I would guess that most people don't take these tests twice. I did not prep my youngest child and she got a 129 on the NNAT and 132 on the CoGAT, but we go to a school with a large Indian population that DOES prep their kids so both times we applied, she did not get into AAP. We gave up, she'll just take Honors in middle school and be in the same classes as them in high school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sister paid for her son to a prep class but stopped it because they just go over questions from commercially available practice books. She and her husband prepped my nephew for a few month and he got 160 NNAT and 140+ cogat.

Under their advice, I prepped my son (one grade behind his cousin) with practice book. The only prep was scoring his practice and going over the wrong answers with him. The questions are straight forward, the only thing I "taught" him was process of elimination. My son got the similar result as his cousin.

I think it's mainly up to the kids to perform.

Why did you and your sister think your kids needed prepping to get a high score?

Because we are responsible parents.

+1. Prepping is NOT a crime. It just makes kids smarter than before… and so what? If you think it gives others an “advantage” then prep your kid yourself… Prepping does nothing other than give more knowledge. And that’s what you’re in school for right? To learn. Why can’t we learn at home too? Again. Prepping is allowed, makes kids knowledgeable, and NOT a crime!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sister paid for her son to a prep class but stopped it because they just go over questions from commercially available practice books. She and her husband prepped my nephew for a few month and he got 160 NNAT and 140+ cogat.

Under their advice, I prepped my son (one grade behind his cousin) with practice book. The only prep was scoring his practice and going over the wrong answers with him. The questions are straight forward, the only thing I "taught" him was process of elimination. My son got the similar result as his cousin.

I think it's mainly up to the kids to perform.

Why did you and your sister think your kids needed prepping to get a high score?

Because we are responsible parents.

Anonymous wrote:My sister paid for her son to a prep class but stopped it because they just go over questions from commercially available practice books. She and her husband prepped my nephew for a few month and he got 160 NNAT and 140+ cogat.

Under their advice, I prepped my son (one grade behind his cousin) with practice book. The only prep was scoring his practice and going over the wrong answers with him. The questions are straight forward, the only thing I "taught" him was process of elimination. My son got the similar result as his cousin.

I think it's mainly up to the kids to perform.

Why did you and your sister think your kids needed prepping to get a high score?

My sister paid for her son to a prep class but stopped it because they just go over questions from commercially available practice books. She and her husband prepped my nephew for a few month and he got 160 NNAT and 140+ cogat.

Under their advice, I prepped my son (one grade behind his cousin) with practice book. The only prep was scoring his practice and going over the wrong answers with him. The questions are straight forward, the only thing I "taught" him was process of elimination. My son got the similar result as his cousin.

I think it's mainly up to the kids to perform.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just a word of caution, if you're preparing a child for the WISC, and they mention to the evaluator that they've seen similar questions before, some (possibly all) providers may consider the results invalid.

In my experience, aside from helping the child become familiar with the format of tests like the CogAT or NNAT, scores generally don’t shift dramatically with prep. You might get more value by focusing on general test-taking strategies, things like staying calm and following directions carefully.

I do t understand the connection between “providers will invalidate the score if they find that you’re familiar with the type of questions” and “you can’t really increase your score by prepping”.

Neither the WISC nor the CogAT were normed using kids who were already familiar with the types of questions asked, and no one really knows the extent to which prepping will increase a score. There wouldn't be a huge $$$ prep industry if it had no effect. We also wouldn't see 10% of the FCPS kids scoring in the national top 2% if prep had little effect. But it's also likely that you can't prep a completely average kid into having gifted level scores. I would guess that a 5-15 point increase would be expected or possible with prep.

One of the reasons you can't take the CogAT multiple times in a year or the WISC within a 2 year timeframe is that they use the same questions. So, it's not a case of being familiar with the types of questions being asked so much as it is remembering the exact same questions that were previously asked. I doubt evaluators are invalidating results if it seems like the kid has worked on similar tasks before. Every kid who has previously taken the CogAT and NNAT would have some familiarity with some of the types of questions asked on the WISC. It's more an issue if the kid seems like they perhaps took the WISC 3 months ago from a different provider, but didn't disclose that. Or if the kid seems like they've been heavily drilled in WISC type problems.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just a word of caution, if you're preparing a child for the WISC, and they mention to the evaluator that they've seen similar questions before, some (possibly all) providers may consider the results invalid.

In my experience, aside from helping the child become familiar with the format of tests like the CogAT or NNAT, scores generally don’t shift dramatically with prep. You might get more value by focusing on general test-taking strategies, things like staying calm and following directions carefully.

I do t understand the connection between “providers will invalidate the score if they find that you’re familiar with the type of questions” and “you can’t really increase your score by prepping”.

The WISC is a clinical tool used by psychologists, often for diagnostic purposes (e.g., identifying learning differences, ADHD, or cognitive profiles), not just for giftedness. It's administered one-on-one by a trained evaluator.

The CogAT, on the other hand, is typically used in school settings to screen for giftedness and is usually administered in groups.

Both tests can reveal high cognitive ability or "giftedness," but the WISC carries much higher stakes in a diagnostic or clinical context.

Bottom Line
WISC: Used by psychologists for diagnosis and deeper assessment; prepping is discouraged and can invalidate results.

CogAT/NNAT: Used for school-based gifted placement; light familiarization is fine, and test strategies can be helpful.

Prepping for the WISC doesn’t guarantee higher scores, and it introduces the risk of invalidation if the evaluator suspects or learns of it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just a word of caution, if you're preparing a child for the WISC, and they mention to the evaluator that they've seen similar questions before, some (possibly all) providers may consider the results invalid.

In my experience, aside from helping the child become familiar with the format of tests like the CogAT or NNAT, scores generally don’t shift dramatically with prep. You might get more value by focusing on general test-taking strategies, things like staying calm and following directions carefully.

I do t understand the connection between “providers will invalidate the score if they find that you’re familiar with the type of questions” and “you can’t really increase your score by prepping”.

Tests like the CoGAT are menat to mimi the findings of something like the WiSC but they CoGAT is structured differently. You can prep for the CoGAT by getting comfortable with the way the questions are asked and the types of puzzles and the like. It can influence the score, but it seems like not by that much.

The WiSC, and other IQ tests, are not supposed to be prepped for so that the evaluator can get a realistic baseline of an individual's ability. As I understand the WiSC, it is part of a battery of tests that can be used to identify learning issues and ADHD by pointing out gaps in different areas of intelligence. Most people will have strengths and weaknesses but they are normally not that far apart. Someone with large gaps in perfomrance different areas is more likely to have a learning issue or a processing issue. The tests are meant to test people where they are to measure their abilities, identify strengths and weaknesses, and identify if there are significant gaps. If you prepared someone for a test like the WiSC you invalidate the results because the person is able to cover areas where they are less strong and/or accentuate areas of strength. It is not a true measure of their ability.

I believe you are not supposed to retake the WiSC for 2-3 years after you have been given it to decrease the likelihood of remembering the test. I had to take the WiSC as a diagnostic tool for LDs when I was in school and came to hate the test. I knew I was supposed to be able to do better than I was and found it frustrating and defeating. There were areas that I crushed but I could tell the areas I was failing in, and I hated it. I have a long list of LDs and it is obvious to me where I excel and where I am weak. Hate the stupid thing.

Anonymous wrote:Just a word of caution, if you're preparing a child for the WISC, and they mention to the evaluator that they've seen similar questions before, some (possibly all) providers may consider the results invalid.

In my experience, aside from helping the child become familiar with the format of tests like the CogAT or NNAT, scores generally don’t shift dramatically with prep. You might get more value by focusing on general test-taking strategies, things like staying calm and following directions carefully.

I do t understand the connection between “providers will invalidate the score if they find that you’re familiar with the type of questions” and “you can’t really increase your score by prepping”.

I had my 2nd grader go through a CogAT prep book from Amazon during the summer and fall leading up to the October test. She enjoyed doing it and was never forced. I agree with other posts that it will not move the test score dramatically. What I do think helps:

1. Example questions will ensure that your child is familiar with the format of the questions and what it is asking, then no time is wasted trying to comprehend the 'ask'.

2. Make sure your kid is well rested in the week or weekend leading up to the test. Have a better breakfast.

3. I think any activity where your child has to focus and follow explicit instructions is beneficial and you can deem as prep in a way. (Think: doing Legos with the manual for an extended period, diamond painting, color by number, sticker by number, etc) That shows you what their ability and endurance level is when it comes to focusing and executing specific tasks.

Don't stress it too much. If they do their best and pay attention that is all you can ask for.

Just a word of caution, if you're preparing a child for the WISC, and they mention to the evaluator that they've seen similar questions before, some (possibly all) providers may consider the results invalid.

In my experience, aside from helping the child become familiar with the format of tests like the CogAT or NNAT, scores generally don’t shift dramatically with prep. You might get more value by focusing on general test-taking strategies, things like staying calm and following directions carefully.

As someone who paid a lot of money for test prep for the CogAT and did everything I possibly could at home - it didn’t do as much as I had hoped and certainly not more than just a good night’s sleep and maybe just a few minutes of getting my kid familiar with the types of questions. For my subsequent kids, I didn’t do any prep and they scored about what I thought/where they were.

SAT/ACT and any course/year end test is different. Those are knowledge based tests. The CogAT, NNAT, WISC, etc. are test ‘potential’ as best as they probably can.

I’m not poo-pooing any of it. But don’t feel like you have to keep up with anyone, because it doesn’t make as much of a difference as you’d think.

Anonymous wrote:Out of curiosity, how many points did your kids’ iq/aptitude test increase through prepping?

Most of us don’t prep our kids for IQ tests as Prepping actually invalidates the test. If you think your kid needs prep to get into AAP, they probably don’t need the program.

Including the SAT?

A lot. Went from 1450 to 1550 in 3 months. Mostly khan academy and then fine tuning with a tutor for 5 hours over a few weeks.

Out of curiosity, how many points did your kids’ iq/aptitude test increase through prepping?