Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:cogat 140 is much higher percentile. looks like they accepted almost all who appealed. where as in the first round it is very restrictive. this only proves appeal process is a farce.
It is a higher percentage, yes...but of what? It measures something...specifically how the child is at taking the the CogAT. The ability to take the CogAT that day is dependent on 1) attention of the kid, 2) how the kid is feeling, 3) the kids intelligence, and 4) preparation.
because of the way the WISC is given, attention is not an issue, preparation does not work, and how the kid is feeling (i.e., sick) can be factored in -- i.e., lets reschedule for a different day. That means the WISC is measuring intelligence whereas the other tests are measuring something that includes intelligence.
Unlike some parents on this board, the county understands this. They also understand that the county can not afford the time or money to give every child a WISC. They understand the shortcomings, and use the GBRS as a measure to offset the other issues.
As someone who doesn't care either way about the appeals process and how kids get into the program, don't you think the factors mentioned in the CogAT testing really do matter? For instance, if a kid isn't feeling well but still does well on the test, doesn't that also mean that they are the type of kid that can succeed no matter what is going on? After all, you can't re-schedule that Algebra test or science project because you don't feel 100%. You can't re-schedule SATs over and over because your kiddo didn't sleep well the night before and might be a little tired. The whole 'My child wasn't 100%' excuse seems like nothing more than someone trying to justify their child's less than perfect scores. After all, are you going to keep them home from school every time they have the sniffles because they might get a B? Pop quizzes must be a nightmare!
It just seems to me that being 'gifted' is about more than a test grade, which is why I am a fan of the GBRS. The teacher knows the child on good days and bad and really is the best judge, over any number of tests. I don't believe the paranoia that teachers are giving lower scores on purpose for whatever reasons have been mentioned because ultimately teachers have kids best interests at heart and there is no real reason to sand bag a second grader.
Having said all this, I will say that my child got in the program last year without appeal (sorry that I can't rattle off CogAt scores, but his GBRS was 13), did very well in the program and is looking forward to his fourth grade year. I don't care (and didn't care last year) how many other kids got into the program or how many AAP classes were necessary. I've never once thought about the kids in his class and wondered how they got in, and I don't really care. I am happy to have your kids who got in on appeal in my kids class. I just think that being gifted is about more than a test score and think the excuses that parents make for their kids scores are just kind of silly. Your kids scores are what they are. Gifted kids can overcome.
On the other hand GBRS is much more subjective and inconsistent than test results teacher by teacher and school by school. I don't blame the teachers much, but the Committe is not doing good job making it more consistent and objective.
My kid got exceptional test scores on all the tests - 99% on NNAT, 98% on CogAT(99.9% on one of the subtest), 99.7% on WISC. Somehow got mediocre GBRS rating. Do I think the teachers rating the best judge? Aboslutely not. I think the consistant test scores say it all.
My kid's teacher was new to FCPS this year. She's young teacher. Very professional and great teacher. However depends on how she understood the whole AAP program and how she formed her own philosophy and attitute toward the selection process, the socre could vary as much as 3-4 pts in my opinion.
In each category, one generous teacher may give 1 more point than another teacher who's more conservative. That can be critical in selection.
In fact her scoring might be more objective and fair, but I think the rating is inflated in general. Hence the committee set high cut off line like 12 or something.
Anyways, that's why there's the appeal process, and I'm ok with the whole process.