Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny how many people swear up and down hat it’s cheating, but nobody can provide a source.

+1. It’s just a way to rationalize why their kid didn’t do better.

The scores raise marginally on retakes but just because of familiarity with the test. For most tests taken at school there’s a mock up session for this purpose.

The test shouldn’t be taken less than 6 months apart but that only has to do with the bank of questions, there’s a limited number and questions may repeat.

There are countless studies on SAT and other tests that prepping doesn’t help much. But to each his own, prep if you think your child needs it, don’t if you feel it’s not appropriate. My view is that it’s a waste of time past 2-3 familiarization sessions, and I think it’s better to develop actual skills like math and reading that are much more useful in the child’s academic career.

I know. The service we hired would only guarantee a 200-point improvement, but I'm told with some work you can easily bring up 300.

You need to understand the difference between fact and advertising, otherwise I have some enlargement pills to sell you. They are guaranteed to work!

I know my kid's SAT score went up 300 after Princeton Review. The prep really made a difference.

You are lying.

Carefully done research has shown that the increase in SAT scores through coaching is 10-20 points. Here is a review with scientific papers as references.

https://slate.com/technology/2019/04/sat-prep-courses-do-they-work-bias.html

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny how many people swear up and down hat it’s cheating, but nobody can provide a source.

+1. It’s just a way to rationalize why their kid didn’t do better.

The scores raise marginally on retakes but just because of familiarity with the test. For most tests taken at school there’s a mock up session for this purpose.

The test shouldn’t be taken less than 6 months apart but that only has to do with the bank of questions, there’s a limited number and questions may repeat.

There are countless studies on SAT and other tests that prepping doesn’t help much. But to each his own, prep if you think your child needs it, don’t if you feel it’s not appropriate. My view is that it’s a waste of time past 2-3 familiarization sessions, and I think it’s better to develop actual skills like math and reading that are much more useful in the child’s academic career.

I know. The service we hired would only guarantee a 200-point improvement, but I'm told with some work you can easily bring up 300.

You need to understand the difference between fact and advertising, otherwise I have some enlargement pills to sell you. They are guaranteed to work!

I know my kid's SAT score went up 300 after Princeton Review. The prep really made a difference.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Let me start by saying I'm not US-educated, so I have no hands on experience on this education system.

For an outsider like me, tests look like tests, Cogat in elementary looks just like the SAT test for college or the GRE test for post grad.

Are you suppose to also not study for those?

Where's the guide to know for which test to prep and for which you are not allowed? Not joking, I just don't get the US education system.

There's no such thing.. This topic keeps popping up at least once a year. Prep all you want for any test you want. The concept of "not allowed", was invented by some clever lawyer White mom (now stay at home) to dissuade the Asians from prepping. White moms don't want their precious offspring to take time off from ballet, soccer or other such trivial pursuits to prep and compete against the Asians and Nigerians, hence the misinformation campaign. It's like 'Donald Trump won the 2020 election'.

Any exam test that tests knowledge you should have accrued through education- SAT/SOL/etc prep and studying are expected and encouraged, whereas a test that determines aptitude, like the Cogat, is not supposed to be prepped for.

Do a thought exercise: if you there was a way you could prepare in advance for an IQ test, learning what to expect and tips or tricks to improve your score - is it really reflecting your ability?

Personally, I don't care if you prep or not as long as your kid can handle an AAP program on their own without external pressure from you as a parent.

My kids are long done with AAP and I was just browsing these forums with nothing to do.. Both did well on IQ tests but we prepped anyways just to be sure. One is at a T20 college via TJ. The other is at base HS.

My 2c.. Every kid at FCPS should have access to AAP level classes if they want to. It's a tragedy that we have to fight for a decent education. AAP is not that much more difficult and every parent should try to get their kids into that program. Academically, it's curriculum is better than that of most private schools in this area, especially in science and math. By getting into AAP you are also in a class where most of the kids/parents are academics-focused and avoid the bully-types. If that's the environment you want, get in by all means. Don't worry about whether or not your kid can handle AAP. They will adapt.

Prep only helps the borderline kids.. Smart kids will score high regardless of prep. Not-so-smart kids won't regardless of prep. it's the borderline kids that may fall to the right side of the wall with prep. Go for it! There's a large DCUM population that believes prep is cheating unless they approve of it (at which point they will call it enrichment). This is the same crowd that doesn't hesitate to spend thousands on doctors to get their kids extra time on tests, score that extra 200 points on the SAT (while openly promoting test optional), and tutor them to wazoo. Ignore that noise. Good luck!

When the bolded happens, AAP parents freak the F out. At our school, all students are getting the AAP curriculum and the LLIV parents are PISSED about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Let me start by saying I'm not US-educated, so I have no hands on experience on this education system.

For an outsider like me, tests look like tests, Cogat in elementary looks just like the SAT test for college or the GRE test for post grad.

Are you suppose to also not study for those?

Where's the guide to know for which test to prep and for which you are not allowed? Not joking, I just don't get the US education system.

There's no such thing.. This topic keeps popping up at least once a year. Prep all you want for any test you want. The concept of "not allowed", was invented by some clever lawyer White mom (now stay at home) to dissuade the Asians from prepping. White moms don't want their precious offspring to take time off from ballet, soccer or other such trivial pursuits to prep and compete against the Asians and Nigerians, hence the misinformation campaign. It's like 'Donald Trump won the 2020 election'.

Any exam test that tests knowledge you should have accrued through education- SAT/SOL/etc prep and studying are expected and encouraged, whereas a test that determines aptitude, like the Cogat, is not supposed to be prepped for.

Do a thought exercise: if you there was a way you could prepare in advance for an IQ test, learning what to expect and tips or tricks to improve your score - is it really reflecting your ability?

Personally, I don't care if you prep or not as long as your kid can handle an AAP program on their own without external pressure from you as a parent.

My kids are long done with AAP and I was just browsing these forums with nothing to do.. Both did well on IQ tests but we prepped anyways just to be sure. One is at a T20 college via TJ. The other is at base HS.

My 2c.. Every kid at FCPS should have access to AAP level classes if they want to. It's a tragedy that we have to fight for a decent education. AAP is not that much more difficult and every parent should try to get their kids into that program. Academically, it's curriculum is better than that of most private schools in this area, especially in science and math. By getting into AAP you are also in a class where most of the kids/parents are academics-focused and avoid the bully-types. If that's the environment you want, get in by all means. Don't worry about whether or not your kid can handle AAP. They will adapt.

Prep only helps the borderline kids.. Smart kids will score high regardless of prep. Not-so-smart kids won't regardless of prep. it's the borderline kids that may fall to the right side of the wall with prep. Go for it! There's a large DCUM population that believes prep is cheating unless they approve of it (at which point they will call it enrichment). This is the same crowd that doesn't hesitate to spend thousands on doctors to get their kids extra time on tests, score that extra 200 points on the SAT (while openly promoting test optional), and tutor them to wazoo. Ignore that noise. Good luck!

When the bolded happens, AAP parents freak the F out. At our school, all students are getting the AAP curriculum and the LLIV parents are PISSED about it.

At our school LLIV parents don’t care at all that everyone gets AAP curriculum.

I'm betting your LLIV snowflakes are in a separate class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny how many people swear up and down hat it’s cheating, but nobody can provide a source.

+1. It’s just a way to rationalize why their kid didn’t do better.

The scores raise marginally on retakes but just because of familiarity with the test. For most tests taken at school there’s a mock up session for this purpose.

The test shouldn’t be taken less than 6 months apart but that only has to do with the bank of questions, there’s a limited number and questions may repeat.

There are countless studies on SAT and other tests that prepping doesn’t help much. But to each his own, prep if you think your child needs it, don’t if you feel it’s not appropriate. My view is that it’s a waste of time past 2-3 familiarization sessions, and I think it’s better to develop actual skills like math and reading that are much more useful in the child’s academic career.

I know. The service we hired would only guarantee a 200-point improvement, but I'm told with some work you can easily bring up 300.

You need to understand the difference between fact and advertising, otherwise I have some enlargement pills to sell you. They are guaranteed to work!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Let me start by saying I'm not US-educated, so I have no hands on experience on this education system.

For an outsider like me, tests look like tests, Cogat in elementary looks just like the SAT test for college or the GRE test for post grad.

Are you suppose to also not study for those?

Where's the guide to know for which test to prep and for which you are not allowed? Not joking, I just don't get the US education system.

There's no such thing.. This topic keeps popping up at least once a year. Prep all you want for any test you want. The concept of "not allowed", was invented by some clever lawyer White mom (now stay at home) to dissuade the Asians from prepping. White moms don't want their precious offspring to take time off from ballet, soccer or other such trivial pursuits to prep and compete against the Asians and Nigerians, hence the misinformation campaign. It's like 'Donald Trump won the 2020 election'.

Any exam test that tests knowledge you should have accrued through education- SAT/SOL/etc prep and studying are expected and encouraged, whereas a test that determines aptitude, like the Cogat, is not supposed to be prepped for.

Do a thought exercise: if you there was a way you could prepare in advance for an IQ test, learning what to expect and tips or tricks to improve your score - is it really reflecting your ability?

Personally, I don't care if you prep or not as long as your kid can handle an AAP program on their own without external pressure from you as a parent.

My kids are long done with AAP and I was just browsing these forums with nothing to do.. Both did well on IQ tests but we prepped anyways just to be sure. One is at a T20 college via TJ. The other is at base HS.

My 2c.. Every kid at FCPS should have access to AAP level classes if they want to. It's a tragedy that we have to fight for a decent education. AAP is not that much more difficult and every parent should try to get their kids into that program. Academically, it's curriculum is better than that of most private schools in this area, especially in science and math. By getting into AAP you are also in a class where most of the kids/parents are academics-focused and avoid the bully-types. If that's the environment you want, get in by all means. Don't worry about whether or not your kid can handle AAP. They will adapt.

Prep only helps the borderline kids.. Smart kids will score high regardless of prep. Not-so-smart kids won't regardless of prep. it's the borderline kids that may fall to the right side of the wall with prep. Go for it! There's a large DCUM population that believes prep is cheating unless they approve of it (at which point they will call it enrichment). This is the same crowd that doesn't hesitate to spend thousands on doctors to get their kids extra time on tests, score that extra 200 points on the SAT (while openly promoting test optional), and tutor them to wazoo. Ignore that noise. Good luck!

When the bolded happens, AAP parents freak the F out. At our school, all students are getting the AAP curriculum and the LLIV parents are PISSED about it.

At our school LLIV parents don’t care at all that everyone gets AAP curriculum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Let me start by saying I'm not US-educated, so I have no hands on experience on this education system.

For an outsider like me, tests look like tests, Cogat in elementary looks just like the SAT test for college or the GRE test for post grad.

Are you suppose to also not study for those?

Where's the guide to know for which test to prep and for which you are not allowed? Not joking, I just don't get the US education system.

There's no such thing.. This topic keeps popping up at least once a year. Prep all you want for any test you want. The concept of "not allowed", was invented by some clever lawyer White mom (now stay at home) to dissuade the Asians from prepping. White moms don't want their precious offspring to take time off from ballet, soccer or other such trivial pursuits to prep and compete against the Asians and Nigerians, hence the misinformation campaign. It's like 'Donald Trump won the 2020 election'.

Any exam test that tests knowledge you should have accrued through education- SAT/SOL/etc prep and studying are expected and encouraged, whereas a test that determines aptitude, like the Cogat, is not supposed to be prepped for.

Do a thought exercise: if you there was a way you could prepare in advance for an IQ test, learning what to expect and tips or tricks to improve your score - is it really reflecting your ability?

Personally, I don't care if you prep or not as long as your kid can handle an AAP program on their own without external pressure from you as a parent.

My kids are long done with AAP and I was just browsing these forums with nothing to do.. Both did well on IQ tests but we prepped anyways just to be sure. One is at a T20 college via TJ. The other is at base HS.

My 2c.. Every kid at FCPS should have access to AAP level classes if they want to. It's a tragedy that we have to fight for a decent education. AAP is not that much more difficult and every parent should try to get their kids into that program. Academically, it's curriculum is better than that of most private schools in this area, especially in science and math. By getting into AAP you are also in a class where most of the kids/parents are academics-focused and avoid the bully-types. If that's the environment you want, get in by all means. Don't worry about whether or not your kid can handle AAP. They will adapt.

Prep only helps the borderline kids.. Smart kids will score high regardless of prep. Not-so-smart kids won't regardless of prep. it's the borderline kids that may fall to the right side of the wall with prep. Go for it! There's a large DCUM population that believes prep is cheating unless they approve of it (at which point they will call it enrichment). This is the same crowd that doesn't hesitate to spend thousands on doctors to get their kids extra time on tests, score that extra 200 points on the SAT (while openly promoting test optional), and tutor them to wazoo. Ignore that noise. Good luck!

When the bolded happens, AAP parents freak the F out. At our school, all students are getting the AAP curriculum and the LLIV parents are PISSED about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Let me start by saying I'm not US-educated, so I have no hands on experience on this education system.

For an outsider like me, tests look like tests, Cogat in elementary looks just like the SAT test for college or the GRE test for post grad.

Are you suppose to also not study for those?

Where's the guide to know for which test to prep and for which you are not allowed? Not joking, I just don't get the US education system.

There's no such thing.. This topic keeps popping up at least once a year. Prep all you want for any test you want. The concept of "not allowed", was invented by some clever lawyer White mom (now stay at home) to dissuade the Asians from prepping. White moms don't want their precious offspring to take time off from ballet, soccer or other such trivial pursuits to prep and compete against the Asians and Nigerians, hence the misinformation campaign. It's like 'Donald Trump won the 2020 election'.

Any exam test that tests knowledge you should have accrued through education- SAT/SOL/etc prep and studying are expected and encouraged, whereas a test that determines aptitude, like the Cogat, is not supposed to be prepped for.

Do a thought exercise: if you there was a way you could prepare in advance for an IQ test, learning what to expect and tips or tricks to improve your score - is it really reflecting your ability?

Personally, I don't care if you prep or not as long as your kid can handle an AAP program on their own without external pressure from you as a parent.

My kids are long done with AAP and I was just browsing these forums with nothing to do.. Both did well on IQ tests but we prepped anyways just to be sure. One is at a T20 college via TJ. The other is at base HS.

My 2c.. Every kid at FCPS should have access to AAP level classes if they want to. It's a tragedy that we have to fight for a decent education. AAP is not that much more difficult and every parent should try to get their kids into that program. Academically, it's curriculum is better than that of most private schools in this area, especially in science and math. By getting into AAP you are also in a class where most of the kids/parents are academics-focused and avoid the bully-types. If that's the environment you want, get in by all means. Don't worry about whether or not your kid can handle AAP. They will adapt.

Prep only helps the borderline kids.. Smart kids will score high regardless of prep. Not-so-smart kids won't regardless of prep. it's the borderline kids that may fall to the right side of the wall with prep. Go for it! There's a large DCUM population that believes prep is cheating unless they approve of it (at which point they will call it enrichment). This is the same crowd that doesn't hesitate to spend thousands on doctors to get their kids extra time on tests, score that extra 200 points on the SAT (while openly promoting test optional), and tutor them to wazoo. Ignore that noise. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny how many people swear up and down hat it’s cheating, but nobody can provide a source.

+1. It’s just a way to rationalize why their kid didn’t do better.

The scores raise marginally on retakes but just because of familiarity with the test. For most tests taken at school there’s a mock up session for this purpose.

The test shouldn’t be taken less than 6 months apart but that only has to do with the bank of questions, there’s a limited number and questions may repeat.

There are countless studies on SAT and other tests that prepping doesn’t help much. But to each his own, prep if you think your child needs it, don’t if you feel it’s not appropriate. My view is that it’s a waste of time past 2-3 familiarization sessions, and I think it’s better to develop actual skills like math and reading that are much more useful in the child’s academic career.

So funny, how much gaslighting there is in this post. Who are you trying to fool?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny how many people swear up and down hat it’s cheating, but nobody can provide a source.

+1. It’s just a way to rationalize why their kid didn’t do better.

The scores raise marginally on retakes but just because of familiarity with the test. For most tests taken at school there’s a mock up session for this purpose.

The test shouldn’t be taken less than 6 months apart but that only has to do with the bank of questions, there’s a limited number and questions may repeat.

There are countless studies on SAT and other tests that prepping doesn’t help much. But to each his own, prep if you think your child needs it, don’t if you feel it’s not appropriate. My view is that it’s a waste of time past 2-3 familiarization sessions, and I think it’s better to develop actual skills like math and reading that are much more useful in the child’s academic career.

I know. The service we hired would only guarantee a 200-point improvement, but I'm told with some work you can easily bring up 300.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Let me start by saying I'm not US-educated, so I have no hands on experience on this education system.

For an outsider like me, tests look like tests, Cogat in elementary looks just like the SAT test for college or the GRE test for post grad.

Are you suppose to also not study for those?

Where's the guide to know for which test to prep and for which you are not allowed? Not joking, I just don't get the US education system.

There's no such thing.. This topic keeps popping up at least once a year. Prep all you want for any test you want. The concept of "not allowed", was invented by some clever lawyer White mom (now stay at home) to dissuade the Asians from prepping. White moms don't want their precious offspring to take time off from ballet, soccer or other such trivial pursuits to prep and compete against the Asians and Nigerians, hence the misinformation campaign. It's like 'Donald Trump won the 2020 election'.

Any exam test that tests knowledge you should have accrued through education- SAT/SOL/etc prep and studying are expected and encouraged, whereas a test that determines aptitude, like the Cogat, is not supposed to be prepped for.

Do a thought exercise: if you there was a way you could prepare in advance for an IQ test, learning what to expect and tips or tricks to improve your score - is it really reflecting your ability?

Personally, I don't care if you prep or not as long as your kid can handle an AAP program on their own without external pressure from you as a parent.

My kids are long done with AAP and I was just browsing these forums with nothing to do.. Both did well on IQ tests but we prepped anyways just to be sure. One is at a T20 college via TJ. The other is at base HS.

My 2c.. Every kid at FCPS should have access to AAP level classes if they want to. It's a tragedy that we have to fight for a decent education. AAP is not that much more difficult and every parent should try to get their kids into that program. Academically, it's curriculum is better than that of most private schools in this area, especially in science and math. By getting into AAP you are also in a class where most of the kids/parents are academics-focused and avoid the bully-types. If that's the environment you want, get in by all means. Don't worry about whether or not your kid can handle AAP. They will adapt.

Prep only helps the borderline kids.. Smart kids will score high regardless of prep. Not-so-smart kids won't regardless of prep. it's the borderline kids that may fall to the right side of the wall with prep. Go for it! There's a large DCUM population that believes prep is cheating unless they approve of it (at which point they will call it enrichment). This is the same crowd that doesn't hesitate to spend thousands on doctors to get their kids extra time on tests, score that extra 200 points on the SAT (while openly promoting test optional), and tutor them to wazoo. Ignore that noise. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Let me start by saying I'm not US-educated, so I have no hands on experience on this education system.

For an outsider like me, tests look like tests, Cogat in elementary looks just like the SAT test for college or the GRE test for post grad.

Are you suppose to also not study for those?

Where's the guide to know for which test to prep and for which you are not allowed? Not joking, I just don't get the US education system.

There's no such thing.. This topic keeps popping up at least once a year. Prep all you want for any test you want. The concept of "not allowed", was invented by some clever lawyer White mom (now stay at home) to dissuade the Asians from prepping. White moms don't want their precious offspring to take time off from ballet, soccer or other such trivial pursuits to prep and compete against the Asians and Nigerians, hence the misinformation campaign. It's like 'Donald Trump won the 2020 election'.

Any exam test that tests knowledge you should have accrued through education- SAT/SOL/etc prep and studying are expected and encouraged, whereas a test that determines aptitude, like the Cogat, is not supposed to be prepped for.

Do a thought exercise: if you there was a way you could prepare in advance for an IQ test, learning what to expect and tips or tricks to improve your score - is it really reflecting your ability?

Personally, I don't care if you prep or not as long as your kid can handle an AAP program on their own without external pressure from you as a parent.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A better discussion is what's the most effective way to prep for CogAT.

Agree! Anyone who wants to compete these days preps. Those who don't are putting their kids at a big disadvantage.

It's toxic to put kids under this kind of pressure. I can see why higher-educations and other school districts are eliminating these tests.

Clearly doing nothing

Even something as simple as reviewing the format of a few sample questions with your kid and then having them maybe take a practice test (or even just a few questions on their own) to get used to the idea of the format and how to fill in a scan sheet and so on is often called "prepping" on this forum. To distinguish though, I'll call this "lite prepping". This is pretty lightweight stuff and if a kid is feeling pressure from this then that would seem to suggest some other issue that is going on (that isn't the result of the prepping itself).

Of course, there's also the kind of prepping that's sustained over a period of time where kids are taking classes or doing repeated workbooks at home and actively engaged in trying to raise their score, etc. which I'll distinguish as "intensive prepping". Now some kids just love these kinds of problem-solving workbooks anyway and would have no problem doing these on the regular, the same kids who enjoy doing brain teaser workbooks as an occasional diversion while travelling, etc. Those kids wouldn't be put under "this kind of pressure" either, even with intensive prepping... they just see it as more fun problems and brain games to work on and get better at.

And of course yes, there are some kids where this type of intensive prepping feels onerous, where they're doing it only to satisfy their parents, where it's a struggle, and most likely where the parents ARE putting some pressure on the kids by telling them they need to score high (and why) and are investing a ton into achieving a certain result (namely, raising the score high enough to get them into AAP). And yeah, I'd say that can cross the line into toxic.

One problem is you're bucketing ALL these different types of scenarios into a single bucket of 'prepping', and when you oversimplify in that way you really can't draw any meaningful conclusions or generalizations about it. Another problem is that because some parents won't be aware of or invest anything even into 'lite prepping' (let alone being resourced for intensive prepping if their kids enjoy it), then their kids will be at a relative disadvantage on the scores (even if it's just a few points), and that's going to be disproportionately lower-SES families. But the solution typically being proposed is "well, therefore to make it fair we should all agree on the lowest common denominator of doing absolutely nothing to support our kids in being prepared to take an abilities test", which most folks recognize as ridiculously problematic on the face of it.

I'd also argue that forcing kids to take CoGAT with absolute-zero information about what the format will be or having viewed a question but knowing that it may determine if they get into AAP (kids talk) is way more pressure and stress for them than doing a bit of lite prepping beforehand so that they have some ballpark idea of what to expect.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A better discussion is what's the most effective way to prep for CogAT.

Agree! Anyone who wants to compete these days preps. Those who don't are putting their kids at a big disadvantage.

It's toxic to put kids under this kind of pressure. I can see why higher-educations and other school districts are eliminating these tests.

Clearly doing nothing

Even something as simple as reviewing the format of a few sample questions with your kid and then having them maybe take a practice test (or even just a few questions on their own) to get used to the idea of the format and how to fill in a scan sheet and so on is often called "prepping" on this forum. To distinguish though, I'll call this "lite prepping". This is pretty lightweight stuff and if a kid is feeling pressure from this then that would seem to suggest some other issue that is going on (that isn't the result of the prepping itself).

Of course, there's also the kind of prepping that's sustained over a period of time where kids are taking classes or doing repeated workbooks at home and actively engaged in trying to raise their score, etc. which I'll distinguish as "intensive prepping". Now some kids just love these kinds of problem-solving workbooks anyway and would have no problem doing these on the regular, the same kids who enjoy doing brain teaser workbooks as an occasional diversion while travelling, etc. Those kids wouldn't be put under "this kind of pressure" either, even with intensive prepping... they just see it as more fun problems and brain games to work on and get better at.

And of course yes, there are some kids where this type of intensive prepping feels onerous, where they're doing it only to satisfy their parents, where it's a struggle, and most likely where the parents ARE putting some pressure on the kids by telling them they need to score high (and why) and are investing a ton into achieving a certain result (namely, raising the score high enough to get them into AAP). And yeah, I'd say that can cross the line into toxic.

One problem is you're bucketing ALL these different types of scenarios into a single bucket of 'prepping', and when you oversimplify in that way you really can't draw any meaningful conclusions or generalizations about it. Another problem is that because some parents won't be aware of or invest anything even into 'lite prepping' (let alone being resourced for intensive prepping if their kids enjoy it), then their kids will be at a relative disadvantage on the scores (even if it's just a few points), and that's going to be disproportionately lower-SES families. But the solution typically being proposed is "well, therefore to make it fair we should all agree on the lowest common denominator of doing absolutely nothing to support our kids in being prepared to take an abilities test", which most folks recognize as ridiculously problematic on the face of it.

I'd also argue that forcing kids to take CoGAT with absolute-zero information about what the format will be or having viewed a question but knowing that it may determine if they get into AAP (kids talk) is way more pressure and stress for them than doing a bit of lite prepping beforehand so that they have some ballpark idea of what to expect.