Anonymous wrote:Not All ES's certainly - and I think that some would depend on test scores as well. My kid's scores were near the median across board but he has quite a few ES's from 2d grade through now.

My kid is at HGC this year. Didn't get a single ES in home school but has gotten several on his report card at HGC. Don't stress about it. I asked my guy why his grades were higher this year and he said ... the work is interesting and teacher is good.

It really all comes down to the test. It is an odd method of evaluation imo - in my kid's home school, there were several kids who I really thought deserved to get in, and from talking to their parents, their teachers had thought so as well, yet they didn't get admitted - maybe some aren't truly gifted but others could have just had an off day on the test, not felt well that day, or like a pp's child not perform at their maximum on a standardized test due to time constraints or whatever.

Anonymous wrote:I think my DD had one ES in math and that was it. All Ps with an I or two in second grade.

Same here, strange thing there are kids with lot of ES not making it ..

our son also had few ES grades and got in. It would be criminal if they weighed the ES grades too highly because I think there is no consistency accross the schools (and even within one school) in how the ES grades are given . My daughter's 1st grade teacher used them liberally just to mean "well done!" whereas my son's teacher made it nearly impossible to achieve. A great deal depends on the individual teacher's interpretation of the new grading system.

Test scores. Spent minutes on form.

I agree that acceptance is largely based on test scores. My daughter is an outstanding student but a poor test taker given a time pressure. She had a teacher who strongly recommended her and I spent a lot of time filling out the form with details. I think she would have thrived in the program but did not get accepted last year. This year, my son applied. I barely wrote a sentence or two on the recommendation, his teacher hasn't been all that impressed with his performance this year, and I think he would struggle with all of the writing and discussion. However, he did pretty well on the test and was accepted.