Reply to How does the GT program work in MD?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Real question, how many kids in CES/HGC elementary , middle and High, got in  without coaching, tutoring or highly educated SAHM coaching their kids? That 1% of kids are real Highly Gifted,everyone else you know where exactly you belong without extra HELP.[/quote]

Mine did. Accepted into HGC, no "coaching," never done any outside tutoring, had no idea what the test would even be like before she took it. And she's thriving in her second year, not only in her grades but in the amount and quality of what she's learning. I'm not at all saying that makes my kid some kind of special snowflake genius. Just saying it's entirely possible to get in without the kind of high-pressure stuff that allegedly goes on, according to DCUM.

I don't know of any other families at our school who coached or tutored specifically for the HGC test. Even if the parents wouldn't admit it, the kids always talk, right?

In fact, I'd love to hear from someone who really DID take their kid to a tutor to prep for the HGC test. Thinking back, I don't think I've ever actually seen a post from someone who admits that they did—only from those who claim that "everyone does it." [/quote]

Please, all this sanctimony about getting into HGC on merit.  As if being well-off and born to two well-educated parents wasn't already being born on third base.[/quote]

100% agree, and I'd never deny that the system as it stands is inherently unfair. It's nearly impossible to separate out truly gifted kids when there are so many other intervening factors. I'm positive there are kids more "gifted" than mine whose parents either didn't realize the benefits of the program, or couldn't make it work for their kid in their own family circumstances. As I understand it, in an unbelievably ham-handed way, that's what the new pilot programs are attempting to address. Why they think relying solely on standardized test scores will improve the situation for low income/non-native English-speaking kids is beyond me.

But the PP asked a "real question" about coaching/tutoring and I gave the facts—my kid got in with no special tutoring. If reading to my kid as a toddler is cheating, then count me guilty. But I'm still not convinced the high-pressure, intensive test prep stuff is as pervasive as DCUM would make it seem. Lots of "everyone does it," but very little "we did it."[/quote]

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