Can't understand how DS (1st grade) did so poorly on NNAT2.

[Anonymous]

OP, it will be okay. The NNAT is only one part of the picture, and my understanding is that a weak NNAT is given less weight. One of my DDs read very early, was pulled out for accelerated reading and math, does math workbooks for fun, and can build anything, but scored only 100 (50%) on the NNAT -- which is supposed to measure visual-spatial intelligence! She said she didn't understand the point of the test and just stopped trying.

We did not have her re-take the NNAT at GMU or prep her for the CoGAT. We very much tried to minimize the significance of the CoGAT and to downplay AAP generally to take the pressure off. She scored better on the CoGAT (131) and was admitted to AAP on parent referral. We put a lot of effort into the examples on the parent referral form and submitted strong work samples. I believe she also has a good GBRS.

My other daughter scored 105 on the NNAT and in the mid-120s on the CoGAT, but we had her privately tested and she was admitted to AAP with a 139 WISC-V. Some kids just don't test well in a group environment or are perfectionists and freak out during timed tests, or there are other issues going on (anxiety, for mine).

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

One of mine had a 110 NNAT, a 140 cogat and a 15 GBRS. It won't matter if the cogat is high. Try not to stress...

[Anonymous]

Teacher here. Truly gifted children are rare. Your child is smart and probably not gifted. If you want him to be in a gifted program pay a psychologist to test him and write a recommending report. Then pay the psychologist to go to the school and advocate for your child. That's what everyone else whose child is smart and not gifted does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Truly gifted children are rare. Your child is smart and probably not gifted. If you want him to be in a gifted program pay a psychologist to test him and write a recommending report. Then pay the psychologist to go to the school and advocate for your child. That's what everyone else whose child is smart and not gifted does.

Do you teach in fcps? I've never heard of paying a psychologist to go to a school.

[Anonymous]

I am curious about the nnat scores coming in this year. I was really surprised that ds only got a score of 105. This kind of thing is what he does best! I'm trying not to stress knowing this is only one test but now I am curious. Seems like a raw score of 36/48 would be higher than 60%. Did more students do very well this year or is this average for fcps? I am new to this so pardon my cluelessness. ?

[Anonymous]

My DD got a 106. Very disappointing also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Truly gifted children are rare. Your child is smart and probably not gifted. If you want him to be in a gifted program pay a psychologist to test him and write a recommending report. Then pay the psychologist to go to the school and advocate for your child. That's what everyone else whose child is smart and not gifted does.

I don't think my child is gifted but maybe above average in her school. I wouldn't care if she was in AAP if I didn't think gen ed at FCPS was mediocre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about the nnat scores coming in this year. I was really surprised that ds only got a score of 105. This kind of thing is what he does best! I'm trying not to stress knowing this is only one test but now I am curious. Seems like a raw score of 36/48 would be higher than 60%. Did more students do very well this year or is this average for fcps? I am new to this so pardon my cluelessness. ?

45/48 was 99th percentile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just got DS's NNAT2 scores and I am really surprised. (DS is in first grade.) He scored a 104 = 60th percentile.

DS has always been the smartest kid around -- reading fully not long after his third birthday; highest math and reading groups at school; maxed the chart on that reading and math test they gave in K; etc. etc. All his teachers (even his piano teacher) have always commented on how bright he is, how quickly he learns, etc.

What gives? Are we sunk for AAP? Should we consider prepping the next test? We didn't talk about this one at all and maybe he didn't understand the importance of getting the questions right.

Ugh, this is all so new to me, I went to private from K-12 so none of these standardized tests until high school...

NNAT just offers a piece of information. Your kid still have plenty of opportunities to go to AAP. Don't worry. He can retake later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about the nnat scores coming in this year. I was really surprised that ds only got a score of 105. This kind of thing is what he does best! I'm trying not to stress knowing this is only one test but now I am curious. Seems like a raw score of 36/48 would be higher than 60%. Did more students do very well this year or is this average for fcps? I am new to this so pardon my cluelessness. ?

45/48 was 99th percentile.

The test is age-normed, so a given score would be a different percentile depending on your kid's age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about the nnat scores coming in this year. I was really surprised that ds only got a score of 105. This kind of thing is what he does best! I'm trying not to stress knowing this is only one test but now I am curious. Seems like a raw score of 36/48 would be higher than 60%. Did more students do very well this year or is this average for fcps? I am new to this so pardon my cluelessness. ?

45/48 was 99th percentile.

The test is age-normed, so a given score would be a different percentile depending on your kid's age.

This, many parents are confused by the raw score and the resulting percentile but a couple things to take into account:
1) age-normed: You could have two children in the same grade with the same raw score but different percentiles due to their age at the time of the test (I know a child in first grade who turned 8-he was a May birthday and parents opted to have him do K 2xs, and a child in 1st grade who turned 6-late September birthday, parents opted to enter before she turned 5). The age norm is a standard part of testing.

2) This is a brief snap shot of your child, maybe he/she had a bad testing day. Maybe this test was confusing to him/her, maybe he/she hit the wrong buttons, who knows? There are a ton of possible confounding variables.

I have done testing in the past and have been surprised by parents reactions. I think very few people actually realize what scores mean (including WISC and resulting "IQ" numbers), just because your child scores in a normal range doesn't mean he/she can't/won't be successful and I can definitely tell you that just because he/she scores in a "profound" range, does not mean he/she will be successful. It is simply on data point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about the nnat scores coming in this year. I was really surprised that ds only got a score of 105. This kind of thing is what he does best! I'm trying not to stress knowing this is only one test but now I am curious. Seems like a raw score of 36/48 would be higher than 60%. Did more students do very well this year or is this average for fcps? I am new to this so pardon my cluelessness. ?

45/48 was 99th percentile.

The test is age-normed, so a given score would be a different percentile depending on your kid's age.

This, many parents are confused by the raw score and the resulting percentile but a couple things to take into account:
1) age-normed: You could have two children in the same grade with the same raw score but different percentiles due to their age at the time of the test (I know a child in first grade who turned 8-he was a May birthday and parents opted to have him do K 2xs, and a child in 1st grade who turned 6-late September birthday, parents opted to enter before she turned 5). The age norm is a standard part of testing.

2) This is a brief snap shot of your child, maybe he/she had a bad testing day. Maybe this test was confusing to him/her, maybe he/she hit the wrong buttons, who knows? There are a ton of possible confounding variables.

I have done testing in the past and have been surprised by parents reactions. I think very few people actually realize what scores mean (including WISC and resulting "IQ" numbers), just because your child scores in a normal range doesn't mean he/she can't/won't be successful and I can definitely tell you that just because he/she scores in a "profound" range, does not mean he/she will be successful. It is simply on data point.

I posted the 45/48 99th percentile data point. When was the test given to 1st graders? Late fall? My child would have been ~6yr3mo.

Sorry, I really don't know much about AAP because I don't really care. I'm not going to help "guide" my son one way or the other. If he's in the pool -- great; if not -- great. If one is in the the right FCPS HS pyramid, I'd say how the child applies him/herself matters much much more than the the track s/he is on.

I have a 4th grader in gen ed and she's doing just fine. In 14 years, when she's applying for her first job, none of this crap will matter.

Why am I here, then? You might ask. When I got my son's NNAT2 score, I thought I should educate myself on AAP just in case he ends up in the pool. That led me here; and I was quickly reminded why I should stay away. See ya!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about the nnat scores coming in this year. I was really surprised that ds only got a score of 105. This kind of thing is what he does best! I'm trying not to stress knowing this is only one test but now I am curious. Seems like a raw score of 36/48 would be higher than 60%. Did more students do very well this year or is this average for fcps? I am new to this so pardon my cluelessness. ?

45/48 was 99th percentile.

The test is age-normed, so a given score would be a different percentile depending on your kid's age.

This, many parents are confused by the raw score and the resulting percentile but a couple things to take into account:
1) age-normed: You could have two children in the same grade with the same raw score but different percentiles due to their age at the time of the test (I know a child in first grade who turned 8-he was a May birthday and parents opted to have him do K 2xs, and a child in 1st grade who turned 6-late September birthday, parents opted to enter before she turned 5). The age norm is a standard part of testing.

2) This is a brief snap shot of your child, maybe he/she had a bad testing day. Maybe this test was confusing to him/her, maybe he/she hit the wrong buttons, who knows? There are a ton of possible confounding variables.

I have done testing in the past and have been surprised by parents reactions. I think very few people actually realize what scores mean (including WISC and resulting "IQ" numbers), just because your child scores in a normal range doesn't mean he/she can't/won't be successful and I can definitely tell you that just because he/she scores in a "profound" range, does not mean he/she will be successful. It is simply on data point.

I posted the 45/48 99th percentile data point. When was the test given to 1st graders? Late fall? My child would have been ~6yr3mo.

Sorry, I really don't know much about AAP because I don't really care. I'm not going to help "guide" my son one way or the other. If he's in the pool -- great; if not -- great. If one is in the the right FCPS HS pyramid, I'd say how the child applies him/herself matters much much more than the the track s/he is on.

I have a 4th grader in gen ed and she's doing just fine. In 14 years, when she's applying for her first job, none of this crap will matter.

Why am I here, then? You might ask. When I got my son's NNAT2 score, I thought I should educate myself on AAP just in case he ends up in the pool. That led me here; and I was quickly reminded why I should stay away. See ya!

Not sure what you're so offended by in this thread. But yes, your kid was among the younger ones taking the test. If a kid took the test at 6y11mo, he probably would have needed 47/48 to be in the 99th percentile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious about the nnat scores coming in this year. I was really surprised that ds only got a score of 105. This kind of thing is what he does best! I'm trying not to stress knowing this is only one test but now I am curious. Seems like a raw score of 36/48 would be higher than 60%. Did more students do very well this year or is this average for fcps? I am new to this so pardon my cluelessness. ?

45/48 was 99th percentile.

The test is age-normed, so a given score would be a different percentile depending on your kid's age.

This, many parents are confused by the raw score and the resulting percentile but a couple things to take into account:
1) age-normed: You could have two children in the same grade with the same raw score but different percentiles due to their age at the time of the test (I know a child in first grade who turned 8-he was a May birthday and parents opted to have him do K 2xs, and a child in 1st grade who turned 6-late September birthday, parents opted to enter before she turned 5). The age norm is a standard part of testing.

2) This is a brief snap shot of your child, maybe he/she had a bad testing day. Maybe this test was confusing to him/her, maybe he/she hit the wrong buttons, who knows? There are a ton of possible confounding variables.

I have done testing in the past and have been surprised by parents reactions. I think very few people actually realize what scores mean (including WISC and resulting "IQ" numbers), just because your child scores in a normal range doesn't mean he/she can't/won't be successful and I can definitely tell you that just because he/she scores in a "profound" range, does not mean he/she will be successful. It is simply on data point.

I posted the 45/48 99th percentile data point. When was the test given to 1st graders? Late fall? My child would have been ~6yr3mo.

Sorry, I really don't know much about AAP because I don't really care. I'm not going to help "guide" my son one way or the other. If he's in the pool -- great; if not -- great. If one is in the the right FCPS HS pyramid, I'd say how the child applies him/herself matters much much more than the the track s/he is on.

I have a 4th grader in gen ed and she's doing just fine. In 14 years, when she's applying for her first job, none of this crap will matter.

Why am I here, then? You might ask. When I got my son's NNAT2 score, I thought I should educate myself on AAP just in case he ends up in the pool. That led me here; and I was quickly reminded why I should stay away. See ya!

I think it's administered in March of 1st grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Completely agree with the above post. I do not understand why parents prep for the tests. My child made it into AAP and I have the satisfaction knowing that this is her natural ability.

It's good to know your kid is a real gifted one.
But for many "only bright not gifted" kids, they need to go to AAP get a little more challenging, not sticking with"too simple" maths and keep complaining school is so boring.

I personally don't like intensive practice or highly-coached behavior.
However at least we should let your kids get a little familiar with the samples and understand what they are doing except your kids are real genius which I believe the chance is not high. The day when my kid was on test, a few of her classmates tried to get help from her as they really didn't know what did it mean.

NNAT only offers a piece of information to tell your child might be gifted in a certain way(like pattern reorganization)at a time point(your kids might improve a lot later). The real gifted kids are hard to hide away even they failed a couple test occasionally.