Reply to How many fourth graders are put in the Enriched Literacy Curriculum?

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Reply to "How many fourth graders are put in the Enriched Literacy Curriculum?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

At my kid's CES before the lottery, the teacher asked the class how many kids were coached on the CogAT. About 80% raised their hands. My point is whether this is the best way to determine who those best students are? Many very bright kids are missing out because this is not a level playing field.[/quote]

They don’t even do the cogat anymore so there is nothing to coach. It’s very hard to prep for the MAP-R. And that was my point. I agree bright kids are missing out because ELC isn’t even offered at many elementary schools. [/quote]

MAP assessments are achievement tests. They can most certainly be prepped for. That is why school districts use them to measure growth, and to target intervention. Suggesting CogAT can be coached, but MAP can not be, is pure up-is-downism.

PP1, concluding that there is something wrong with CogAT just because "80% raised their hands" when "the teacher asked the class how many kids were coached on the CogAT", does not appear very scientific, to put it mildly.

First of all, I call BS on the number (80%). Even if 80% kids raised their hands (which I don't believe), you have no idea what those kids understood to be coaching; you don't know how many kids raised their hands because they were thinking about the instructions they got before the test about how the test looks like - after all, these kids took the test in class in third grade. You don't know how many kids raised their hands because their parents got a book off amazon to familiarize them with the test. Also, there is no way you can say which kids got in only because of the coaching, and you have no clue how many kids were, as you say, "coached" but ended up not getting in, etc., the kind of data one needs to measure how effective the testing was.

On top of all this, here is the kicker - CogAT is a cognitive abilities test that measures potential. CogAT or similar tests are used in a variety of contexts *because* it is difficult to prep for. Of course, human nature being what it is, you are always going to find people prepping for any test, but in case of CogAT the improvement is marginal at best. It is precisely why administrators do not have to worry as much about getting a distorted picture of someone's potential due to "coaching" as compared to any achievement test. So, yes, it is one of the best ways to identify potential.
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