Wow. I really learned a lot from this site!! I also learned there're lots of dark open secrets out there. I work a lot (very heave work load.) I feel bad that I haven't spent enough time with my child to prepare her/coach her. From now on, I'm dertermined to find all kinds of materials or turtoring or whatever to pave the road for my child. But deep in my mind, I'd rather her to have a very happy childhood, to explore this world (we've travelled lots of places in the world so far), to pursue her passion, to expand her interests, to be not afraid of making mistakes (including having bad scores) etc. But sadly, we, as parents seem to be very obsessed with their test scores. Sigh.

Good luck to you and your child. The NNAT, CogNat and now WISC sound so exhausting!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I applaud Fairfax County for trying to solve this problem, but it is an uphill battle. Is the answer to give every kid the WISC? Too expensive, but you get an individual learning profile for each student.

Do you know the cost for WISC? My kid is in pool by both NNAT and FAT, but I am curious about his IQ.

We ended up doing a WISC earlier this month. We probably paid a lot -- I think it can go from $375 - $550 depending on who you see. I was really fascinated by the information I learned. I got a full psychological evaluation - down to my dc's mannerisms during the exam and why the psychologist thought my dc did better in certain areas v. others. I know it is a lot of money, but I'm really glad I did it -- I learned alot about my dc, about dc's processing levels, verbal and perceptual acuity and reasoning. It was very helpful to get feedback from someone who took the time to work with dc and examine dc.

May I ask how she did the WISC? Is the score close to NNAT or CogNat? I am wondering if the NNAT or CogNat is the true reflection of kids' intelligent level.

The WISC is an individual test. So basically dc went into the psychologist's office, and I just sat outside for a couple hours. There is a test manual that the psychologist uses, and goes over a series of different types of questions. Your score is based on how far in the line of questioning you can go. You get scores in verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, processing spead and memory (generally those are the categories, I dont' remember exactly). DC did better on the WISC than NNAT by less than 10 points, but NNAT score missed cutoff by a few points. cogat score was not so good, so I'm glad I have WISC. Not a guarantee to get in I know, but it's helpful to have a fuller picture.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a teacher that gets a copy of several tests used by FCPS and has her own tutoring service for the tests.

Anyone know how to find her?

(We are not in FCPS by the way)

Why would you want to find her?

Anonymous wrote:There is a teacher that gets a copy of several tests used by FCPS and has her own tutoring service for the tests.

Anyone know how to find her?

(We are not in FCPS by the way)

PP, my DC scored within a 4-point range on the NNAT, CogAT, and WISC. We got the WISC to diagnose if there were processing speed issues, not for AAP reasons. I think the people that tend to get a WISC on this board are parents with DCs that don't test well in a group setting (or maybe weren't feeling well on the school test days), are perhaps are 2E. For some kids, the individual, more laid-back atmosphere of sitting with a psychologist probably results in a better measure of intelligence or ability.

My impression from reading these threads is that many kids score 10-15 points higher on the WISC. WISC and CogAt test scores are considered invalid if your child is administered, for example, two CogAt tests less than a year apart. But it's okay for your child to take the CogAt and then the WISC less than a year later, because they are so different. There is a minor advantage in the score (on the order of 2-3 points) if a child takes two of the same in a 12 month period. Psychologists start off by asking the tester whether s/he has seen questions like this before lately. So, preppers beware.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I applaud Fairfax County for trying to solve this problem, but it is an uphill battle. Is the answer to give every kid the WISC? Too expensive, but you get an individual learning profile for each student.

Do you know the cost for WISC? My kid is in pool by both NNAT and FAT, but I am curious about his IQ.

We ended up doing a WISC earlier this month. We probably paid a lot -- I think it can go from $375 - $550 depending on who you see. I was really fascinated by the information I learned. I got a full psychological evaluation - down to my dc's mannerisms during the exam and why the psychologist thought my dc did better in certain areas v. others. I know it is a lot of money, but I'm really glad I did it -- I learned alot about my dc, about dc's processing levels, verbal and perceptual acuity and reasoning. It was very helpful to get feedback from someone who took the time to work with dc and examine dc.

May I ask how she did the WISC? Is the score close to NNAT or CogNat? I am wondering if the NNAT or CogNat is the true reflection of kids' intelligent level.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a teacher that gets a copy of several tests used by FCPS and has her own tutoring service for the tests.

If this is really happening, do you have the moral courage to report her? She is violating a signed testing agreement if she is, in fact, doing this. Again, what will you do besides throwing this out here on this anonymous forum?

She has (already) been reported.

WISC is $380 at GMU. If you qualify for FARM, then there is a reduced, or no fee.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Now that was helpful, PP, thanks. And it puts to rest any controversy about a Fairfax County "screw up" on age norming. I am so glad that the county had the guts to do something about parents who prep their kids with the exact CogAt test being applied (I had no idea it had gotten that bad, or that parents could ever get that kind of access to the test, but it's stated right there in your website). Hats off to Carol Horn.

Disagree regarding the age norming. They do it for the NNAT and plainly say that they will do it for the FAT in the future, but could not do it now because of insufficient numbers.

Really wonder as to the validation of the test. Sounds like 2nd graders were the lab mice for a new approach they really didn't have the time to implement correctly.

Sort of like the proposed AAP changes.

+100. They'll use age norming in future. They didn't do this year because of not enough data, not that they don't care about age. I guess they'll see the age on the score sheet to roll the dice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I applaud Fairfax County for trying to solve this problem, but it is an uphill battle. Is the answer to give every kid the WISC? Too expensive, but you get an individual learning profile for each student.

Do you know the cost for WISC? My kid is in pool by both NNAT and FAT, but I am curious about his IQ.

We ended up doing a WISC earlier this month. We probably paid a lot -- I think it can go from $375 - $550 depending on who you see. I was really fascinated by the information I learned. I got a full psychological evaluation - down to my dc's mannerisms during the exam and why the psychologist thought my dc did better in certain areas v. others. I know it is a lot of money, but I'm really glad I did it -- I learned alot about my dc, about dc's processing levels, verbal and perceptual acuity and reasoning. It was very helpful to get feedback from someone who took the time to work with dc and examine dc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I applaud Fairfax County for trying to solve this problem, but it is an uphill battle. Is the answer to give every kid the WISC? Too expensive, but you get an individual learning profile for each student.

Do you know the cost for WISC? My kid is in pool by both NNAT and FAT, but I am curious about his IQ.

GMU offers the test and the cost varies depending on income.

Anonymous wrote:There is a teacher that gets a copy of several tests used by FCPS and has her own tutoring service for the tests.

If this is really happening, do you have the moral courage to report her? She is violating a signed testing agreement if she is, in fact, doing this. Again, what will you do besides throwing this out here on this anonymous forum?

Anonymous wrote:
I applaud Fairfax County for trying to solve this problem, but it is an uphill battle. Is the answer to give every kid the WISC? Too expensive, but you get an individual learning profile for each student.

Do you know the cost for WISC? My kid is in pool by both NNAT and FAT, but I am curious about his IQ.