Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's fine if you believe that some kids are just 'smarter' and more 'gifted' than others. I might agree that some super 'gifted' kids might be. But, really, I think a good number of the smart, hard-working kids would do well at an HGC. There are just not enough spots. I think that's where we disagree. You feel that only some kids deserve to be there, but I think that if a kid is smart 'enough' and willing to do the work to keep up, he/she deserves a spot as well. And, if prepping gives the kids a small leg up by being familiar with the types of questions, then so be it.

Just so I'm clear, you're ok with a child who is intellectually in the top 3% being excluded because a child who is intellectually in the top 10% was prepped by their parents?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's fine if you believe that some kids are just 'smarter' and more 'gifted' than others. I might agree that some super 'gifted' kids might be. But, really, I think a good number of the smart, hard-working kids would do well at an HGC. There are just not enough spots. I think that's where we disagree. You feel that only some kids deserve to be there, but I think that if a kid is smart 'enough' and willing to do the work to keep up, he/she deserves a spot as well. And, if prepping gives the kids a small leg up by being familiar with the types of questions, then so be it.

Just so I'm clear, you're ok with a child who is intellectually in the top 3% being excluded because a child who is intellectually in the top 10% was prepped by their parents?

Anonymous wrote:
It's fine if you believe that some kids are just 'smarter' and more 'gifted' than others. I might agree that some super 'gifted' kids might be. But, really, I think a good number of the smart, hard-working kids would do well at an HGC. There are just not enough spots. I think that's where we disagree. You feel that only some kids deserve to be there, but I think that if a kid is smart 'enough' and willing to do the work to keep up, he/she deserves a spot as well. And, if prepping gives the kids a small leg up by being familiar with the types of questions, then so be it.

Anonymous wrote:

Not the PP, but that indicates to me that the kid really would have done just fine at an HGC. We can debate whether or not he missed much!

Just another example of how many bright, deserving kids get left out of the HGC and how the system is quite flawed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if they eventually put the kid in the Center?

Why would they? He's a very bright kid who was outscored, even if only slightly. There have to be cut offs somewhere. He wasn't treated unfairly.

If you dig through some old posts, you will read that child eventually went to technical magnet in Middle school.
Given child's score in math, this would make sense. Also given that curriculum 2.0 hit HGCs at that time,
child probably did not miss much from not going to HGC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if they eventually put the kid in the Center?

Why would they? He's a very bright kid who was outscored, even if only slightly. There have to be cut offs somewhere. He wasn't treated unfairly.

Anonymous wrote:
Not the same. Prepping specifically for an exam is not the same as enriching a child's environment.

It's one thing to have a kid take one practice test to be familiar, but I've heard some parents "prepping" their kids since K with drilling, after school tutoring, and such. That may get the child into HGC, but once there, the child is on his/her own in the class, and may have a hard time keeping up in class.

HGC is specifically for those top 2 - 3%, not the top 10%. Per MCPS, the program is designed for these types of students:

- Advanced academic performance in multiple content areas.
- Curiosity and motivation to learn.
- High level of commitment, persistence, and independence.
- Eagerness to solve challenging problems or tasks for which the solution is not readily known.
- Ability to generate unique, unconventional ideas or solutions to problems.
- Ability to consider multiple perspectives and apply critical and creative reasoning skills.

To me, I don't think prepping will help the child in class with some of the above. It comes down to the way a child's brain works.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people prepare their kids for the gt test around here?

Many do.

This is not clear at all.

What is clear, however, is that many of the posts that talk about test prep for the HGC come from sock puppets who presumably make money off test prep.

I don't think they're sock puppets. Parents use the test prep services and are informing others. I'm not the PP that posted about the workbooks, but I have recommended them on other threads. Like the other PP said, it's a good idea to familiarize your kid with the types of questions. The first time I showed my kid the 'analogy' type questions, she had NO IDEA what they were all about. After seeing more, she got the concept much better.

And, as to the PPs who say you don't need to 'prep' because your kid is either 'gifted' or not. I strongly disagree. But, I'm part Asian, and we have a strong belief that ALL of our kids belong in the 'gifted program', LOL. That's a discussion for another page though. I agree that only a small percentage of kids are 'gifted', but I do believe that more kids deserve to be in a more advanced learning program than get accepted to the HGCs. But, we have the system we have, so we do what we can to help out our kids.

Also, the parents who say they don't prep - I find that hard to believe. Do you read to your kids at night? Play math games with them online? Help them with their homework? That's all a form of 'prepping' your kid for success in academics. Buying an extra workbook isn't really a huge deal.

I posted before about familiarizing a child with the questions. I'm partly Asian too, and agree with this poster! ALL children should be doing the in-depth, interesting projects that are being done in the HGC, instead of the often ill-conceived and poorly prepared worksheets that are the staple of other schools. It's a completely different level of intellectual and critical thinking, which all children should at least be exposed to.

The best you can do as a parent is show your child what to expect. Research has shown that intensive preparation does not increase the score significantly, but you can try that if you're not convinced, by all means! The reason parents do intensive and specific prep courses is that they think these tests are the same as the SATs, which CAN be prepared. Actually the IQ-types tests such as Cogats are designed to test cognitive ability, not knowledge, therefore you cannot score higher than your best cognitive potential, even if you practice endlessly. The question is how to reach that threshold, and a good night's sleep, hearty breakfast and focused mindset on test day does infinitely more than any amount of prepping.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do people prepare their kids for the gt test around here?

Many do.

This is not clear at all.

What is clear, however, is that many of the posts that talk about test prep for the HGC come from sock puppets who presumably make money off test prep.

I don't think they're sock puppets. Parents use the test prep services and are informing others. I'm not the PP that posted about the workbooks, but I have recommended them on other threads. Like the other PP said, it's a good idea to familiarize your kid with the types of questions. The first time I showed my kid the 'analogy' type questions, she had NO IDEA what they were all about. After seeing more, she got the concept much better.

And, as to the PPs who say you don't need to 'prep' because your kid is either 'gifted' or not. I strongly disagree. But, I'm part Asian, and we have a strong belief that ALL of our kids belong in the 'gifted program', LOL. That's a discussion for another page though. I agree that only a small percentage of kids are 'gifted', but I do believe that more kids deserve to be in a more advanced learning program than get accepted to the HGCs. But, we have the system we have, so we do what we can to help out our kids.

Also, the parents who say they don't prep - I find that hard to believe. Do you read to your kids at night? Play math games with them online? Help them with their homework? That's all a form of 'prepping' your kid for success in academics. Buying an extra workbook isn't really a huge deal.

Anonymous wrote:

I posted before about familiarizing a child with the questions. I'm partly Asian too, and agree with this poster! ALL children should be doing the in-depth, interesting projects that are being done in the HGC, instead of the often ill-conceived and poorly prepared worksheets that are the staple of other schools. It's a completely different level of intellectual and critical thinking, which all children should at least be exposed to.

The best you can do as a parent is show your child what to expect. Research has shown that intensive preparation does not increase the score significantly, but you can try that if you're not convinced, by all means! The reason parents do intensive and specific prep courses is that they think these tests are the same as the SATs, which CAN be prepared. Actually the IQ-types tests such as Cogats are designed to test cognitive ability, not knowledge, therefore you cannot score higher than your best cognitive potential, even if you practice endlessly. The question is how to reach that threshold, and a good night's sleep, hearty breakfast and focused mindset on test day does infinitely more than any amount of prepping.

Anonymous wrote:

I don't think they're sock puppets. Parents use the test prep services and are informing others. I'm not the PP that posted about the workbooks, but I have recommended them on other threads. Like the other PP said, it's a good idea to familiarize your kid with the types of questions. The first time I showed my kid the 'analogy' type questions, she had NO IDEA what they were all about. After seeing more, she got the concept much better.

Anonymous wrote:

Also, the parents who say they don't prep - I find that hard to believe. Do you read to your kids at night? Play math games with them online? Help them with their homework? That's all a form of 'prepping' your kid for success in academics. Buying an extra workbook isn't really a huge deal.