No CogAT testing in FCPS AAP Screening this year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who said poor kids can't take the CogAT? Isn't there a sliding fee or free option for Farms or low-income kids?

At George Mason I mean...

Yes!

Fee Reduction Policy for Individual Cognitive Assessments
It may be possible for your child to receive a fee reduction for an individual cognitive assessment (WISC-V, SB5, DAS-II, or KABC-II) if you meet the following criteria:
you are seeking admission to the Fairfax County Public School's Advanced Academic Program for your child, aged seven or above;
your family qualifies for the federal Free/Reduced Price Lunch program. Acceptable documentation is a copy of your eligibility letter from your child's local school.
A qualified child may receive one cognitive assessment, per year, at the reduced fee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who said poor kids can't take the CogAT? Isn't there a sliding fee or free option for Farms or low-income kids?

At George Mason I mean...

Yes!

Fee Reduction Policy for Individual Cognitive Assessments
It may be possible for your child to receive a fee reduction for an individual cognitive assessment (WISC-V, SB5, DAS-II, or KABC-II) if you meet the following criteria:
you are seeking admission to the Fairfax County Public School's Advanced Academic Program for your child, aged seven or above;
your family qualifies for the federal Free/Reduced Price Lunch program. Acceptable documentation is a copy of your eligibility letter from your child's local school.
A qualified child may receive one cognitive assessment, per year, at the reduced fee.

A lot of families do not have even “reduced fee” Cogat money. Dude, people lost their jobs in CoVID. Are you really this out of touch?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It always amazes me how some parents think it is the end all be all. Having had one in AAP and one not, it really is not all that you would think it was cracked up to be. I think 5 th grade was the biggest difference(some more in depth projects). Everything else was not that different. Except for math. And then in MS(at least at Longfellow) Math is the only difference. My kids were on the same team and, except for math, had the exact same assignments and projects. for Language Arts, SS and science. A few papers were due a few days ahead in AAP but that was it. Maybe because all classes at that school are honors anyways….

It makes a huge difference for those of us in schools with high ESOL and FARMS populations where your example is not the case, but you would not understand that.

Oh no. Your kids will have to go to school with brown kids for one more year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who said poor kids can't take the CogAT? Isn't there a sliding fee or free option for Farms or low-income kids?

At George Mason I mean...

Yes!

Fee Reduction Policy for Individual Cognitive Assessments
It may be possible for your child to receive a fee reduction for an individual cognitive assessment (WISC-V, SB5, DAS-II, or KABC-II) if you meet the following criteria:
you are seeking admission to the Fairfax County Public School's Advanced Academic Program for your child, aged seven or above;
your family qualifies for the federal Free/Reduced Price Lunch program. Acceptable documentation is a copy of your eligibility letter from your child's local school.
A qualified child may receive one cognitive assessment, per year, at the reduced fee.

A lot of families do not have even “reduced fee” Cogat money. Dude, people lost their jobs in CoVID. Are you really this out of touch?

Not only that - what about the logistics of getting there? Parents with lower paying jobs may not have a car. May not have paid leave and cannot take off unpaid time. We passed a food donation line a few weeks ago that stretched a mile with people waiting in their cars. People are really hurting and probably dont have the time, ability or resources to focus on this while trying to survive.

[Anonymous]

^but see, the parents who post here don’t actually care. They are not the least bit bothered by who CAN’T get into AAP as long as they can make sure their kid CAN.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It always amazes me how some parents think it is the end all be all. Having had one in AAP and one not, it really is not all that you would think it was cracked up to be. I think 5 th grade was the biggest difference(some more in depth projects). Everything else was not that different. Except for math. And then in MS(at least at Longfellow) Math is the only difference. My kids were on the same team and, except for math, had the exact same assignments and projects. for Language Arts, SS and science. A few papers were due a few days ahead in AAP but that was it. Maybe because all classes at that school are honors anyways….

It makes a huge difference for those of us in schools with high ESOL and FARMS populations where your example is not the case, but you would not understand that.

Oh no. Your kids will have to go to school with brown kids for one more year.

What’s your base school? Serious question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It always amazes me how some parents think it is the end all be all. Having had one in AAP and one not, it really is not all that you would think it was cracked up to be. I think 5 th grade was the biggest difference(some more in depth projects). Everything else was not that different. Except for math. And then in MS(at least at Longfellow) Math is the only difference. My kids were on the same team and, except for math, had the exact same assignments and projects. for Language Arts, SS and science. A few papers were due a few days ahead in AAP but that was it. Maybe because all classes at that school are honors anyways….

It makes a huge difference for those of us in schools with high ESOL and FARMS populations where your example is not the case, but you would not understand that.

Oh no. Your kids will have to go to school with brown kids for one more year.

What’s your base school? Serious question.

Better question: why do you think you and your kids are better than the families at your base school to the extent you rely on AAP as an escape ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you're dreaming if you think a private CoGAT will be accepted by the central office. But, go ahead, feel free to put your money into it because you clearly have the ability to do so. Before you do though, you may want to read how well this past summer's appeals went for those who submitted the WISC (an officially 'accepted' form of supplementation for an appeals application). So to think that an unaccpeted form will be utilized, you clearly have no clue about life at FCPS. LOL! You're in for a very rude awakening ...

Of course the rate of success of an appeal is going to be low. Those are the kids that are already lower in the pool. That is not comparable to submitting legit CoGAT scores in the first place. But feel free to stomp your feet all you want. Life isn't fair.

Like I said, why don't you look through the threads posted in July and August regarding this year's appeals process to orient yourself with the scores on the CoGAT and then WISC and then appeals decision. The reality of what it means to gain a spot in AAP will hit you. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you're dreaming if you think a private CoGAT will be accepted by the central office. But, go ahead, feel free to put your money into it because you clearly have the ability to do so. Before you do though, you may want to read how well this past summer's appeals went for those who submitted the WISC (an officially 'accepted' form of supplementation for an appeals application). So to think that an unaccpeted form will be utilized, you clearly have no clue about life at FCPS. LOL! You're in for a very rude awakening ...

Of course the rate of success of an appeal is going to be low. Those are the kids that are already lower in the pool. That is not comparable to submitting legit CoGAT scores in the first place. But feel free to stomp your feet all you want. Life isn't fair.

Like I said, why don't you look through the threads posted in July and August regarding this year's appeals process to orient yourself with the scores on the CoGAT and then WISC and then appeals decision. The reality of what it means to gain a spot in AAP will hit you. Good luck!

The small vocal minority on this board does not represent AAP as a whole. I don’t care about whiners whondidnt get in despite high scores. That may be a tiny fraction of what really happened. This board cannot be mistaken for absolute truth. Surely you know that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It always amazes me how some parents think it is the end all be all. Having had one in AAP and one not, it really is not all that you would think it was cracked up to be. I think 5 th grade was the biggest difference(some more in depth projects). Everything else was not that different. Except for math. And then in MS(at least at Longfellow) Math is the only difference. My kids were on the same team and, except for math, had the exact same assignments and projects. for Language Arts, SS and science. A few papers were due a few days ahead in AAP but that was it. Maybe because all classes at that school are honors anyways….

It makes a huge difference for those of us in schools with high ESOL and FARMS populations where your example is not the case, but you would not understand that.

Oh no. Your kids will have to go to school with brown kids for one more year.

What’s your base school? Serious question.

Better question: why do you think you and your kids are better than the families at your base school to the extent you rely on AAP as an escape ?

It is fair for parents to be worried that their kid is not being challenged when a Teacher is focused on bringing other kids up to grade level. That does not mean that the kids below grade level are not smart or capable but that they probably have not had the same opportunities that kids with better off parents have or kids whose parents are native English speakers.

Parents want the best education they can get for their kids. In schools were there is a higher percentage of kids below grade level, it is harder for kids who are above grade level to get an education that challenges them. In FCPS, parents of the at grade level or above grade level that means AAP where the course material is aimed to above grade level kids. I have known people who have moved after Kindergarten at a FARMs school because it was clear that their child was not going to get much attention since the child was above grade level or on grade level.

Property is expensive in this area so there are a good number of middle class families that are buying houses where the in boundary school is Title 1. It is not surprising to me that those parents are looking for alternatives, whether that is language immersion, magnet schools, or AAP.

[Anonymous]

Will be very interesting to see what FCPS decides to do this year. COVID plus increased emphasis on diversity might mean no COGAT, no parent appeals, and no private testing. Leaving GBRS as the primary tool? In a DL year?

Don't envy the decision makers on this one!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It always amazes me how some parents think it is the end all be all. Having had one in AAP and one not, it really is not all that you would think it was cracked up to be. I think 5 th grade was the biggest difference(some more in depth projects). Everything else was not that different. Except for math. And then in MS(at least at Longfellow) Math is the only difference. My kids were on the same team and, except for math, had the exact same assignments and projects. for Language Arts, SS and science. A few papers were due a few days ahead in AAP but that was it. Maybe because all classes at that school are honors anyways….

It makes a huge difference for those of us in schools with high ESOL and FARMS populations where your example is not the case, but you would not understand that.

Oh no. Your kids will have to go to school with brown kids for one more year.

What’s your base school? Serious question.

Better question: why do you think you and your kids are better than the families at your base school to the extent you rely on AAP as an escape ?

It is fair for parents to be worried that their kid is not being challenged when a Teacher is focused on bringing other kids up to grade level. That does not mean that the kids below grade level are not smart or capable but that they probably have not had the same opportunities that kids with better off parents have or kids whose parents are native English speakers.

Parents want the best education they can get for their kids. In schools were there is a higher percentage of kids below grade level, it is harder for kids who are above grade level to get an education that challenges them. In FCPS, parents of the at grade level or above grade level that means AAP where the course material is aimed to above grade level kids. I have known people who have moved after Kindergarten at a FARMs school because it was clear that their child was not going to get much attention since the child was above grade level or on grade level.

Property is expensive in this area so there are a good number of middle class families that are buying houses where the in boundary school is Title 1. It is not surprising to me that those parents are looking for alternatives, whether that is language immersion, magnet schools, or AAP.

NP. Pretty much this. AAP is our only hope any an appropriate education for our kid. Unfortunately it’s become a target and there are a lot of misunderstandings and ill-will about it within the school administration. If it slides downhill much faster we are moving somewhere cheaper so that we can afford to all of the extra supplementation and time we have to spend on educating our kid (see the thread about spelling for an example). That’s fine, if that’s what the county wants. Tired of the the free riding-off of educated middle class parents that just wanted a decent public education for their kids and made sacrifices to get it.

[Anonymous]

All of this nonsense is why we chose to move to Loudoun. The gifted program is a minor after thought and not a separate curriculum. They also admit way fewer kids (with even higher scores) but all students remain in class together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of this nonsense is why we chose to move to Loudoun. The gifted program is a minor after thought and not a separate curriculum. They also admit way fewer kids (with even higher scores) but all students remain in class together.

I’m starting to understand. The commute would be murder but I could own a horse farm out there for what I pay to live in FCPS. Now that I telework full-time it’s incredibly appealing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of this nonsense is why we chose to move to Loudoun. The gifted program is a minor after thought and not a separate curriculum. They also admit way fewer kids (with even higher scores) but all students remain in class together.

I’m starting to understand. The commute would be murder but I could own a horse farm out there for what I pay to live in FCPS. Now that I telework full-time it’s incredibly appealing.

PP here. I live 10 minutes north of Reston Town Center. The downtown commute is brutal, but places like Tyson’s, Reston, Chantilly and Herndon are fine.