Anonymous wrote:Wow. Im so proud of my DD for getting in to aap all on her own. We didnt even know when the testing was held, nor what tests were being given. Now I have no worries that she belongs at a center and is able to be successful on her own.

Your prepped kids...not so much. But you must be proud to know that you helped your child get a leg up into a program that they might not have qualified for on their own. Congratulations!

You should be proud of your DD, he/she sounds exceptional. I am sure he/she will do well at the Center. Some kids, however, are not as good at taking school tests or standardized tests for that matter. Mine sometimes gets nervous and misses questions I know he knows. We went over a sample test of the Cogat and talked about relaxing and skipping a question if he felt he did not know the answer. He sometimes feels he cannot move foward until a question is complete. I think that helped a lot as he did well and was accepted. Are you saying he will not succeed at the Center because he has to work/prepare more than your child to do well on tests? Some people have inherent intelligence whereas others have to work harder learn the concepts. In the end both can be successful in an advanced program. I don't think it is fair to single out a parent who is trying to help their child to be the best they can by helping them to prepare for a test.

This thread is so Fairfax County! So when in Rome . . . PP, would you mind posting your child's "just barely" test scores? My DC also had borderline test scores and did NOT get in with a GRBS of 12. Just curious how close the scores were to your eligible child (and congrats to you . . .) Thanks!

i think test prepping--assuming it raises the scores--makes the pool a lot bigger. and once in the pool, it seems likely to get in, unless there is a really low GBRS.

my son had borderline scores, but consistent, and just barely made it into the pool. if i prepped, i guess his scores would have been higher, and then i could have relaxed more waiting for the decision.

he did get in with a nice gbrs of 14.

all that being said--AAP is just that, a chance to work at a faster pace and a little more deeply. and there is room for everyone, so no worries if someone preps. they are not taking the space away from anyone else.

So you are saying that you used test prepping and/or a tutor so your seven year old could do well on an intelligence test? You must have been worried. And if you were worried that they wouldn't do well, then maybe you should be worried that they don't belong in an advanced academic environment. Just saying...never crossed my mind, nor many other parents, to try to prep my child for this kind of test.

DD appreciated that we went through ONE practice test so she would know what to expect. That was one less thing for her to be nervous about. DD reported after the test that the questions were different, but she thought they were "easy peasy" and felt good about the whole thing. DD's GBRS, school samples, and grades--which I had no input in -- did the rest.

11:43: Oh, plueeeze. You would have a valid point if test scores were the ONLY thing that got you into aap.

The committee knows that many children prep for the tests. That's why they look at GBRS, work done at school (they know mommy didn't do their work there!) and the school records. If the rest of the package doesn't support the test scores, all the test prep and tutors in the world won't get your kid in.

We didn't prep for the standardized tests (like you, we didn't know about them back in the Fall), but we do work with DD a lot at home on reading, math, current events and such. Maybe indirectly it gave her a leg up into the program. However, she absolutely qualified on her own. I saw some of those NNAT problems at the AAP overview meeting our school had in early February, and I just don't have a knack for that. Maybe she gets it from her father...

Wow. Im so proud of my DD for getting in to aap all on her own. We didnt even know when the testing was held, nor what tests were being given. Now I have no worries that she belongs at a center and is able to be successful on her own.

Your prepped kids...not so much. But you must be proud to know that you helped your child get a leg up into a program that they might not have qualified for on their own. Congratulations!

I agree with 11:10 - why is it unethical? I also help DD (who's in second grade) review for spelling tests, math tests, etc. We review math facts, read together... you get the idea. I have trouble understanding how the type of prep that 11:10 describes is different from parental involvement with homework generally. If a parent is actually doing the work for the child, then I can see the issue. But if the parent's role is motivating the child to study and providing access to the best tools to do so, why wouldn't a parent want to do that?

anyone who is working with their 2nd graders on "test taking strategies" is just plain wacky. I hope my unprepared kid doesnt end up in the same center with your kid. I can only imagine how you nutty parents will be "helping your child get a leg up" there.

Get your facts straight. No one here said that using study guides (which are commercially available) for the CogAT is unethical. We are talking about the WISC. Any competent psychologist will tell you that there are no ethical practice tests availabe for it.

I am tired of all these whiney poeple complaining that others "prep" their children for standardized tests. I worked with my kid for weeks before the Cogat and Naglieri. We worked off the Critical Thinking Workbooks and the actual mock tests available from various online companies that provide study material and sample tests. When we started studying she would miss a few on each sample test. Over time we practiced looking for similar "types" of questions and worked on strategy to first eliminate wrong answers and narrow the choices down. She knew when to guess at an answer and when to skip a question to come back to it. By the end, she was scoring almost perfectly in the practice tests. Of course she did extemely well on the school administered tests. She was confident and relaxed for the test, and I am certain that our preparation increased her bottom line score.

There is no basis for saying it is "unethical" to prepare and study to do you best, no matter what the task. If her hard work and committment rewarded her by giving her a leg up on her classmates, then that is great, that is what America is all about.

From a child psycholodgist: It is unethical to prep for that test (no legitimate prep tests are available). That is also why it is unethical to have your child repeat the test within one year (familiarity with the format is considered an unfair advantage).

Are you just curious or are you trying to figure out how to prep your kid for an IQ test?

Does anybody have any insight into WISC IV sample questions, any input is appreciated.