cutoff scores for Fairfax County GT centers for this year?

[Anonymous]

Thanks again. Can you please guide what kind of work should I produce when doing parent referral, which will carry more weightage? About opinions from teacher and other FCPS personnel, should I get something from them in written and include that in the packet?

Again, the work samples you include are not terribly important. Well, it's all important, but the work samples will not make or break the file. You are limited to 5 pages of student work so just gather the best things you can find. It sounds like you need to visit the FCPS website and download the referral packet to see what you are allowed to include and what the page limitations are. Essentially it is a couple of forms, 5 pages of student work, and 5 pages of recommendations, awards, etc. that are not from FCPS personnel in your child's current school.

You do not need to get anything from the teachers at the current school. If a parent refers, the school is required to put together materials for the file. They will complete the GBRS (you can see this standardized form online with the rest of the screening materials on the FCPS website) and other information for the file. BUT - I would definitely talk with the school about what they are planning to say about your child and what their assessment of your child is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Thanks again. Can you please guide what kind of work should I produce when doing parent referral, which will carry more weightage? About opinions from teacher and other FCPS personnel, should I get something from them in written and include that in the packet?

Again, the work samples you include are not terribly important. Well, it's all important, but the work samples will not make or break the file. You are limited to 5 pages of student work so just gather the best things you can find. It sounds like you need to visit the FCPS website and download the referral packet to see what you are allowed to include and what the page limitations are. Essentially it is a couple of forms, 5 pages of student work, and 5 pages of recommendations, awards, etc. that are not from FCPS personnel in your child's current school.

You do not need to get anything from the teachers at the current school. If a parent refers, the school is required to put together materials for the file. They will complete the GBRS (you can see this standardized form online with the rest of the screening materials on the FCPS website) and other information for the file. BUT - I would definitely talk with the school about what they are planning to say about your child and what their assessment of your child is.

Not the PP you quoted, but just curious. My AAP coordinator seems a little squirrelly about the whole process and the classroom teacher just referred me to the AAP coordinator. Should I take that to mean that my child (who is in the screening pool) will not get a recommendation from the school? My understanding is that I can request a copy of the GBRS after, but can I get anything before?

[Anonymous]

I am not one of the posters with questions but I am a parent going through the GT/AAP process and considering moving DC to public school from private. I have been "lurking" on this thread and just want to comment on how helpful and informative it has been. Thank you to those who have taken the time to post about the process -- I really have appreciated the thoughtful and generous way posters have shared information.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to everyone for sharing a wealth of information about the AAP process. I had a question - Does anyone get full 16/16 on the GBRS ? Is 10/16 considered a decent score ?

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much again, I greatly appreciate your responses. One more question about WISC-IV. when should I produce these test score? Is it required to be included in the parent referal packet, or I can submit later? Since there is very less time for submission deadline.

Anonymous wrote:

Thanks again. Can you please guide what kind of work should I produce when doing parent referral, which will carry more weightage? About opinions from teacher and other FCPS personnel, should I get something from them in written and include that in the packet?

Again, the work samples you include are not terribly important. Well, it's all important, but the work samples will not make or break the file. You are limited to 5 pages of student work so just gather the best things you can find. It sounds like you need to visit the FCPS website and download the referral packet to see what you are allowed to include and what the page limitations are. Essentially it is a couple of forms, 5 pages of student work, and 5 pages of recommendations, awards, etc. that are not from FCPS personnel in your child's current school.

You do not need to get anything from the teachers at the current school. If a parent refers, the school is required to put together materials for the file. They will complete the GBRS (you can see this standardized form online with the rest of the screening materials on the FCPS website) and other information for the file. BUT - I would definitely talk with the school about what they are planning to say about your child and what their assessment of your child is.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much again, I greatly appreciate your responses. One more question about WISC-IV. when should I produce these test score? Is it required to be included in the parent referal packet, or I can submit later? Since there is very less time for submission deadline.

No, you cannot submit anything "later." You must either submit the WISC scores with the rest of your parent referral by the Feb. 5th deadline, or you can hold onto the WISC scores and submit them if/when you need to appeal. You cannot add anything to the screening file after the Feb. 5th deadline. Just to clarify, WISC scores are NOT required - that is totally optional if you want to have your child tested using the WISC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Strong WISC-IV scores should help, as would strong student work samples. Good luck!

I agree that strong WISC-IV scores will help. But work samples are not going to be a major factor. As I mentioned in a previous post, work samples submitted by parents are not given a lot of weight. The screening committee cannot tell how much of it is the child's original work and how much was done by or with the assistance of the parents.

I respectfully disagree with this statement as I think it depends upon the work sample. When my DC was being considered, I know that one of the submitted work samples carried a great deal of weight as I heard about it from selection committee members after the notification letters went out. Admittedly DC had very strong WISC-IV scores as well as high GBRS and strong teacher recommendations. But an unusually strong work sample can also carry a great deal of weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Not the PP you quoted, but just curious. My AAP coordinator seems a little squirrelly about the whole process and the classroom teacher just referred me to the AAP coordinator. Should I take that to mean that my child (who is in the screening pool) will not get a recommendation from the school? My understanding is that I can request a copy of the GBRS after, but can I get anything before?

I know that last year I met with our school's AAP resource teacher to review what was submitted to the central screening committee prior to my finalizing the parent referral packet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks to everyone for sharing a wealth of information about the AAP process. I had a question - Does anyone get full 16/16 on the GBRS ? Is 10/16 considered a decent score ?

I have never heard of a full 16/16 on the GBRS but that doesn't mean that it has not occurred before. My DC received a 14/16 on the GBRS last year and is in 3rd grade at a GT Center this year.

[Anonymous]

Not the PP you quoted, but just curious. My AAP coordinator seems a little squirrelly about the whole process and the classroom teacher just referred me to the AAP coordinator. Should I take that to mean that my child (who is in the screening pool) will not get a recommendation from the school? My understanding is that I can request a copy of the GBRS after, but can I get anything before?

It depends what you mean by "recommendation." For every child in the pool, the school must put together a screening file and that file includes the GBRS. So they will rate your child according to the criteria on the form. Obviously some kids are rated a lot higher than others in the various categories. They're not really "recommending v. not recommending" children as much as they are assessing to what degree the children demonstrate various gifted behaviors. If they give high ratings in all the categories, that would of course be a stronger endorsement for that child to be in the Center, and by the same token, they are free to say that a child does not demonstrate gifted behavior in some (or all) categories and that would indicate to the screening committee that maybe the child does not need to be in the Center.

And yes, I believe you are correct that the classroom teacher and the AAP specialist don't have to tell you in advance how they are rating your child on the GBRS, but you are entitled to request a copy after it has been submitted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Not the PP you quoted, but just curious. My AAP coordinator seems a little squirrelly about the whole process and the classroom teacher just referred me to the AAP coordinator. Should I take that to mean that my child (who is in the screening pool) will not get a recommendation from the school? My understanding is that I can request a copy of the GBRS after, but can I get anything before?

It depends what you mean by "recommendation." For every child in the pool, the school must put together a screening file and that file includes the GBRS. So they will rate your child according to the criteria on the form. Obviously some kids are rated a lot higher than others in the various categories. They're not really "recommending v. not recommending" children as much as they are assessing to what degree the children demonstrate various gifted behaviors. If they give high ratings in all the categories, that would of course be a stronger endorsement for that child to be in the Center, and by the same token, they are free to say that a child does not demonstrate gifted behavior in some (or all) categories and that would indicate to the screening committee that maybe the child does not need to be in the Center.

Beautifully stated.

[Anonymous]

I have been following the discussion here for sometime and found the information posted here is very helpful.

We are quite happy with our DC's score (NNAT 160, CogAT 137). However, when we talked to DC's classroom teacher, she thinks DC is not motivated and self driven, and might have difficulty to fit in the challenging GT program. We were a bit surprised by the reserved if not negative comment the teacher made.

From the posting here, I understand the GBRS rating from school is very important in the selection process. We are trying to schedule a conference with the school AAP coordinator. Since DC has been complaining the school work is boring for him ever since he started 1st grade, we are not sure if we should bring up the issue that he is not motivated because he is not challenged.

How much impact will the teacher's comment have for the final decision? Any suggestions what and how we parents should do to improve DC's chance to get into GT program?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I have one child in the Center and a second who was just admitted a few weeks ago. We prepared for an appeal by seeking additional testing from a private psychologist given the very short turnaround time between when FCPS notifies you and when an appeal is due. DD (child #2) had scores that looked somewhat low to us (smatterings in the 120s) compared to what we thought she could do & past IQ testing. The psychologist (who was recommended on the FCAG listserv for having experience with appeals) chose a different test (Stanford Binet) and lo and behold, DD's scores were much higher because the time element had been removed. She explained that DD is a very slow processor and that even on "easy" questions DD took her time to make sure she would get it right.

The psychologist also explained very helpful information about the extra materials in the file. She indicated that we should find the most creative outside-of-school work that we could find for DD, a relief since much of her official school work was rather dull. On her own, though, she creates amazing artwork, block structures, and other cool, imaginative, quirky stuff. She said to have DD pose for a picture in front of a cool creation and to label it. The psychologist also said that awards are not that important for 2nd graders since they don't really have that many opportunities to get them; the GBRS is far more important.

In the end, DD was admitted and we didn't have to use the additional testing but I would suggest -- especially for those of you who really feel like the tests for some reason didn't show what you know to be true of your child -- to get the private testing done. I feel very happy knowing more about DD's learning style and felt, before we got the positive results, that it would offer the "new information" necessary to appeal.

Hope that helps!

[Anonymous]

Thanks, PP. Can you post the name of the tester?

[Anonymous]

However, when we talked to DC's classroom teacher, she thinks DC is not motivated and self driven, and might have difficulty to fit in the challenging GT program. We were a bit surprised by the reserved if not negative comment the teacher made.

I would not put much weight on the teacher's opinion, but I would express concern to the AAP coordinator that your child's teacher may not accurately describe your child in the GBRS. Many gifted students are not perceived positively by their teachers.