Reply to Prepping/Scamming the Cogat

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I do not know of any FCPS student/child that won the State or National Geo Bee, Spelling Bee or Math Olympiad that did not do "test prep"  NONE is 3 decades.

Those who left the prize to their immutable and innate intelligence never got out of the classroom round.

Same for music.[/quote]

The examples cited here are all situations that involve learning subject matter. These situations are not at all a good analogy to the tests being discussed here. Fairfax County Schools tests first and second graders with the goal of seeing how students learn and then using those results in the classroom to best meet a child's learning needs.

The company that produces the CogAT provides a site where teachers and parents can read about how a child learns and what teaching strategies are likely to work best with a child of a particular learning profile. Here's the link:  http://riversidepublishing.com/products/group/cogat6/input.jsp The profiles here give a lot of information about how a child learns and how to best help that child learn and achieve more.

Parents will not be able to learn anything about how their own child learns new material if the parent has been "prepping" the child for this specific test. The point of this assessment is to learn more about [i]how[/i] the child learns. That reason for the test is short-circuited by practicing the questions ahead of time. The false result will give the parents and teachers no real information on how to help the child learn because it is not a real reflection of the child's strengths and weaknesses.

[b]The idea that the AAP is some sort of a prize won by obtaining a high score is patently false. [/b]Some people apparently find this difficult to believe, but FCPS actually just wants to provide the best education they can for each individual child. They cannot do that if the test results are unreliable.

It is possible that the reason so many parents are disappointed by the AAP is that the program is not necessarily a good fit for every child. A child will achieve the most in a classroom that best suits his needs and abilities. The Advanced Academics Program is not some separate educational tier where some kids are given a "better" education that is somehow denied to all others. It is a great education for those whose needs it suits, but not so great for those for whom it is not a good fit. The regular classrooms and their teachers in FCPS provide a great education that suits the needs of many, many children. Teachers use lots of different teaching techniques and strategies that can vary from class to class and year to year depending on the individual students.

Everybody wants what is best for their own children. These second grade tests can best help the parents and teachers know how to really help their children and students learn and achieve when they give true insight into [i]how[/i] students learn. These tests are not the end-all and be-all by any means, but they are a helpful aid when used correctly.

[/quote]

Ah. Now I see whre you've gone wrong.  That is exactly what AAP is. Otherwise your brilliant and obviously superior child could be stuck with the hoi polloi back in a Gen. Ed. class and be disadvantaged thereby for the rest of his or her life.[/quote]

[b]You have completely missed the point.  Even the hoi polloi get a good education for free in FCPS.[/b]

[/quote]

the teachers, facilities and curriculum may be good - that doesn't mean the students are going to study hard and learn anything.  You find more of these type kids in Gen. Ed. unfortunately.  That is why parents tell me they want their kids in AAP, so not as to be stuck with these underperformers.[/quote]

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