My kid bombed HGC test

[Anonymous]

So clearly DC isn't "gifted". At least not at test-taking. But now I'm unexpectedly concerned about the other side of the coin: is DC below average compared to mcps peers, and I just didn't know?? DC has always been in the top reading group, but scored barely above 100 (only half of the questions correct) in each section on HGC test. Anyone else with kids that did so poorly?

[Anonymous]

OP, how did your child do on InView?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, how did your child do on InView?

high-90s on everything except very low on quant (around 50%). At the time, didn't know if the quant score was a fluke, as math has been no problem in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, how did your child do on InView?

high-90s on everything except very low on quant (around 50%). At the time, didn't know if the quant score was a fluke, as math has been no problem in school.

^talking percentiles...I don't recall the actual scores off hand

[Anonymous]

My chalsobombed it last year. I forget the exact acre but they were well below what I thought they would be based on her school work. She is just a horrible test taker.

This year in 4th grade she is in the highest groups and getting es's. Plenty of challenge

[Anonymous]

DC didn't get in but got well into the hundreds on all sections. I'd say DC bombed it based on potential. Ordinarily performs well on tests but is very deliberate and slow on tests so I'm pretty sure some questions were not even attempted. I had the say questions as you OP such as what would the average student get on the HGC test and were my DC falls.

[Anonymous]

My kid bombed the middle-school magnet test, OP. That doesn't mean my kid is dumb. I know my kid. You know your kid. Is your kid dumb?

What would be dumb is to think that the test is a perfect indicator of smartness. Or even a good one. It isn't. All it is, is a good indicator of how well you do on that kind of test.

[Anonymous]

Are results available? How does one go about finding out results. I thought we'd find out in June if children got into GT program. Wasn't aware that we raw scores were available.

[Anonymous]

I would start by asking the teacher if there is a more robust score report available.

The test for HGC is VERY time pressured. I am overgeneralizing a bit, but they had about 30 seconds per question. Fast processing speed is important in such a test, and it's not something in everyone's profile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are results available? How does one go about finding out results. I thought we'd find out in June if children got into GT program. Wasn't aware that we raw scores were available.

The 3rd grade HGC scores come in the acceptance or non-acceptance letters. They should be out already. If you mean the second grade scores, you will get them but they are not related to the GT program. They are just a label that is applied to about 40% of MoCo kids based on state required testing.

[Anonymous]

It usually helps the teachers figure out who is spoon-fed by Mommy to be smart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would start by asking the teacher if there is a more robust score report available.

The test for HGC is VERY time pressured. I am overgeneralizing a bit, but they had about 30 seconds per question. Fast processing speed is important in such a test, and it's not something in everyone's profile.

+1

Bombed the verbal part of the test, did well in quant and nonverbal. My DC was tested by the psychologist and had an IQ score of 130 (right on the line). I believe the range was plus/minus 5 pts (I can't remember if it was reported as a range of 5 or 10 pts). My DC also had a low processing speed and working memory score.

I think my kid is smart, not a genius, and will do okay in life without the label.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It usually helps the teachers figure out who is spoon-fed by Mommy to be smart.

PP, what do you think this comment adds to the discussion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid bombed the middle-school magnet test, OP. That doesn't mean my kid is dumb. I know my kid. You know your kid. Is your kid dumb?

What would be dumb is to think that the test is a perfect indicator of smartness. Or even a good one. It isn't. All it is, is a good indicator of how well you do on that kind of test.

OP here. No, I don't think my kid is dumb. But I am also wondering if I'm getting some new information that I didn't know about my DC before. For example, would these HGC scores suggest that DC is "bad" at test-taking? In other words, are these scores (low 100's) average, or are they below average for the kids that take the test? Obviously they are way below the median of those that are accepted, but what about those that are rejected? I realize that the kids that sign up to take the test are probably kids in the upper 40-50% of students already, so these scores don't compare DC to ALL mcps kids, but I think it's probably comparing DC to most of DC's peers (the kids that are in the top reading groups, do well in school, etc).

I never thought of DC as a "bad" test-taker before, but maybe the low quant score on InView, and now these HGC test scores, would indicate it? Or maybe DC's scores are right on par for someone who does well, but is not "gifted"? I guess I'm just trying to understand how low these scores actually are.

[Anonymous]

OP, was your child nominated by school to apply for HGC or was it parental involvement/response due to the communication /announcements from MCPS central office?