Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Son got in. Greenbriar West.
NNAT 121
COGAT composite 139
Grades mostly G's and some O's
GBRS unknown
Parent of a first grader here. For above PP and other PP whose DC got a NNAT 121 - did you prep for the COGAT? My DC's NNAT was a 123 and I thought this was low (for FCPA AAP anyway). She is well above grade level, does pull outs for math and reading and gets mostly Os. I've thought about prepping, but am also nervous about stressing her out about it, so am leaning toward just leaving it alone. I can see the benefit of preparing her with the format, test taking strategies (don't leave any blank, take best guess, etc) but again - don't want to make a big deal out of the test and make her nervous. Did you do anything?
I did teach her some test taking strategies before the CogAT (I did for NNAT too but she was less receptive then) but she did not have prep classes or practice tests. If your child hasn't done these kind of logic tests before, I recommend printing some critical thinking questions out and coaching her through the process of how to answer them - most importantly how to fill out a bubble sheet and that you should never skip questions. With tough multiple choice questions you can teach her to eliminate the obviously wrong answers with a "guess and check" process and then do her best guess of whats left. Another big thing - read the entire question! Sometimes my daughter rushes in and only reads the first sentence of a word problem and assumes what she needs to do...good to have her practice some wordy logic questions. Her experience taking math club exams helped a lot with her comfort level in a testing environment and again gave her confidence that she can handle even the toughest questions.
I found a couple sample CogAT questions online at some point (just 1 per test type) - they're out there for free if you hunt. Helped her understand what kind of stuff they'd be asking her - made her feel more in control and prepared - something my child at least needs to do well. I do think her maturity and improved test taking abilities was the reason for the improved score.
I think too many parents with gifted kids expect a test to tell them if a child is gifted, and leave it a bit up to chance, as opposed to making sure their child knows enough about taking tests, so that the test accurately reflects the child.