Reply to Cross Post: Elementary School Magnet tests

Forum Index » Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)

Reply to "Cross Post: Elementary School Magnet tests | MoCo"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][/quote][b]There is a big difference between studying and prepping for an exam that shows you have mastered a topic professionally or and even for an exam like SAT that is supposed to show achievement versus taking a prep course for a test that is supposed to test cognitive ability with a little achievement thrown in.[/b]

I would hope that all parents have their children working hard and studying for classes and exams and wanting to achieve. Giving them more math or reading at home if they feel it is needed or if their child loves it. And for those who can, are able to let their child play sports or take an academic class if they want.

The point here is that there are kids out there that operate on a different level of understanding and ability - and not all just because their parents invested in them, they had good teachers or a good school district - and programs like HGC are meant to reach those children. The test is supposed to try to identify kids that have such skills - it is not supposed to be something you study for. But certainly you can, and clearly people do.... And clearly people have different views on what the HGC's are for - some want to escape their home school - some think it is a magic ticket to "get ahead" - while others want their child to be challenged for the first time in their educational experience - or want their children to find classmates who they can related to academically. I suspect the way parents in the first two groups feel about the test is very different than those in the second two groups.

It's amazing how mean this whole thread has gotten....[quote]

If I were MCPS I would encourage all the students to study for the HGC entrance test.  I would give them the content topics well ahead of time and design a nice a way above grade level exam that will surely separate the wheat from the chaffe (Bell shape).  This is a much better approach than the infantile whining nonsense of do not prepare for HGC but it is  okay to use prep for the SSAT, the Explore and Math Olympiaids as surrogate prep in the 2 to 3 months before the annual exam.  What's the difference?  The family only has to tell MCPS they were not studying for HGC but having big time fun conveniently studying for the SSAT and Explore exams that are much tougher.

MCPS should not worry that their students are studying.  This is the goal after all.

That's why you will never be a brain surgeon, concert pianist, elite swimmer like Michael Phelps or an elite quarterback like Tom Brady.  Try telling Brady or Manning not to prepare for a tryout.  Who are you kidding?
[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics