Poll: degrees of AAP "prep"
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Anonymous
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"Prep" the NNAT/CoGAT/FxAT tests is a very thorny subject in the AAP arena, but with confusing definitions.
Let me see if I can put the shades of grey into some kind of organized forms. Feel free to provide your additions. Extreme degree: steal the upcoming tests (it's cheating and illegal, and not sure if any exists) First degree: paid service using leaked exact tests from previous years (the existing is not proven) Second degree: paid service using materials close or target to the tests (quite some venues in the county) Third degree: in-home enrichment using materials close or target to the tests (those materials are commercially available) Forth degree: paid service for generic enrichment/tutoring (Kumon, Mathnasium, etc) Fifth degree: in-home generic enrichment beyond regular school learning (above grade math, reading, writing, etc) Sixth degree: in-home generic enrichment similar to regular school learning (same grade math, reading, writing, etc) Seventh degree: nothing at all outside classroom, only look at bring-home HWs If you feel sharing, please share which degree your "prep" is, what's your DC NNAT/CoGAT/FxAT/GBRS, and eligible status. No need to brag your 160/99%/16 DC with seventh degree prep. |
Anonymous
| Seventh - Eligible |
Anonymous
Eighth degree: go to museums and parks, look at science and nature websites, watch science programs on DVD/streaming media; do not look at bring-home HWs Both kids found eligible and omitted scores due to request for "No need to brag your 160/99%/16 DC with seventh degree prep" |
Anonymous
| third and fifth, 142/98%/16, eligible |
Anonymous
I guess I'd have to say Fifth - If you really consider that "enrichment" equals "prep". For us, it's just what we do. DH and I are both well-read, well-educated, dare I say, geeks. We're not athletic in the least. We both enjoy reading, puzzles, legos, cooking (measuring, experimenting, trying again). If the things we do at home are above DC's grade level, it's because it's closer to our level and we expect DC to work UP not for us to work DOWN. If that's prep, so be it. And yes, DC is center-eligible. |
Anonymous
OP here. That's half purpose of this post. There are so many view points of "prep". I just try to cover the whole spectrum. Should add the Eighth (not even look at DC HWs), and Ninth (not knowing which grade DC is in), maybe Tenth (not sure if they have kids  ).
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Anonymous
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When people refer to test "prep," they are referring to what you have described as extreme, first, second, and third. Many people see what you call "fourth" as tutoring for kids who need extra help to understand what is happening in the classroom, not really test prep, although I see how it could be. The remaining categories are simply general educational enrichment, not what people consider test prep. Google the words "test prep" and you will find all kinds of companies offering services and products that promise to raise test scores. Here's how Wikipedia is defining it: "Test preparation (abbreviated test prep) or exam preparation primarily refers to educational courses, tutoring services, and educational materials/learning tools designed to increase students' performance on standardized tests, particularly entrance examinations...." Reading at home, playing games, doing puzzles, going to museums and historic sites with your child all add to the child's education in a positive way, but they are not test prep. |
Anonymous
I agree with you, but I also know that some of the things we do at home for fun are sold by web sites dedicated to test prep. Example - the game "Set". We have it - both the cards and the ipad version. I play it more than my kids, but they do play it. One of them is surprisingly good at it for her age. I know of at least one web site that sells "Set" as a test prep activity for the NNAT. Did I know that when I bought it off Amazon? No. Will I stop playing it with her because she hasn't taken the NNAT yet? No, we both enjoy playing it. Am I prepping my kid? You tell me. |
Anonymous
| which one would Mercer's test prep book be? |
Anonymous
I would think it's third, since nobody sued them of stealing current/past real tests. |
Anonymous
o.k., guilty in the third degree.
(but can't say really if it really increased the score Dc would have gotten anyway). |
Anonymous
| given the score DC received, I'm almost positive it was the GBRS score that got DC into the program. For that of course there was no prepping (other than reading books, going to museums etc.). |
Anonymous
The game "Set" is great fun and good for learning to look at things in different ways, but it is not test prep, per se. You are not "prepping" your child when you play the game with her, just having fun.
Some people would like you to believe that anything you do with your child that is even remotely educational is test "prep." Some folks will posit that is better for a child to be in the house doing test prep than outside on the athletic field, but by a very broad definition of test prep, I could call playing sports "test prep" because the healthy, fit child is likely to do better on a test than the sluggish child who sits at a table with workbooks all afternoon. Broaden the definition enough and anything can be defined as test prep. If you were to poll teachers and people on the street (not just here on this forum!), you would be likely to find general agreement that the first four items on your list fit the definition of "test prep" while the others do not. (The first two items actually go beyond "test prep" into a whole different arena, of course, but that was not your question.) |
Anonymous
| my DD got in with 116 CogAT. Not prepped (Duh). But she was admitted...no wisc. Just a good GBRS |
Anonymous
| Pretty funny post. Third. Accepted. Was not too hard to get DC to do it. Not a big strain. A few hours. |