Anonymous wrote:I heard of one case of prepping 5 years ago. The parent was called to the school. I didn't prep because I believe it sends the wrong message to my child, but now I hear about it regularly and just shake my head. I think other parents assume that I prep because I'm Asian, but I truly hope that the school knows that my kid was not prepped.

The parent was called to the school? That sounds crazy. FCPS chooses to base a significant decision affecting the quality of our children's education on tests that can be easily gamed and they called the parent in? There are a lot of people prepping. I didn't prep DC1 and had no idea about prepping at that point. DC1 got into AAP, but I later found out there is extensive prepping, and not just Asian moms. I haven't decided what to do with DC2 yet, but would not mind getting called in to have the you prepped your kid conversation since I don't think that FCPS is handling the whole situation very well--plus while DC2 is very smart, I think private is a better fit than AAP so there will be no consequences if I do prep DC2 and get called in. I would, however, get satisfaction out of telling the person who calls me in about how ridiculous the selection process based on easily gamed tests is. FCPS needs to follow the trend seen in NY of not using these tests because the results have become invalid due to extensive prepping. To the people who think there are one or two people prepping, have you seen the links to the various prep centers posted on this forum? Why do you think these businesses exist, for the one or two people?

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Anonymous wrote:I know of one person that prepped their kids -- I suspect in certain groups it is more common. Mostly it is people who come from societies with limited resources where "failing" a single test dooms you to a life of poverty.

I agree.

I think it is a very small, concentrated area where the "test prep" is happening, and not the county at large.

Totally disagree. I'm across the county in Springfield area and there are tons of prepping (not preppy ) parents here too.

That's interesting. How do you know? Do parents talk about it openly, or are there advertisements for test prep classes? Neither of those is evident around here, so I'm curious.

PP here; it's openly spoken about. I don't see advertisements, but word-of-mouth makes it all common knowledge. Which area of the county are you in?

In Springfield? Really? I beg to differ.

The biggest topic is whether or not to stay at the base school or go to the center, because the schools are so uniformly great and the kids get to stay with their friends.

Springfield here... we obviously are seeing a different side of things. Lots of people prep for AAP. Not wanting this to be true doesn't mean it isn't.

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Anonymous wrote:I know of one person that prepped their kids -- I suspect in certain groups it is more common. Mostly it is people who come from societies with limited resources where "failing" a single test dooms you to a life of poverty.

I agree.

I think it is a very small, concentrated area where the "test prep" is happening, and not the county at large.

Totally disagree. I'm across the county in Springfield area and there are tons of prepping (not preppy ) parents here too.

That's interesting. How do you know? Do parents talk about it openly, or are there advertisements for test prep classes? Neither of those is evident around here, so I'm curious.

PP here; it's openly spoken about. I don't see advertisements, but word-of-mouth makes it all common knowledge. Which area of the county are you in?

In Springfield? Really? I beg to differ.

The biggest topic is whether or not to stay at the base school or go to the center, because the schools are so uniformly great and the kids get to stay with their friends.

Prepping is what they changed the test to the FAT!

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There are one-two really bitter parents on this forum who think that their kid did not get a fair chance at AAP because other people (usually blaming Asians) prepped their kids. According to these posters, it is scores and scores of parents who do this. They have first hand knowledge that all these families are gaming the system, except for themselves
You can tell the tone and writing style of the main posters crying foul. Then it gets parroted, embellished, etc, a big game of telephone where people hear that everyone is testing.

In reality, with three fcps kids (one a current 2nd grader and another in a center), I have never heard of a single family that actually prepped for these things, beyond what they would have done whether or not this test was happening. There is the kid who complains about being forced to do Kumon for math (mom let him drop it this year), and the handful of kids who go to Chinese school every week, but no giant test prep machine.

It is mostly a bunch of manufactured drama by a few posters with buckets of sour grapes.

Oh no, it's you again -- the poster who likes to insist that there are only "one or two" parents claiming that many parents prep. It's so amusing to hear you try and convince everyone else that there couldn't possibly be more than a couple of people who feel differently than you. At any rate, at our center school, it is common knowledge that prepping parents send their kids to a certain woman's home where she holds prepping classes for the CogAt. It's no secret and lots of families do this; she guarantees the children in her classes will get into AAP. And guess what? They do. Some are Asian, but most aren't (I don't know where you're getting that whole Asian remark? Tons of non-Asian kids in AAP at our school). So you go right ahead and pretend it's a bunch of "manufactured drama". Hey, whatever makes you feel better.

+1

Vienna over here (but Reston elem. school)

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Anonymous wrote:I know of one person that prepped their kids -- I suspect in certain groups it is more common. Mostly it is people who come from societies with limited resources where "failing" a single test dooms you to a life of poverty.

I agree.

I think it is a very small, concentrated area where the "test prep" is happening, and not the county at large.

Totally disagree. I'm across the county in Springfield area and there are tons of prepping (not preppy ) parents here too.

That's interesting. How do you know? Do parents talk about it openly, or are there advertisements for test prep classes? Neither of those is evident around here, so I'm curious.

PP here; it's openly spoken about. I don't see advertisements, but word-of-mouth makes it all common knowledge. Which area of the county are you in?

Anonymous wrote:I don't think there is massive prep for AAP testing. That changes as kids get older - there is some serious prep for the SAT, for example. And in my view - having taken numerous professional exams, as well as the SAT and grad school equivalents, you'd be foolish to walk into something like the SAT cold, with no prep whatsoever. There is a continuum of prep, depending on the age and test, and that is normal. There are some outliers who would prep massively for any test.

The SAT and professional tests have different purposes than AAP identification testing.
I do think there are parents out there who believe (or have been told by others that have something to sell?) that their child can get a good education *only* in the AAP classes and that if their child is not in AAP, it is "game over" for that child in terms of education. It is too bad, because it is simply not true. But if you believe that, you are vulnerable to ads that say, "Get your child into the Gifted Program!!" by buying our products!

I believe that, eventually, FCPS will either drop the testing (or stop using the test scores), or just drop the AA Program because it has all become so silly. They will tell parents that every class in FCPS is advanced and that will be that.

And it will be a shame if that happens. AAP has been a haven for the kids who really need it, who are anomalies in the regular classroom. Unless you have lived it yourself or seen your child go through it, it is hard to imagine what a difference a program like AAP can make for some kids.

I heard of one case of prepping 5 years ago. The parent was called to the school. I didn't prep because I believe it sends the wrong message to my child, but now I hear about it regularly and just shake my head. I think other parents assume that I prep because I'm Asian, but I truly hope that the school knows that my kid was not prepped.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know of one person that prepped their kids -- I suspect in certain groups it is more common. Mostly it is people who come from societies with limited resources where "failing" a single test dooms you to a life of poverty.

I agree.

I think it is a very small, concentrated area where the "test prep" is happening, and not the county at large.

Totally disagree. I'm across the county in Springfield area and there are tons of prepping (not preppy ) parents here too.

That's interesting. How do you know? Do parents talk about it openly, or are there advertisements for test prep classes? Neither of those is evident around here, so I'm curious.

I don't think there is massive prep for AAP testing. That changes as kids get older - there is some serious prep for the SAT, for example. And in my view - having taken numerous professional exams, as well as the SAT and grad school equivalents, you'd be foolish to walk into something like the SAT cold, with no prep whatsoever. There is a continuum of prep, depending on the age and test, and that is normal. There are some outliers who would prep massively for any test.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know of one person that prepped their kids -- I suspect in certain groups it is more common. Mostly it is people who come from societies with limited resources where "failing" a single test dooms you to a life of poverty.

I agree.

I think it is a very small, concentrated area where the "test prep" is happening, and not the county at large.

Totally disagree. I'm across the county in Springfield area and there are tons of prepping (not preppy ) parents here too.

Anonymous wrote:I know of one person that prepped their kids -- I suspect in certain groups it is more common. Mostly it is people who come from societies with limited resources where "failing" a single test dooms you to a life of poverty.

I agree.

I think it is a very small, concentrated area where the "test prep" is happening, and not the county at large.

A quick Google search turns up these prep classes:

http://www.youngscholarscircle.com/gifted_placement
http://www.discoverlearningcenterva.com/

Anonymous wrote:21:31, is the area you're talking about Great Falls?

Sure is! I have friends at each school in the area (Colvin Run, GFES, Forestville) and all of them know plenty of people who have sent their kids to these particular classes. It's really no secret at all.