Prep for HGC and MS magnet tests

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should understand that this right here is why they changed the admission criteria last year.

MCPS took the identification of candidates and the application process out of parents' hands because parents were manipulating it this way by trying to find out what is on the test and giving their children unfair advance knowledge of it. Now, the test for CES is much shorter and counts for less weight. This is entirely because the county wants to serve children who truly need it, not children whose parents gave them the answers.

They changed criteria because people were drinking beer, doing drugs and were not using birth control?

Are you the polar bear/lemming poster? Because neither of these responses made any sense to me.

Really? What did not make sense to me is the assertion that parents knew what was on the test and they gave their kids answers?

We are denying access to meritorious students to a good program because two chronically low performing communities have been socialized into thinking that they don't have to work hard at all, but their kids deserve to get into such programs for just existing? A culture of giving hand-outs for political reasons, instead of actually trying to close the achievement gap with better curriculum and instruction to all. will produce only these kinds of results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a powerpoint presentation given to the committee that selected CES students last year. https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/specialprograms/elementary/CES%20Selection.PDF

Note the purpose of the program:

"Purpose of Program:
Although many students would benefit from a
selective magnet program experience, the
intent of the program is to serve students who
lack an academic cohort in their home school. "

The purpose is to serve kids who need it.

The kids who need a challenging programs are those that score super high -- tippy top in the catchment area, not the kids who score above average. Peer cohort doesn't mean much without a challenging program.[/quote]

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The one DC who got in did not prep for HGC. I think I got DC a cogat book to study in 8th grade for HS magnet.

The other DC I got a cogat book for CES.

The first DC got into both magnets. The second DC did not get into CES. The first DC has always been academically advanced. The second DC not so much.

Moral of the story: no amount of prepping will help if the kid doesn't have the acumen.

I don't think prepping is wrong. You will most certainly have your DC prep for ACT/SAT/AP etc... Prepping = preparing for a test. No one would say never prepare for a test.

The ACT/SAT/AP are published tests that publishers know people will prepare for, so there are published preparation books. The CES test is a proprietary test that they specifically keep private so people will not skew the results. People come on sites like DCUM and go to Asian cram schools to try to find out what is on the test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should understand that this right here is why they changed the admission criteria last year.

MCPS took the identification of candidates and the application process out of parents' hands because parents were manipulating it this way by trying to find out what is on the test and giving their children unfair advance knowledge of it. Now, the test for CES is much shorter and counts for less weight. This is entirely because the county wants to serve children who truly need it, not children whose parents gave them the answers.

They changed criteria because people were drinking beer, doing drugs and were not using birth control?

Are you the polar bear/lemming poster? Because neither of these responses made any sense to me.

Really? What did not make sense to me is the assertion that parents knew what was on the test and they gave their kids answers?

We are denying access to meritorious students to a good program because two chronically low performing communities have been socialized into thinking that they don't have to work hard at all, but their kids deserve to get into such programs for just existing? A culture of giving hand-outs for political reasons, instead of actually trying to close the achievement gap with better curriculum and instruction to all. will produce only these kinds of results.

This is vile. My child is at a CES -- Pine Crest -- that is very ethnically diverse and they are all impressive, bright, terrific kids who will accomplish great things. You don't know anything about them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one DC who got in did not prep for HGC. I think I got DC a cogat book to study in 8th grade for HS magnet.

The other DC I got a cogat book for CES.

The first DC got into both magnets. The second DC did not get into CES. The first DC has always been academically advanced. The second DC not so much.

Moral of the story: no amount of prepping will help if the kid doesn't have the acumen.

I don't think prepping is wrong. You will most certainly have your DC prep for ACT/SAT/AP etc... Prepping = preparing for a test. No one would say never prepare for a test.

The ACT/SAT/AP are published tests that publishers know people will prepare for, so there are published preparation books. The CES test is a proprietary test that they specifically keep private so people will not skew the results. People come on sites like DCUM and go to Asian cram schools to try to find out what is on the test.

Except no one really knows what is on the test, A-Plus will tell you that. The prep school may slightly improves a child's chance only because they provide more academic challenges. They don't know what is going to be on the test and cannot give anyone answers. I cannot imagine why there are so many true believers of them here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should understand that this right here is why they changed the admission criteria last year.

MCPS took the identification of candidates and the application process out of parents' hands because parents were manipulating it this way by trying to find out what is on the test and giving their children unfair advance knowledge of it. Now, the test for CES is much shorter and counts for less weight. This is entirely because the county wants to serve children who truly need it, not children whose parents gave them the answers.

Nonsense.

OK, why do you think they changed the criteria last year?

DP.. not enough URM kids, per the METIS report. Cohort criteria was the only way they could change the demographics.

See now I think that's the same thing. There weren't enough URM kids because the Asian and white parents were prepping their kids and the URM weren't. No?

I agree with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our kid didn't prep and got into both humanities and math/science programs. At a CES school function we were asked flat out by another parent which programs we were using to prep for the MS magnets. Not if, but which ones. Their child didn't get into either program.

Yup. Happens. Sometimes it is because of "quotas" that MCPS uses. Sometimes there are better candidates than the kid in CES. Sometimes other students had made greater strides on 4th and 5th, than the kid who was in the program and are more competitive.

Getting into a magnet program does not automatically mean that you are in the pipeline. Most people know that. The most important thing is that your student is an avid reader throughout their school life and read both fiction and non-fiction. They should be studying Math from a textbook and a proper curriculum, they should have a strong Math foundation (use Khan Academy) and they should be exposed to knowledge and opportunities outside of the classroom.

I am always impressed by how motivated and focussed high achieving students are in not only studies but also their extra-curricular activities. These students tend to do well in many things apart from studies. These students develop great work ethic and time management skills.

There aren’t any quotas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should understand that this right here is why they changed the admission criteria last year.

MCPS took the identification of candidates and the application process out of parents' hands because parents were manipulating it this way by trying to find out what is on the test and giving their children unfair advance knowledge of it. Now, the test for CES is much shorter and counts for less weight. This is entirely because the county wants to serve children who truly need it, not children whose parents gave them the answers.

They changed criteria because people were drinking beer, doing drugs and were not using birth control?

Are you the polar bear/lemming poster? Because neither of these responses made any sense to me.

Really? What did not make sense to me is the assertion that parents knew what was on the test and they gave their kids answers?

We are denying access to meritorious students to a good program because two chronically low performing communities have been socialized into thinking that they don't have to work hard at all, but their kids deserve to get into such programs for just existing? A culture of giving hand-outs for political reasons, instead of actually trying to close the achievement gap with better curriculum and instruction to all. will produce only these kinds of results.

you're saying the kids that got in aren't bright and hard working? doubtful. the acceptance rate is so ridiculously small - there is no need to accept non-hardworking kids.

[Anonymous]

It's a travesty to not include a Black or Hispanic student into the magnet program if they are bright and high achieving. It's also a travesty to not include a Asian-American or White student into the magnet program if they are bright and high achieving.

What do you do when the seats are limited? What if there are only 100 seats? Then you take the top 100 students based on a rigorous test.

Well, what about the students who do not have the wherewithal to prep and cannot go to Asian "cram" centers? Well, good news! They can certainly go to the George B Thomas Academy - Saturday School https://www.saturdayschool.org/ to get tutoring and certainly go on Khan Academy. And even better news - most students do not go to these prep schools to prep and even then they get admitted.

Hooray!!!

Equal opportunity to all!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one DC who got in did not prep for HGC. I think I got DC a cogat book to study in 8th grade for HS magnet.

The other DC I got a cogat book for CES.

The first DC got into both magnets. The second DC did not get into CES. The first DC has always been academically advanced. The second DC not so much.

Moral of the story: no amount of prepping will help if the kid doesn't have the acumen.

I don't think prepping is wrong. You will most certainly have your DC prep for ACT/SAT/AP etc... Prepping = preparing for a test. No one would say never prepare for a test.

The ACT/SAT/AP are published tests that publishers know people will prepare for, so there are published preparation books. The CES test is a proprietary test that they specifically keep private so people will not skew the results. People come on sites like DCUM and go to Asian cram schools to try to find out what is on the test.

And they do not get any indication of what is on the test. The only person who knows what will be on the test is me. There will be section on Math and English. There - the mystery has been solved.

Do you need more info? Ok. Here goes. Teach using the collegeboard official SAT prep book. There are 8 full fledged exams on it. You ace that, you ace the magnet exams. Also, you can ace SAT in HS and PSAT. Its a win-win-win proposition.

[Anonymous]

Khan Academy has the 8 SAT tests free online. Use these tests to prep. If you can cover the math, pre-algebra, algebra and geometry curriculum thoroughly - you are gold. Practice for an hour every day (3 months before the exam), and aim for speed and accuracy. It is very doable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Khan Academy has the 8 SAT tests free online. Use these tests to prep. If you can cover the math, pre-algebra, algebra and geometry curriculum thoroughly - you are gold. Practice for an hour every day (3 months before the exam), and aim for speed and accuracy. It is very doable.

That's for the HS magnet test, not the CES one, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should understand that this right here is why they changed the admission criteria last year.

MCPS took the identification of candidates and the application process out of parents' hands because parents were manipulating it this way by trying to find out what is on the test and giving their children unfair advance knowledge of it. Now, the test for CES is much shorter and counts for less weight. This is entirely because the county wants to serve children who truly need it, not children whose parents gave them the answers.

Also, only a small number of children used to apply to these programs. It required parents nominate their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Khan Academy has the 8 SAT tests free online. Use these tests to prep. If you can cover the math, pre-algebra, algebra and geometry curriculum thoroughly - you are gold. Practice for an hour every day (3 months before the exam), and aim for speed and accuracy. It is very doable.

Wordlywise is pretty good for building up vocabulary, as well as reading extensively. Make sure that your students are reading and doing some writing exercises daily during the summer months.

https://www.saturdayschool.org/

For general reading, go to Takoma Park MS and Eastern MS school website and look at their reading lists. If your kid can read 8-10 books through summer break they are well prepared for reading comprehension questions.

It is easier to build up Math proficiency. Much more difficult to build up vocabulary. For that it is important to be an avid reader for pleasure over years of schooling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Khan Academy has the 8 SAT tests free online. Use these tests to prep. If you can cover the math, pre-algebra, algebra and geometry curriculum thoroughly - you are gold. Practice for an hour every day (3 months before the exam), and aim for speed and accuracy. It is very doable.

Wordlywise is pretty good for building up vocabulary, as well as reading extensively. Make sure that your students are reading and doing some writing exercises daily during the summer months.

https://www.saturdayschool.org/

For general reading, go to Takoma Park MS and Eastern MS school website and look at their reading lists. If your kid can read 8-10 books through summer break they are well prepared for reading comprehension questions.

It is easier to build up Math proficiency. Much more difficult to build up vocabulary. For that it is important to be an avid reader for pleasure over years of schooling.

http://wordlywise3000.com/ is a great resource for year round vocabulary practise.