HSPT Scores

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know how we could see local scores versus national scores? I would imagine that once you compare the scores locally, most kids' national percentages would go down since the competition locally is probably stiffer than nationally. But maybe not....just wondering. And I've heard that even if you child gets super high 97 plus scores, they may still be rejected from some of the more competitive schools? Is this true? UGH!

What difference would it make? The kid ahead of yours nationally is also ahead of yours locally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a kid who gets a really high score but puts little effort into school or grades? Wonder how it plays out if they're placed into a top academic level based on the HSPT score. Basically, a mismatch between effort and ability.

Ah, the classic underachiever. Most schools like to take these kids because they have so much unrealized potential and they take the standardized test curve up. They think all they have to do is find a way to motivate them..Sadly its much harder to do then they admit and I'm speaking from experience.

Yes. I'm wondering what happens if they don't fulfill the expectations of the Honors/Advanced programs they're placed into. Do the schools drop them down or try to "counsel" them to live up to their potential?

What do you mean fulfill the expectations?

Schools give a test after acceptance to gauge what class your child should be in for math. My child took honors geometry in 8th grade. If she had placed below that on the placement test, I would have accepted that and let them put her in the class she would have been successful in. If they have gaps in math, they need to remediation. However, if your kids has been taking advanced math and tests with high scores, you shouldn't need to worry about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a kid who gets a really high score but puts little effort into school or grades? Wonder how it plays out if they're placed into a top academic level based on the HSPT score. Basically, a mismatch between effort and ability.

Ah, the classic underachiever. Most schools like to take these kids because they have so much unrealized potential and they take the standardized test curve up. They think all they have to do is find a way to motivate them..Sadly its much harder to do then they admit and I'm speaking from experience.

Yes. I'm wondering what happens if they don't fulfill the expectations of the Honors/Advanced programs they're placed into. Do the schools drop them down or try to "counsel" them to live up to their potential?

What do you mean fulfill the expectations?

Schools give a test after acceptance to gauge what class your child should be in for math. My child took honors geometry in 8th grade. If she had placed below that on the placement test, I would have accepted that and let them put her in the class she would have been successful in. If they have gaps in math, they need to remediation. However, if your kids has been taking advanced math and tests with high scores, you shouldn't need to worry about this.

That sounds right. My DC bombed the math section because she didn't pay attention to time. It may mess up admissions and scholarship options, but if admitted it should have no bearing on placement. I can't image a school holding a child back and making them retake classes they already mastered because they had one bad test day. But if there are actual gaps, I'd want that remediated. Schools have seen it all, and I trust they know how to handle these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a kid who gets a really high score but puts little effort into school or grades? Wonder how it plays out if they're placed into a top academic level based on the HSPT score. Basically, a mismatch between effort and ability.

Ah, the classic underachiever. Most schools like to take these kids because they have so much unrealized potential and they take the standardized test curve up. They think all they have to do is find a way to motivate them..Sadly its much harder to do then they admit and I'm speaking from experience.

Yes. I'm wondering what happens if they don't fulfill the expectations of the Honors/Advanced programs they're placed into. Do the schools drop them down or try to "counsel" them to live up to their potential?

What do you mean fulfill the expectations?

Schools give a test after acceptance to gauge what class your child should be in for math. My child took honors geometry in 8th grade. If she had placed below that on the placement test, I would have accepted that and let them put her in the class she would have been successful in. If they have gaps in math, they need to remediation. However, if your kids has been taking advanced math and tests with high scores, you shouldn't need to worry about this.

I mean that my kids tests very well and is very intelligent with a lot of natural ability -- but not dedicated to studies or motivated to obtain high grades. Does minimal work with minimal effort. Some of the advanced/honors programs require a certain GPA to stay in them. Do they drop down levels if they don't preform up to standards, or do they try to counsel them? If you have a child who is "a gunner" (for lack of a better term) with high grades, it may be difficult to grasp this. But I have been dealing with it for years! It's not a question of whether the child can do the work, it's whether child will do the work and turn it in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a kid who gets a really high score but puts little effort into school or grades? Wonder how it plays out if they're placed into a top academic level based on the HSPT score. Basically, a mismatch between effort and ability.

Ah, the classic underachiever. Most schools like to take these kids because they have so much unrealized potential and they take the standardized test curve up. They think all they have to do is find a way to motivate them..Sadly its much harder to do then they admit and I'm speaking from experience.

Yes. I'm wondering what happens if they don't fulfill the expectations of the Honors/Advanced programs they're placed into. Do the schools drop them down or try to "counsel" them to live up to their potential?

What do you mean fulfill the expectations?

Schools give a test after acceptance to gauge what class your child should be in for math. My child took honors geometry in 8th grade. If she had placed below that on the placement test, I would have accepted that and let them put her in the class she would have been successful in. If they have gaps in math, they need to remediation. However, if your kids has been taking advanced math and tests with high scores, you shouldn't need to worry about this.

I mean that my kids tests very well and is very intelligent with a lot of natural ability -- but not dedicated to studies or motivated to obtain high grades. Does minimal work with minimal effort. Some of the advanced/honors programs require a certain GPA to stay in them. Do they drop down levels if they don't preform up to standards, or do they try to counsel them? If you have a child who is "a gunner" (for lack of a better term) with high grades, it may be difficult to grasp this. But I have been dealing with it for years! It's not a question of whether the child can do the work, it's whether child will do the work and turn it in.

NP: I have a similar child and completely understand what you are saying. What they have figured out is how to navigate a system that is not set up for them, but they have get through and they do it the easiest way possible because they see no reward for their effort (good grades for doing "pointless easy work" are not a reward to these kids, wrong-minded though this may be). So chances are, when placed in a different system, like private school, when not turning something in has real consequences, they will adapt and turn it in. Kids like this will likely be fine in the real world where inaction has consequences. DCPS has wised up and changed their policies on this starting today, literally today; and I think teachers are going to see a big turn around in a lot of very smart underachievers.

In the end, however, if being removed from the scholarship program is what happens, it will be a valuable life lesson. Sometimes a kid has to fail to understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a kid who gets a really high score but puts little effort into school or grades? Wonder how it plays out if they're placed into a top academic level based on the HSPT score. Basically, a mismatch between effort and ability.

Ah, the classic underachiever. Most schools like to take these kids because they have so much unrealized potential and they take the standardized test curve up. They think all they have to do is find a way to motivate them..Sadly its much harder to do then they admit and I'm speaking from experience.

Yes. I'm wondering what happens if they don't fulfill the expectations of the Honors/Advanced programs they're placed into. Do the schools drop them down or try to "counsel" them to live up to their potential?

What do you mean fulfill the expectations?

Schools give a test after acceptance to gauge what class your child should be in for math. My child took honors geometry in 8th grade. If she had placed below that on the placement test, I would have accepted that and let them put her in the class she would have been successful in. If they have gaps in math, they need to remediation. However, if your kids has been taking advanced math and tests with high scores, you shouldn't need to worry about this.

I mean that my kids tests very well and is very intelligent with a lot of natural ability -- but not dedicated to studies or motivated to obtain high grades. Does minimal work with minimal effort. Some of the advanced/honors programs require a certain GPA to stay in them. Do they drop down levels if they don't preform up to standards, or do they try to counsel them? If you have a child who is "a gunner" (for lack of a better term) with high grades, it may be difficult to grasp this. But I have been dealing with it for years! It's not a question of whether the child can do the work, it's whether child will do the work and turn it in.

NP: I have a similar child and completely understand what you are saying. What they have figured out is how to navigate a system that is not set up for them, but they have get through and they do it the easiest way possible because they see no reward for their effort (good grades for doing "pointless easy work" are not a reward to these kids, wrong-minded though this may be). So chances are, when placed in a different system, like private school, when not turning something in has real consequences, they will adapt and turn it in. Kids like this will likely be fine in the real world where inaction has consequences. DCPS has wised up and changed their policies on this starting today, literally today; and I think teachers are going to see a big turn around in a lot of very smart underachievers.

In the end, however, if being removed from the scholarship program is what happens, it will be a valuable life lesson. Sometimes a kid has to fail to understand.

Thanks, PP. Child has been in private (parochial) school. There are consequences, but none that really motivate (yet).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a kid who gets a really high score but puts little effort into school or grades? Wonder how it plays out if they're placed into a top academic level based on the HSPT score. Basically, a mismatch between effort and ability.

Ah, the classic underachiever. Most schools like to take these kids because they have so much unrealized potential and they take the standardized test curve up. They think all they have to do is find a way to motivate them..Sadly its much harder to do then they admit and I'm speaking from experience.

Yes. I'm wondering what happens if they don't fulfill the expectations of the Honors/Advanced programs they're placed into. Do the schools drop them down or try to "counsel" them to live up to their potential?

What do you mean fulfill the expectations?

Schools give a test after acceptance to gauge what class your child should be in for math. My child took honors geometry in 8th grade. If she had placed below that on the placement test, I would have accepted that and let them put her in the class she would have been successful in. If they have gaps in math, they need to remediation. However, if your kids has been taking advanced math and tests with high scores, you shouldn't need to worry about this.

I mean that my kids tests very well and is very intelligent with a lot of natural ability -- but not dedicated to studies or motivated to obtain high grades. Does minimal work with minimal effort. Some of the advanced/honors programs require a certain GPA to stay in them. Do they drop down levels if they don't preform up to standards, or do they try to counsel them? If you have a child who is "a gunner" (for lack of a better term) with high grades, it may be difficult to grasp this. But I have been dealing with it for years! It's not a question of whether the child can do the work, it's whether child will do the work and turn it in.

Just to mention, I had a DC like this and what I assumed as a lack of drive was actually inattentive ADHD, which became very evident in high school with increased demand of organizational and multitasking abilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a kid who gets a really high score but puts little effort into school or grades? Wonder how it plays out if they're placed into a top academic level based on the HSPT score. Basically, a mismatch between effort and ability.

Ah, the classic underachiever. Most schools like to take these kids because they have so much unrealized potential and they take the standardized test curve up. They think all they have to do is find a way to motivate them..Sadly its much harder to do then they admit and I'm speaking from experience.

Yes. I'm wondering what happens if they don't fulfill the expectations of the Honors/Advanced programs they're placed into. Do the schools drop them down or try to "counsel" them to live up to their potential?

What do you mean fulfill the expectations?

Schools give a test after acceptance to gauge what class your child should be in for math. My child took honors geometry in 8th grade. If she had placed below that on the placement test, I would have accepted that and let them put her in the class she would have been successful in. If they have gaps in math, they need to remediation. However, if your kids has been taking advanced math and tests with high scores, you shouldn't need to worry about this.

I mean that my kids tests very well and is very intelligent with a lot of natural ability -- but not dedicated to studies or motivated to obtain high grades. Does minimal work with minimal effort. Some of the advanced/honors programs require a certain GPA to stay in them. Do they drop down levels if they don't preform up to standards, or do they try to counsel them? If you have a child who is "a gunner" (for lack of a better term) with high grades, it may be difficult to grasp this. But I have been dealing with it for years! It's not a question of whether the child can do the work, it's whether child will do the work and turn it in.

Just to mention, I had a DC like this and what I assumed as a lack of drive was actually inattentive ADHD, which became very evident in high school with increased demand of organizational and multitasking abilities.

Did your DC take medication and improve?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All I can say is thank God for the SSAT and OLSAT/SCAT. Wildly inconsistent scores here.

For those whose kids did both SSAT and HSPT: In this thread, there was a pretty consistent lift from the SSAT percentile to the HSPT percentile.
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/30/521174.page

But reading some comments here, I see that is not always the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All I can say is thank God for the SSAT and OLSAT/SCAT. Wildly inconsistent scores here.

For those whose kids did both SSAT and HSPT: In this thread, there was a pretty consistent lift from the SSAT percentile to the HSPT percentile.
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/30/521174.page

But reading some comments here, I see that is not always the case.

Don't read too much into it. It was certainly an anomaly in DC's case, but not reflective of the relative differences in the tests or DC's abilities. Basically DC was pacing with the expectation that the proctor would announce the half time as in prior sections, but the proctor didn't do it in the math sections, and DC didn't finish them. DC had a 23 percentile difference in SSAT v. HSPT math sections, even though the math is easier on the HSPT, and DC finished the SSAT math with time to spare. Lesson learned: watch your own clock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a kid who gets a really high score but puts little effort into school or grades? Wonder how it plays out if they're placed into a top academic level based on the HSPT score. Basically, a mismatch between effort and ability.

Ah, the classic underachiever. Most schools like to take these kids because they have so much unrealized potential and they take the standardized test curve up. They think all they have to do is find a way to motivate them..Sadly its much harder to do then they admit and I'm speaking from experience.

Yes. I'm wondering what happens if they don't fulfill the expectations of the Honors/Advanced programs they're placed into. Do the schools drop them down or try to "counsel" them to live up to their potential?

What do you mean fulfill the expectations?

Schools give a test after acceptance to gauge what class your child should be in for math. My child took honors geometry in 8th grade. If she had placed below that on the placement test, I would have accepted that and let them put her in the class she would have been successful in. If they have gaps in math, they need to remediation. However, if your kids has been taking advanced math and tests with high scores, you shouldn't need to worry about this.

I mean that my kids tests very well and is very intelligent with a lot of natural ability -- but not dedicated to studies or motivated to obtain high grades. Does minimal work with minimal effort. Some of the advanced/honors programs require a certain GPA to stay in them. Do they drop down levels if they don't preform up to standards, or do they try to counsel them? If you have a child who is "a gunner" (for lack of a better term) with high grades, it may be difficult to grasp this. But I have been dealing with it for years! It's not a question of whether the child can do the work, it's whether child will do the work and turn it in.

Just to mention, I had a DC like this and what I assumed as a lack of drive was actually inattentive ADHD, which became very evident in high school with increased demand of organizational and multitasking abilities.

Did your DC take medication and improve?

Eventually, but things spiraled down very quickly in high school. It takes time to get testing and treatment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a kid who gets a really high score but puts little effort into school or grades? Wonder how it plays out if they're placed into a top academic level based on the HSPT score. Basically, a mismatch between effort and ability.

Ah, the classic underachiever. Most schools like to take these kids because they have so much unrealized potential and they take the standardized test curve up. They think all they have to do is find a way to motivate them..Sadly its much harder to do then they admit and I'm speaking from experience.

Yes. I'm wondering what happens if they don't fulfill the expectations of the Honors/Advanced programs they're placed into. Do the schools drop them down or try to "counsel" them to live up to their potential?

I can't speak to all the schools but at the schools our kids attended they had to take an additional test in the spring to determine math placement. They did not take any additional tests for LA and we accepted whatever placement decision they made for LA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a kid who gets a really high score but puts little effort into school or grades? Wonder how it plays out if they're placed into a top academic level based on the HSPT score. Basically, a mismatch between effort and ability.

Ah, the classic underachiever. Most schools like to take these kids because they have so much unrealized potential and they take the standardized test curve up. They think all they have to do is find a way to motivate them..Sadly its much harder to do then they admit and I'm speaking from experience.

Yes. I'm wondering what happens if they don't fulfill the expectations of the Honors/Advanced programs they're placed into. Do the schools drop them down or try to "counsel" them to live up to their potential?

I can't speak to all the schools but at the schools our kids attended they had to take an additional test in the spring to determine math placement. They did not take any additional tests for LA and we accepted whatever placement decision they made for LA.

Yes. Picture being able to ace these tests but being a slacker about day-to-day assignments and projects and not studying for tests.