My 4 Yr Old Son's FSIQ is 131, Now What?
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Anonymous
| And on this basis, one could simply tell the OP - move to fairfax county, join the FCPS AAP/GT program and don't worry about all the politics and positioning that you would need to do in MCPS nor the private school admissions race in the district. |
Anonymous
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Actually FCPS does not use IQ testing for GT program admissions so there is not data to show the percentages of IQ scores in the county. They use the Cognitive Abilities Test which does not measure IQ.
This is taken from the website of the company that publishes the CogAT: Q: Does CogAT measure students' innate abilities? A: No. All abilities are developed through experience. CogAT measures students' abilities to reason with words, quantitative concepts, and nonverbal (spatial) pictures. These abilities are developed through experiences in school and outside of school. Q: Is CogAT an IQ test? Are SAS scores IQ scores? A: No. CogAT measures reasoning abilities. Although these abilities are central to all definitions of intelligence, the word intelligence implies much more. However, psychologists have never agreed on the definition of intelligence, so how much more should be included in an intelligence test is often debated. Further, the notion of IQ comes from an earlier set of procedures for indexing the rate of mental development. CogAT does not use these procedures. The SAS scale used on CogAT provides normalized Standard Age Scores for that fraction of the population that attends school. Although SAS scores are very helpful for professionals, nonprofessionals can confuse them with IQ scores, so they are generally not reported to parents and lay organizations. Percentile ranks and stanines are better suited for general audiences. |
Anonymous
This is policitically-correct semantics. FCPS also uses/accepts WISC-IV with a 130 cut-off in lieu of/in addition to the CogAT - and I'm sure there is data correlating the IQ and nnat/cogat scores - just as there is probably data correlating the raven matrices scores used by mcps for the HG center tests to the usual stanford-binet or wisc IQ scores. |
Anonymous
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Okay - this is admittedly off topic but related to the current direction of the thread...
Does anyone know what the procedure would be for a private school 3rd grader to take the MCPS test for the GT 4-5 program? I assume all MCPS kids take this test for free during school time - so what about a private school child who might be interested? |
Anonymous
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No, it's not semantics. The tests they use don't measure IQ score so you can't say that 10% of FCPS kids have an IQ in the 98 percentile or higher based on the CoGAT testing/GT admissions percentages.
I'm sure there is a correlation between CogAT and IQ but not a direct correlation. A child can score 130 on the CogAT and have an IQ of 145 or that child can have an IQ of 125.....there is no direct correlation, (ie., CogAT SAS score of 130 doesn't equal WISC IQ score of 130) |
Anonymous
I don't know exactly because I've never gone through this process. I would look into the MCPS website or call. I will say that you better get on the ball and do it now. I think they do their general screening in the fall for the following year but you may be able to get consideration for a late application. I've also heard that if you don't get into a GT Center in 4th grade it's almost impossible to get a spot in later years because it stays filled up. THe next entry point would be a middle school magnet. Hop over to the MD Public Schools forum. I'm sure some of those folks can provide a better answer. |
Anonymous
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A person at FCPS who handles questions about the centers gave me the 10% and WISC FSIQ 130 numbers. They didn't beat around the bush, so you could probably call them and confirm the numbers yourself.
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Anonymous
WISC and CogAT are both ability tests. Like all ability tests, they measure slightly different things and produce different numbers. To some extent, they both measure general intelligence and the scores they produce are correlated. Some WISC subtests are good measures of general intelligence, others are poor measures of general intelligence. WISC full scale IQ isn't necessarily a more valid measure of intelligence, especially the kind of intelligence that is required to succeed in school, than the CogAT. The publisher is avoiding the terms intelligence and IQ because they are controversial, and people don't agree about their definition or relevance. 
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Anonymous
WISC is an IQ test. It's the next in line after WPPSI. |
Anonymous
| At any rate, the distribution of scores among 3rd - 8th graders in FCPS isn't going to tell you much about the distribution of scores among preschoolers in the metro area who take the WPPSI because they're applying to private schools. Different ages, different tests, different populations. |
Anonymous
I would agree with this. My original point was simply that one should not brush off an IQ score of 131 as the norm. It's easy to do on the private school forum because in the environment of DC privates it's seen a lot more often but this subset is quite small in terms of the area at large. A child with that score would probably be okay in their local public (ie., wouldn't be disruptive or depressed). HOWEVER, this child would likely THRIVE in an elite private, public magnet/GT center, or private gifted school and if a parent has one of these options they should pursue it. |
Anonymous
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You can say that 10%-12% of FCPS students are enrolled in the AAP. I don't think you can say that this means 10%-12% of students in FCPS have IQS at 130 or above for many reasons.
Many of the students in the AAP were referred by their parents because their IQs were not 130 or above. 50% of parent referrals get into AAP. Many students who met the 130 cutoff for automatic evaluation by FCPS met it in only one subtest. This being said, I do believe we have more than 1-2% of our population with a an IQ over 130. I just don't know what the exact percentage is. |
Anonymous
| Just wanted to let anyone know that my DS 6 made great strides well beyond our expectations this school year at the Feynman School. If anyone is on a wait list and feels that the Feynman School would possibly be a good fit, they are worth a visit. My DS 6 loves school and never wants to leave and his curiousity is celebrated and appreciated. He is moving around and constantly learning in a non-stressful dynamic environment. Good luck to everyone this last week! |
Anonymous
| Wow! Does this Feynman booster EVER stop??? |
Anonymous
What is your direct experience with the school may I ask. All of the actual parents who post seem very pleased with their children's education at Feynman. |