Can't understand how DS (1st grade) did so poorly on NNAT2.

[Anonymous]

My son got a 106 on the 1st grade NnAT but scored in the 97% for the CogAT - still not in pool, but he got into the AAP center by parent petition. One average score doesn't mean you can't get Level 4 APP.

[Anonymous]

Good grief. Think about what these tests are asking of your child. And then remember that he is SIX. Standardized testing at this age is just a joke and you should know that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good grief. Think about what these tests are asking of your child. And then remember that he is SIX. Standardized testing at this age is just a joke and you should know that.

What is is asking of your child? It's a short, non reading test that counts towards no grade and purportedly tests innate ability AND if your kid doesn't so well on it, your kid still has other times to shine. What do you think it's asking of a kid???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good grief. Think about what these tests are asking of your child. And then remember that he is SIX. Standardized testing at this age is just a joke and you should know that.

Repeat patterns!!! THE HORROR!

[Anonymous]

Sometimes if a kid seems really bright but doesn't do well on this test, it may indicate some kind of undiagnosed learning disability as well. Lots of kids are 2E, exceptional both in abilities and the ways in which they learn. Problem is that it can be really expensive for parents to get this diagnosed and then to pay people to advocate for their child if he falls into these two categories.
We couldn't understand why our kid's scores were literally all over the place in second grade and it turned out that he was really bright but had high functioning autism/Asperger's.
I used to think these tests meant a lot until I began actually working for a company that develops standardized tests and realized that a reading passage doesn't just test reading, but it tests a lot of other stuff as well. For example, if your kid has autism, he might have understood the story but still be unable to answer the question: How was Suzie feeling after her dog ran away? Companies do a pretty good job of not testing for cultural knowledge, context, etc. (i.e. not giving an Amish kid a question about cellphones) but the emotional stuff and the maturity stuff is trickier.

[Anonymous]

My DD got a 107. Should I get a WISC now just to see if it's even worth pursuing AAP. I was also taken aback by the results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD got a 107. Should I get a WISC now just to see if it's even worth pursuing AAP. I was also taken aback by the results.

Why were you taken aback? Just general surprise or you had real experiences, concrete examples/comments she's said that made you always think she was beyond the norm?