Ugh. DD thought CogAT was hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree Level II is no big deal but to not have even that little bit of differentiation for a bright kid is frustrating to me as a mom

My kid was labeled LII but I really don’t think they did anything. I know the kids had different reading groups.

He is in Level IV now and was struggling the first few weeks with math. He is fine now. I think he was just so used to not learning much. He never had to work previously. I’m glad he is adequately challenged now and is amongst peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not necessarily the case that the program is for the gifted, but that there are so many ES out there that offer no differentiation (ours didn't, until 5th grade), that your average bright and hard working child does not get a decent education in the gen ed program. Parents then have an incentive to push for AAP, because while it may not be a program for the gifted, it will at least give the kids an opportunity to get a satisfactory education

I wish LII and LIII were more uniform between schools. My LIII kid was placed in Advanced Math starting in 3rd grade. In language arts, the same kid had one day/week of word study, where the kids switched classrooms based on their levels, about 3 days in an above grade level reading group that managed to actually work with the teacher on those days, and one more day of a pull out with the AART. I don't see why every school couldn't offer the same thing. It's especially sad that so many schools won't start advanced math until 5th grade for the LII and LIII math kids.

+1. It's ridiculous that FCPS can't make this more uniform. Our base school offers no advanced math until 5th grade. It's been discussed many times at PTA meetings. Admin has given every excuse under the sun as to why this isn't necessary, although multiple parents have shown iReady and SOL math scores well above the benchmark for their Level III kids when requesting the addition of an advanced math class. It seems quite unfair that some kids get no differentiation just because the principal doesn't want to implement it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My first is in AAP. My second is advanced in math but average with the rest. She will probably end up in gen ed and I’m ok with it. I feel like maybe I’m missing something/something’s wrong with me when I read this forum though.

There is nothing wrong with a parent wanting best education opportunity for their child, specially when their child shows above standard abilities.
in fact, I believe not pursuing for opportunity if possible is not doing parental responsibility to provide opportunity for their child. Although there are fine line
of being a parent who is providing opportunity to their child and forcing them to do beyond their capabilities.

Some kids love challenges and they excel through it while some kids don't. What's most important is given them opportunity but check for the signs of struggle
and be ready to pull them back to genEd (although I would say atleast have them experience through a semester) before their life becomes miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My first is in AAP. My second is advanced in math but average with the rest. She will probably end up in gen ed and I’m ok with it. I feel like maybe I’m missing something/something’s wrong with me when I read this forum though.

There is nothing wrong with a parent wanting best education opportunity for their child, specially when their child shows above standard abilities.
in fact, I believe not pursuing for opportunity if possible is not doing parental responsibility to provide opportunity for their child. Although there are fine line
of being a parent who is providing opportunity to their child and forcing them to do beyond their capabilities.

Some kids love challenges and they excel through it while some kids don't. What's most important is given them opportunity but check for the signs of struggle
and be ready to pull them back to genEd (although I would say atleast have them experience through a semester) before their life becomes miserable.

Nah, you are a good parent who recognizes your kids are different and have different needs. There is nothing wrong with that. I wish more parents had your attitude. I hope that DS gets into AAP so we have a choice to make but he will be just fine if he doesn't get into AAP. For the most part, kids will do well in school if their parents are involved. You sound like you know your kids and you know that your child will be fine in Advanced Math and then GE.

[Anonymous]

OP, I agree that young children are not always accurate in their assessment of how they did, but just suggesting you should also question whether your child told you that the CogAT was "hard" because your child has sensed the importance you place on the test (and getting into AAP) and does not want to disappoint.

You know your child best, but I also know that over time, I unintentionally communicated my stress to my child, whether it was academics, sports, etc. Over and over throughout these threads. you can see parents who have clearly communicated their stress over getting into AAP to their young kids. So please just be mindful and check yourself when you ask about the CogAT or get the results and appeal. etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I agree that young children are not always accurate in their assessment of how they did, but just suggesting you should also question whether your child told you that the CogAT was "hard" because your child has sensed the importance you place on the test (and getting into AAP) and does not want to disappoint.

You know your child best, but I also know that over time, I unintentionally communicated my stress to my child, whether it was academics, sports, etc. Over and over throughout these threads. you can see parents who have clearly communicated their stress over getting into AAP to their young kids. So please just be mindful and check yourself when you ask about the CogAT or get the results and appeal. etc.

Thanks! That’s a good reminder, but I don’t think applicable in this instance. I said nothing about it though I did write it on the calendar. My DS then told her “that’s the test to get into AAP!” Ugh, thanks DS. I responded, “not really, it’s just a part of it, they look at a lot of things, don’t worry about it” and that was the end of it. This is a kid who is used to getting perfect scores on everything so it may be that she would say it was hard if she didn’t know every single answer with 100% certainty. Just a contrast to my son reporting it was so easy and he thought he had a nearly perfect score when he actually did not, though he did do very well.

Not really thinking about it anymore.

[Anonymous]

LOL! Glad to hear it. My older child also told my younger child that the CogAT was to get into AAP. Sigh. Sometimes you can't control.