Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your child is Asian and the gbrs is much lower than the test scores, they assume you cheated the tests via test prep classes etc and the scores don't carry much weight with the committee. Especially the NNAT bc that style of test is much easier to swing by cheating.

Exactly how does one go about "cheating" on either one of these tests?

Did parents seriously tutor their kids in advance of these tests? I didn't even know about them and my child aced them on her own. They are aptitude tests. Hard to cheat.

Yes, there are tons of classes (mostly run out of language schools) that are specifically test prep for the CogAt and NNAT. The whole reason Fairfax has its own version of the CogAt was that one of their teachers was moonlighting at a Korean language school teaching test prep and using an actual copy of the CogAt that she stole.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your child is Asian and the gbrs is much lower than the test scores, they assume you cheated the tests via test prep classes etc and the scores don't carry much weight with the committee. Especially the NNAT bc that style of test is much easier to swing by cheating.

Exactly how does one go about "cheating" on either one of these tests?

Did parents seriously tutor their kids in advance of these tests? I didn't even know about them and my child aced them on her own. They are aptitude tests. Hard to cheat.

Yes, there are tons of classes (mostly run out of language schools) that are specifically test prep for the CogAt and NNAT. The whole reason Fairfax has its own version of the CogAt was that one of their teachers was moonlighting at a Korean language school teaching test prep and using an actual copy of the CogAt that she stole.

Most Koreans, Chineese, and some Indians are aware of TestPrep schools and get their kids through them to prepare for AAP. You'll see these schools generally in Chantilly, Herndon, and Ashburn areas. Any TestPrep might raise score by few points, but won't dramatically improve the scores. Cheating is a different thing though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your child is Asian and the gbrs is much lower than the test scores, they assume you cheated the tests via test prep classes etc and the scores don't carry much weight with the committee. Especially the NNAT bc that style of test is much easier to swing by cheating.

Exactly how does one go about "cheating" on either one of these tests?

Did parents seriously tutor their kids in advance of these tests? I didn't even know about them and my child aced them on her own. They are aptitude tests. Hard to cheat.

Yes, there are tons of classes (mostly run out of language schools) that are specifically test prep for the CogAt and NNAT. The whole reason Fairfax has its own version of the CogAt was that one of their teachers was moonlighting at a Korean language school teaching test prep and using an actual copy of the CogAt that she stole.

Most Koreans, Chineese, and some Indians are aware of TestPrep schools and get their kids through them to prepare for AAP. You'll see these schools generally in Chantilly, Herndon, and Ashburn areas. Any TestPrep might raise score by few points, but won't dramatically improve the scores. Cheating is a different thing though.

Not true. Blanket statements like this are very disturbing and upsetting!!

Anonymous wrote:NNAT 109
COGAT 136 (118, 133, 139)
GBRS 10, but with very positive commentary

Not In. Worth appealing?

Anonymous wrote:From another thread:


I had to pick up my son at school this morning for an appointment, and in the office were THREE kids crying or upset that others were going to AAP and they were not. Apparently some accepted kid or kids had been bragging. (I only heard part of the situation.)

Yes this really happened and no I will not name the school.

Parents need to think about their perspective and how they handle this with their kids, as it filters down in such bad ways.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NNAT - 129
Cogat - 119
GBRS - 15

IN!!!!

Congrats! It only demonstrates that FCPS is not really geared to the gifted.

Yep. I don't really care what it demonstrates. I don't care if my kid is labeled "gifted" or not. I only know that my child has been bored out of her mind in school. The teachers recognized that and wrote up an amazing GBRS and helped me to select work samples that demonstrated her true ability. Because guess what?? 3 years of a academic performance outweighs 1 day of performance on a standardized test. Thank God the committee is smart enough to realize that!

Will be a long 14 years if your kid is a bad test taker all his/her life.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From another thread:


I had to pick up my son at school this morning for an appointment, and in the office were THREE kids crying or upset that others were going to AAP and they were not. Apparently some accepted kid or kids had been bragging. (I only heard part of the situation.)

Yes this really happened and no I will not name the school.

Parents need to think about their perspective and how they handle this with their kids, as it filters down in such bad ways.

Why wouldn't you name the school?

Anonymous wrote:NNAT 109
COGAT 136 (118, 133, 139)
GBRS 10, but with very positive commentary

Not In. Worth appealing?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NNAT 127
WISC 122

GBRS 12
Not admitted
Do you think I should file appeal?

No.

I think you shoukd wait, give your kid time to mature, and if the child shows a big jump in ability next year then request a retest in fourth grade. If the scores go up significantly, tyen refer again for fifth grade or middle school admittance.

Don't listen to this. Why not file an appeal? I would want to know I did everything I could to try.

I have two kids who have gone through AAP. One a shoo in and the type of kid AAP was designed for. The other with scores very similar to OPs kid. The two extra years at the top of the base school and also of getting very small group AAP pull outs and advanced math did wonders for DC2s confidence, overall academic skills and knowledge. The retest jumped over ten points to 99%, and I attribute this to the newfound confidence eliminating the anxiety DC used to have about testing.

AAP is not the end all be all for all kids, and there is so much that is beneficial for many kids to be at the top academically during their formative years vs always being in a race to catch up.

I am a huge advocate for AAP but do not feel it is always the best place for every reasonably smart kid at the exact same timeline as everyone else.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a casual observer, it seemed to me that AAP was FULL of special needs kids...Aspbergers, ADHD, anxiety disorders, etc...just weird kids...

Conversely, I know a very smart girl who tested into the pool, and was denied. Meanwhile her special needs older brother who was nowhere near in the pool was accepted on the strength of a strong GBRS and who knows what else.

Parents appealed the daughter's case, to no avail...so it's all a crapshoot...

As a casual observer I consider referring to those kids as "weird kids" makes you a bitch