Testing for gifted services in Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious, do all kids take the NNAT in 2nd, even those who have already been identified as gifted?

An already deemed gifted kid should have no problem with the nnat.

Yes they do all take it and some still don’t do well. It is just one assessment.

All parents get the results which shows individual score, and the % that score is.

It's an IPad game and some deemed gifted kids fail it b/c it's a one-shot deal. There is a second shot in 4th grade and that test is far more comprehensive. (CogAT)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious, do all kids take the NNAT in 2nd, even those who have already been identified as gifted?

An already deemed gifted kid should have no problem with the nnat.

Yes they do all take it and some still don’t do well. It is just one assessment.

All parents get the results which shows individual score, and the % that score is.

It's an IPad game and some deemed gifted kids fail it b/c it's a one-shot deal. There is a second shot in 4th grade and that test is far more comprehensive. (CogAT)

An iPad game? Isn’t it close to an IQ test?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious, do all kids take the NNAT in 2nd, even those who have already been identified as gifted?

An already deemed gifted kid should have no problem with the nnat.

Yes they do all take it and some still don’t do well. It is just one assessment.

All parents get the results which shows individual score, and the % that score is.

It's an IPad game and some deemed gifted kids fail it b/c it's a one-shot deal. There is a second shot in 4th grade and that test is far more comprehensive. (CogAT)

An iPad game? Isn’t it close to an IQ test?

Calling something a game is a fun way to delegitimize it.

[Anonymous]

Interesting- our child has a high iq and adhd but the testing place thought we needed to get the adhd under control before putting DC in a more challenging environment. I felt that more challenging work could possibly make it more interesting for our child, but I may never know, as the adhd makes completing work nearly impossible. It could also crush DC if executive functioning isn’t on par with IQ.

Honestly, the curriculum is already light years beyond what I was learning at the same age. I think schools are pushing kids to perform at levels that might not be developmentally appropriate. My older child is supposedly getting gifted services and is surprised at what child 2 is learning compared to the curriculum dc1 had at that same age. They seem to be upping the ante all the time. I’m not convinced it’s good for kids’ mental health to be pushed too hard, fwiw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious, do all kids take the NNAT in 2nd, even those who have already been identified as gifted?

An already deemed gifted kid should have no problem with the nnat.

Yes they do all take it and some still don’t do well. It is just one assessment.

All parents get the results which shows individual score, and the % that score is.

It's an IPad game and some deemed gifted kids fail it b/c it's a one-shot deal. There is a second shot in 4th grade and that test is far more comprehensive. (CogAT)

An iPad game? Isn’t it close to an IQ test?

Calling something a game is a fun way to delegitimize it.

After reading this and other threads in the topic I’ve come to the conclusion that APS’s “gifted services” try to have it both ways - something to challenge and engage kids who are simply really smart and adhead of the curve (the way many, many UMC kids are whose parents are both professionals with advanced degrees) without making everyone else feel like they are sitting at the stupid table. I don’t think it really works but it prob doesn’t matter at the elementary level. FWIW, I was identified as gifted in the mid 80s (2 grade levels ahead except math, at which I was terrible.) the point back then was not to provide me “challenging material”. My regular classroom teachers could easily give me an extra worksheet or tell me to work ahead. The point of it back then was to put me in a classroom with a dozen other kids in a SOCIAL environment where intellectual activity and curiosity was valued and encouraged. A once a week pullout was critical to doing that. It was a normal, midwestern school district though, where being smart was uncool. Very diff from APS I’d imagine.

[Anonymous]

When do 2nd graders take the NNAT? As in what month?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious, do all kids take the NNAT in 2nd, even those who have already been identified as gifted?

An already deemed gifted kid should have no problem with the nnat.

Yes they do all take it and some still don’t do well. It is just one assessment.

All parents get the results which shows individual score, and the % that score is.

It's an IPad game and some deemed gifted kids fail it b/c it's a one-shot deal. There is a second shot in 4th grade and that test is far more comprehensive. (CogAT)

An iPad game? Isn’t it close to an IQ test?

Calling something a game is a fun way to delegitimize it.

After reading this and other threads in the topic I’ve come to the conclusion that APS’s “gifted services” try to have it both ways - something to challenge and engage kids who are simply really smart and adhead of the curve (the way many, many UMC kids are whose parents are both professionals with advanced degrees) without making everyone else feel like they are sitting at the stupid table. I don’t think it really works but it prob doesn’t matter at the elementary level. FWIW, I was identified as gifted in the mid 80s (2 grade levels ahead except math, at which I was terrible.) the point back then was not to provide me “challenging material”. My regular classroom teachers could easily give me an extra worksheet or tell me to work ahead. The point of it back then was to put me in a classroom with a dozen other kids in a SOCIAL environment where intellectual activity and curiosity was valued and encouraged. A once a week pullout was critical to doing that. It was a normal, midwestern school district though, where being smart was uncool. Very diff from APS I’d imagine.

Interesting point. I had a similar experience, except that there was one gifted classroom, where I went to all day every day. I do wonder if the proliferation of upper middle class/advanced degree households make that setting slightly more the norm. However, I can tell that there are certain kids who are less curious than others, even though they have raw intelligence. Luckily,my kids have found those peers for the most part, although only one has been designated as gifted by the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Honestly, the curriculum is already light years beyond what I was learning at the same age. I think schools are pushing kids to perform at levels that might not be developmentally appropriate. My older child is supposedly getting gifted services and is surprised at what child 2 is learning compared to the curriculum dc1 had at that same age. They seem to be upping the ante all the time. I’m not convinced it’s good for kids’ mental health to be pushed too hard, fwiw.

Interesting, could you be more specific? Is this in elementary APS schools? What subjects do you see this “upping the ante” happening between your two kids’ experiences?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious, do all kids take the NNAT in 2nd, even those who have already been identified as gifted?

An already deemed gifted kid should have no problem with the nnat.

Yes they do all take it and some still don’t do well. It is just one assessment.

All parents get the results which shows individual score, and the % that score is.

It's an IPad game and some deemed gifted kids fail it b/c it's a one-shot deal. There is a second shot in 4th grade and that test is far more comprehensive. (CogAT)

An iPad game? Isn’t it close to an IQ test?

Calling something a game is a fun way to delegitimize it.

After reading this and other threads in the topic I’ve come to the conclusion that APS’s “gifted services” try to have it both ways - something to challenge and engage kids who are simply really smart and adhead of the curve (the way many, many UMC kids are whose parents are both professionals with advanced degrees) without making everyone else feel like they are sitting at the stupid table. I don’t think it really works but it prob doesn’t matter at the elementary level. FWIW, I was identified as gifted in the mid 80s (2 grade levels ahead except math, at which I was terrible.) the point back then was not to provide me “challenging material”. My regular classroom teachers could easily give me an extra worksheet or tell me to work ahead. The point of it back then was to put me in a classroom with a dozen other kids in a SOCIAL environment where intellectual activity and curiosity was valued and encouraged. A once a week pullout was critical to doing that. It was a normal, midwestern school district though, where being smart was uncool. Very diff from APS I’d imagine.

Interesting point. I had a similar experience, except that there was one gifted classroom, where I went to all day every day. I do wonder if the proliferation of upper middle class/advanced degree households make that setting slightly more the norm. However, I can tell that there are certain kids who are less curious than others, even though they have raw intelligence. Luckily,my kids have found those peers for the most part, although only one has been designated as gifted by the school.

Yeah, the truth is there were no geniuses, no little man tates. And probably none here either. It was that the district I went to was solidly middle class and back then it meant there was a sort of ambiguous attitude toward academic achievement, at best. It was not a place where everyone was just assumed to go to college and being smart is not cool and basically interpreted as “you think you’re better than me”. kids who were nerdy needed a two hour pullout once a week to just be around other kids who you know, liked school, liked to learn. That was the value of “gifted services” where I grew up and I’m not sure that it pertains here and now, where the culture values academic achievement and being smart is cool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When do 2nd graders take the NNAT? As in what month?

you’ll know when you know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious, do all kids take the NNAT in 2nd, even those who have already been identified as gifted?

A kid could be opted out, but otherwise everyone takes it.

I'd be curious how many idiots who opt out of SOLs clamor for this standardized test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious, do all kids take the NNAT in 2nd, even those who have already been identified as gifted?

A kid could be opted out, but otherwise everyone takes it.

I'd be curious how many idiots who opt out of SOLs clamor for this standardized test.

The NNAT is automatically given to all second graders. No clamoring required.

[Anonymous]

Did APS already do this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious, do all kids take the NNAT in 2nd, even those who have already been identified as gifted?

An already deemed gifted kid should have no problem with the nnat.

Yes they do all take it and some still don’t do well. It is just one assessment.

All parents get the results which shows individual score, and the % that score is.

It's an IPad game and some deemed gifted kids fail it b/c it's a one-shot deal. There is a second shot in 4th grade and that test is far more comprehensive. (CogAT)

An iPad game? Isn’t it close to an IQ test?

Calling something a game is a fun way to delegitimize it.

After reading this and other threads in the topic I’ve come to the conclusion that APS’s “gifted services” try to have it both ways - something to challenge and engage kids who are simply really smart and adhead of the curve (the way many, many UMC kids are whose parents are both professionals with advanced degrees) without making everyone else feel like they are sitting at the stupid table. I don’t think it really works but it prob doesn’t matter at the elementary level. FWIW, I was identified as gifted in the mid 80s (2 grade levels ahead except math, at which I was terrible.) the point back then was not to provide me “challenging material”. My regular classroom teachers could easily give me an extra worksheet or tell me to work ahead. The point of it back then was to put me in a classroom with a dozen other kids in a SOCIAL environment where intellectual activity and curiosity was valued and encouraged. A once a week pullout was critical to doing that. It was a normal, midwestern school district though, where being smart was uncool. Very diff from APS I’d imagine.

Interesting point. I had a similar experience, except that there was one gifted classroom, where I went to all day every day. I do wonder if the proliferation of upper middle class/advanced degree households make that setting slightly more the norm. However, I can tell that there are certain kids who are less curious than others, even though they have raw intelligence. Luckily,my kids have found those peers for the most part, although only one has been designated as gifted by the school.

Yeah, the truth is there were no geniuses, no little man tates. And probably none here either. It was that the district I went to was solidly middle class and back then it meant there was a sort of ambiguous attitude toward academic achievement, at best. It was not a place where everyone was just assumed to go to college and being smart is not cool and basically interpreted as “you think you’re better than me”. kids who were nerdy needed a two hour pullout once a week to just be around other kids who you know, liked school, liked to learn. That was the value of “gifted services” where I grew up and I’m not sure that it pertains here and now, where the culture values academic achievement and being smart is cool.

+1 As a kid in the 80s I also needed the gifted track for an appropriate social group. Unfortunately, there were only 2 other kids in my ES grade ID'd as gifted (both boys) so I had no academic peers until 5th grade when I was given the opportunity for a weekly after-school program at another school. Finally in MS I was placed in honors classes and stopped feeling like such a weirdo.

It's completely different in my kids' APS school. 5th grade DD (also ID'd as gifted) once gave me a detailed breakdown of the social map of the lunch room -- what the groups were, how she defined them, where they sat, who straddles groups. None of the groups were the 'nerds' or the 'smart kids' or anything like that. That was definitely a "group" in my youth. So I asked her about it and she thought it was a weird question, saying there isn't a 'smart' group, everyone is smart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did APS already do this?

I don't know if the schedule is standard across all schools, but when it came up during fall conferences, my kid's teacher said they expected to do it in February. Three years ago when my older child took it, they did it in September/October, so this year is different.