LCPS offers an appeals process, but has anyone asked how often decisions are overturned? The answer is almost never, unless there is compelling additional evidence (such as a full scale IQ score) to reverse it.

Think about it- if they overturned the eligibility decision of even the small sampling of children whose parents have posted on this site, based on eleventh hour input from extracurricular music or art teachers, they would be undermining the validity of their own process.

Unless you have an IQ test score of 130+, I would not advise going through the appeals process in LCPS. Instead, I would consider nominating your child to the screening pool, yourself, next year and going through the process again, using every available question/space/opportunity to show aspects of your child that cannot be measured by ability testing.

Good luck to all.

05/22/2012 11:52 - About samples - it could be anything from book reports that were exceptional to pictures of any projects that they had done in school, recommendation from any outside classes that they have taken, Any citizenship awards in school (Each school names this as differently - Character award, Citizenship award), any information that they had been selected as a special reading buddy to younger kids, Odyssey of the mind participation etc.

05/22/2012 14:47 - I'm not sure about specific examples but what I have heard is anything that shows that they are above grade level would be a good sample. Sometimes its hard to substantiate them with examples.

This is where I fail to understand what the class teacher recommends since what they deal with day in and out is purely academic and FUTURA is not advanced academic program. This should just be based on the profile the SEARCH Teacher has created with input from class teacher when it comes to leadership and other characteristics. A kid can have difficulty in expressing things but might be really smart in cognitive abilities. Not all children are born leaders and the category of leadership on the SIGS form is misleading.

Hi 05/22/2012 11:53,
Thanks for the reply and Good Luck for the appeals. I totally agree with you on the Appeals dilemma. As a parent I shouldn't feel guilty later on that I gave up. Moreover its a huge task for the parent to do the appeal within the timeline and the kid is not put to any stress.

I'm still figuring out whom to get the letters from since the SIGS score from her class teacher was good but not high enough. Also my DD had some mistakes on the samples from math and figurative analysis submitted by school. Any ideas on what I could submit for math n figurative samples?

Wishing you the best PP as you go through the appeals process.

05/22/2012 10:44 - My DD does piano class and a creative writing class. So I'm going to get recommendation letters from them. All recommendation letters I'm planning is from outside. I had emailed her teacher and maybe will get some samples from her writing journal from school with hopefully a teacher remark on that.

05/22/2012 02:25 - This is not about us pushing our kids. When we know they have proved themselves with a qualifying score, we are just providing an additional opportunity to realize their potential. I dont want to be rethink in the future that I had a choice and I chose not to appeal. If she gets in with appeal fine, and its Ok if she does not. I have already told her about the outcome.
FUTURA is not about teaching them to become better people.

If my DD did not have a qualifying score I would not have even given a second thought about this. I have no doubts about my DD's character and she is one happy child at all times and her teachers have remarked that she is always helpful in class and wish all kids were like that.

I did not submit any extra materials when send in parent input forms. I suspect this could be reason why my DD was told ineligible. This process is new to us. What kind of materials are good to appeal or other parents who got in sent? I heard art work sample. However my DD is not taking art class or competitive sports that you can achive certificate/award.

HI 05/21/2012 21:51,

I'm in the same boat as yours... I just met the search teacher and she told me exactly the same things you spoke about. 2 supporting things out of 3 categories to qualify for Futura. Any ideas on how to get the letter of recommendation from the teachers (letter format, how to approach them.. etc.)? What kind of new samples are you planning to submit? Thanks.

Does anyone ever think, "Hey, I hope my kid's happy and doesn't become a deadbeat brother/sister-in-law one day?"

If my DD doesn't make FUTURA, so be it. No point in tearing my hair out and crying, as long as she is doing her best and not being a jerk to teachers/other students.

So I called up the school and spoke with the SEARCH teacher. The SEARCH teacher has asked me to come by on Thursday to look at the sample of work that was submitted by the classroom teacher and from the SEARCH sheets that was worked on in school. That would help me in determining what additional work samples that I can submit to substantiate the appeal. There is 3 areas that the selection committee looks at and 2/3 should be enough for them to consider eligibility. One area is test score, one is parent recommendation along with SIGS form and the other is the school recommendation (Class teacher/SEARCH teacher recommendation). At this point in time, the test score area is fine and nothing more can be done about the school recommendation. But if we can provide more examples of above grade level work done at school/outside with recommendation letters from their music teacher etc that would count towards the appeal. We need to really nail this down with this appeal letter and samples and there is a higher probability that if we have a good samples along with appeal the kid will get in.

We are in a similar situation. My DD did well in CoGAT (97) and NNAT(98) and receives an Exceeds grade expectations on her report cards. However she did not make it into FUTURA. It is discouraging for kids to see they do well and yet cannot make it in. If the academic success is not a criteria for selection what is? The selection does not seem to be objective. I will appeal but unless I know what the actual selection requirements are, no appeal will work. Very disappointing the deserving kids are not eligible.

The county mailed the form to the children who met the requirement. Additionally Parents can also ask for the form even if the child has not met the requirement. I do know a couple of others who had 96% who had moved in from Fairfax county (where 96% was the eligibility score) applying for the program.

The SIGS parent form asked the parent to rate their child compared to their peers. And in the each of those categories if you rated 7 items or so higher then to substantiate those with examples.

I do like my neighborhood and I do like the school, but this review committee result is pushing me into considering private school or moving to another school district.

What recommendation form are you referring to? You mean this child's parent with the 93%ile score contacted the SEARCH teacher and then was given the SIGS form after your discussion? I am unsure of your statements b/c only the children that met the in-pool test score requirements were mailed that form.

Additionally, I thought the SIGS scale was all about the parent rating and then giving brief examples of child's exceptional abilities, nothing about comparison with peers.

I hope you like your neighborhood b/c I would not feel comfortable discussing my child's test scores and GT prospects with anyone but close friends and family members. It's no one else's business and fosters even more competitiveness.

The other child had not gotten the SIGS form and when I was referring about the form to the parent, they contacted the class teacher and SEARCH teacher to see if they can fill the recommendation form. They submitted the form and has gotten in to the program.

A lot of parents in the neighborhood had discussed about their child's score. I had spoken with the SEARCH teacher beginning of the year about including an aspect of their SEARCH work in the report card to get an understanding of our child's capabilities.

How can Parents assess their child's ability in comparison with peers their age? This could only be done on what ever minimum interaction you have with your kids friends during their playtime together. The SIGS form that the parents are asked to fill is all about in comparison with their peers. If you just ask any parent, of course their child will be gifted. If you have other children, then your younger one's ability can be judged based on how your older one was at that age (Of course kids are different but at a high level you would know if one is doing more than the other). For people like me with one child how can I judge? I can only go with what the teacher says. My DD has been doing very well academically and her teacher has always mentioned that she is above grade level in all academical aspect. I know that has got nothing to do with Cognitive ability, and a test like CoGAT and NNAT should be my only understanding of her ability. If they do have a high score on that what additionally are they expecting to indicate a gifted child?

PP, how do you know another child's score?

FWIW, I believe in many cases the CogAT scores are scrutinized more closely than the NNAT scores. Threshold was 97% from what I understand.

Isn't there a psychology group in Ashburn who administer the WISC?