’s results will be compared to children who were never exposed to those questions.

If your goal, however, is solely to get a high number so that you can reject an appeal, you should be able to find prep materials to preview by running a search.

My goal is to get a score that reflects DC's ability. I know that going into tests completely cold can disadvantage a test taker so that their score is less reflective of ability. That's my concern. I'm not curious about DC's IQ and wouldn't have them take the test if it wasn't something that could be useful for AAP admission.

This is not the case with IQ tests. You’re supposed to go in cold to get a score that accurately reflects ability. Most people do not prep for a WISC.

Isn't the CogAT an IQ test? It's obvious to me that there are some ways that children can err because they are not savvy test takers, which has nothing to do with IQ per se. How is the WISC so different?

CogAT is not an IQ test. It's considered an ability test. It's easy to prep for since there are fewer domains and the test is purely multiple choice with no interactions with anyone or need to justify any answers. The ceiling for the CogAT is pretty low, and at the top end, there's a huge gap in score between the kid who got everything right (perhaps with a lucky guess) and the kid who got one problem wrong (same ability, but not so lucky).

The WISC is one-on-one with a psychologist, where the kids have to explain their answers. It covers many more domains and gives a much more comprehensive view of the kid. There isn't as profound of a ceiling effect at the top, and a lucky guess could not drastically improve the score.

You are wrong, it's an intelligence test, as is the NNAT, it's just different in length, number of subsets/domains, and format. Cognitive ability is just another word for intelligence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_Abilities_Test

It's possibly true that WISC is not quite as preppable, but I know from direct experience in educational research that at least one subset is amenable to experience.

Even the CogAT publisher doesn't claim that the CogAT is an IQ test.
https://mercerpublishing.com/cogat?srsltid=AfmBOooEFrpBxx1tin7B2eCdv1pEKkkuGHyef0uvwlzo54YdnI_mwyn6#faq

Yes, it measures intelligence. But it's far too crude of a tool to suggest that any specific CogAT score corresponds to an IQ. The CogAT ceiling effects are pretty profound and will give very distorted scores.

It's much more preppable than the WISC. There are vastly fewer domains in the CogAT. There are many prep materials online and on amazon. There's no one to check whether the kid seems prepped and invalidate the score if that is the case. Lucky guessing can make a huge difference at the top tails.

Also, I forgot to add this: The CogAT given to 2nd graders in FCPS is profoundly different from the one given to 3rd grade and older. The older kid CogAT looks much more like an IQ test and seems like it would give results that are much more consistent with WISC scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To all the new parents on here. Before you drive yourself crazy with these scores and comparing your child to everyone else's. I'm just going to give you the answer straight-up.

While test scores are a factor, the most important thing is how your child is viewed by his/her teacher.

You can have fantastic scores but if the teacher thinks poorly of your child, you are NOT getting into level 4. You will be placed in level 2.

I don't want to burst your bubble but that is the sad reality.

The HOPE SCALE rating better have the boxes of Almost Always and Always checked off with maybe one or two Often. ANYTHING outside that range and YOU ARE NOT getting in.

You can appeal but chances are slim to none (real slim shady please stand up).

My child's score was:

CogAT: 143
NNAT: 160
WISC-V: 149 (Adminstered by GMU)

Didn't get in. Why? My child went undiagnosed with ADHD until recently and had difficulties sitting still in class and was not interested in doing some of the class activities. Therefore the teacher gave my child avg ratings on the hope scale.

I will be kind and say that my child's class had 30 kids for one teacher so the teacher was overwhelmed and did not have the capacity to give my child the assistance required.

This isn't to shatter anyone's hope/dreams but I wanted to give you a real insight as a parent that has gone through this rat race and unfortunately it comes down to how well liked your child is by his/her teacher.

Why undiagnosed ADHD until recently? ADHD can be pretty obvious. Were you just in denial?