Gifted and talented test prep

[Anonymous]

The fair thing to do is raise your child in a skinner box to ensure they have no preparation whatsoever; otherwise, you're just a cheater!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fair thing to do is raise your child in a skinner box to ensure they have no preparation whatsoever; otherwise, you're just a cheater!!!

And to be even more fair, every kid should be put up in an institution where they'd be monitored 24-7, fed the exact same diet, given the exact same amount and depth of stimulation, taught the exact same curriculum at the same pace.. and by 3rd grade, the HGC test would TRULY reflect who's the smartest of 'em all.

[Anonymous]

Come on, pps. Prepping obviously doesn't mean raising them well and reading to them. Prepping means telling them exactly what's going to be on the test so they can just memorize it instead of having to figure it out like everybody else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Come on, pps. Prepping obviously doesn't mean raising them well and reading to them. Prepping means telling them exactly what's going to be on the test so they can just memorize it instead of having to figure it out like everybody else.

NP - The magnet tests are not like SAT/ACT exams. No "retired" or "old" exams are available so kids really don't know the exact nature of problems until the exam day. So, in that regard, your post is incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Come on, pps. Prepping obviously doesn't mean raising them well and reading to them. Prepping means telling them exactly what's going to be on the test so they can just memorize it instead of having to figure it out like everybody else.

No, I think that prepping means practicing doing standardized tests, in the belief that practice at doing standardized tests makes you better at doing standardized tests.

Now certainly the organizations that make money off test prep want people to believe that a kid will do better at the test after their parents have paid for test prep. But at least for the MCPS magnet tests, nobody knows whether that's actually true, including the organizations that make money off test prep.

And IF the organizations that make money off test prep do know exactly what's going to be on the test, and people who don't pay for test prep don't know, that's a big problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on, pps. Prepping obviously doesn't mean raising them well and reading to them. Prepping means telling them exactly what's going to be on the test so they can just memorize it instead of having to figure it out like everybody else.

No, I think that prepping means practicing doing standardized tests, in the belief that practice at doing standardized tests makes you better at doing standardized tests.

Now certainly the organizations that make money off test prep want people to believe that a kid will do better at the test after their parents have paid for test prep. But at least for the MCPS magnet tests, nobody knows whether that's actually true, including the organizations that make money off test prep.

And IF the organizations that make money off test prep do know exactly what's going to be on the test, and people who don't pay for test prep don't know, that's a big problem.

+1 This. No one knows exactly what is going to be on the test. Test prep offers familiarity with question type.

[Anonymous]

My kid (who did not prep) went to a HGC, MS magnet and is now in a HS magnet. Many of his friends did attend test prep centers but not all of them were able to get into a magnet. He also knows kids who did not prep who did get in. I am honestly not sure whether it makes a big difference. There might be a handful of kids who get an edge after prepping but I don't think it is a significant determinant of success. He was aware of other friends prepping in the weeks leading up to the test but we never worried that this would disadvantage ds in anyway. These programs are really tough especially SMAC and RMIB and I don't see a big difference in the performance of the students who prepped and the students who did not.
I personally think that MCPS should post an entire magnet test online so everyone can see the format clearly.
I may be wrong but I also feel like some of the people who complain about the test preppers also have a beef with the high numbers of Asian students in these programs and there is an implication that these are linked. Yes, there are a lot of Asian kids in these programs (especially TPMS and SMAC) but these kids also do very well in the magnet programs. eg Asian kids are well represented in the NMSF lists and the Intel(Regeneron) semifinalist lists.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand when the word "prepping" became a dirty word. Regardless of what people say, you can't "buy" the exam. So, kids prepare using various resources - mine studied PSAT/SAT/ACt books - and, I am sure other kids use different resources available to them. I don't know how much (if any) it helped. When she came out she said "it's nothing like the problems in the books."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid (who did not prep) went to a HGC, MS magnet and is now in a HS magnet. Many of his friends did attend test prep centers but not all of them were able to get into a magnet. He also knows kids who did not prep who did get in. I am honestly not sure whether it makes a big difference. There might be a handful of kids who get an edge after prepping but I don't think it is a significant determinant of success. He was aware of other friends prepping in the weeks leading up to the test but we never worried that this would disadvantage ds in anyway. These programs are really tough especially SMAC and RMIB and I don't see a big difference in the performance of the students who prepped and the students who did not.
I personally think that MCPS should post an entire magnet test online so everyone can see the format clearly.
I may be wrong but I also feel like some of the people who complain about the test preppers also have a beef with the high numbers of Asian students in these programs and there is an implication that these are linked. Yes, there are a lot of Asian kids in these programs (especially TPMS and SMAC) but these kids also do very well in the magnet programs. eg Asian kids are well represented in the NMSF lists and the Intel(Regeneron) semifinalist lists.

This is a great suggestion, rather than doing the test in a non-transparent way.

[Anonymous]

Why are the anti-prep posters so angry? How is this even concerning them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand when the word "prepping" became a dirty word. Regardless of what people say, you can't "buy" the exam. So, kids prepare using various resources - mine studied PSAT/SAT/ACt books - and, I am sure other kids use different resources available to them. I don't know how much (if any) it helped. When she came out she said "it's nothing like the problems in the books."

Sour grapes is all I can think of. If your kid got in, with or without prepping, you do not care. If your kid did not then it really burns for some people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fair thing to do is raise your child in a skinner box to ensure they have no preparation whatsoever; otherwise, you're just a cheater!!!

And to be even more fair, every kid should be put up in an institution where they'd be monitored 24-7, fed the exact same diet, given the exact same amount and depth of stimulation, taught the exact same curriculum at the same pace.. and by 3rd grade, the HGC test would TRULY reflect who's the smartest of 'em all.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This is a great suggestion, rather than doing the test in a non-transparent way.

MCPS does post sample test questions for the middle-school and the high-school tests.

The questions remain:

1. Do the test prep companies that charge a lot of money have information about the tests that you can only get if you pay the test prep companies?
2. Do the test prep companies that charge a lot of money give kids whose parents pay for test prep an advantage that kids whose parents don't pay for test prep don't have?

Well, and also 3. If the test prep companies that charge a lot of money don't give kids whose parents pay for test prep an advantage that kids whose parents don't pay for test prep don't have, are the test prep companies that charge a lot of money committing fraud?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This is a great suggestion, rather than doing the test in a non-transparent way.

MCPS does post sample test questions for the middle-school and the high-school tests.

The questions remain:

1. Do the test prep companies that charge a lot of money have information about the tests that you can only get if you pay the test prep companies?
2. Do the test prep companies that charge a lot of money give kids whose parents pay for test prep an advantage that kids whose parents don't pay for test prep don't have?

Well, and also 3. If the test prep companies that charge a lot of money don't give kids whose parents pay for test prep an advantage that kids whose parents don't pay for test prep don't have, are the test prep companies that charge a lot of money committing fraud?

Factually correct statement but the real test is nothing like the sample.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Factually correct statement but the real test is nothing like the sample.

My kids just took the MS and HS tests, and they said that the real tests were like the sample tests.