^^ I didn't say why I didn't prep. I suppose i was generally aware prepping existed but at the time I thought it was only extreme parents who did it and i didn't want to be extreme. I'm not sure of my current view on that point.

I do now think AAP is a good fit for my kid now that DC is in it, but at the NNAT / COGAT time I wasn't sure. And the fact that DC was in pool without prep did away me to consider it a good fit at a later time when deciding to go or not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child had a 96 percentile and didn't get in. I didn't prep because we were told not to. Had I known that prepping is so widespread, of course i would have prepped. I feel like I have done a disservice to my child.

Prepping is not "so widespread". The AAP forum on DCUM is not representative of FCPS or AAP.

I'd be very interested to know what percentage of kids admitted to AAP were prepped, even minimally. There's obviously no way to get this data, but there are several prep centers in my immediate area and they seem to be doing quite a bit of business.

I don't live in a TJ feeder area and I live in an area on DCUM that is typically seen as more laid back and i tend to agree.

I am also a talker with a lot of friends and will ask people things and not worry what they think of me lol. Of 4 people I have discussed this with plus me - I did not prep my kid, 3 others did not prep for varying reasons - didn't care whether kid went or not, didn't know you could prep, and didn't want to prep because they didn't want to push their kid for anything they weren't ready for if they didn't test in on their own. One person I know did prep her kid and she is a really good person. I really don't know why she felt the need to do it. It was one of these - I did a few questions with DC so they would know what to expect and I think her view is that she doubts it made a difference either way.

This is obviously just anecdotal!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child had a 96 percentile and didn't get in. I didn't prep because we were told not to. Had I known that prepping is so widespread, of course i would have prepped. I feel like I have done a disservice to my child.

Prepping is not "so widespread". The AAP forum on DCUM is not representative of FCPS or AAP.

Evidence? Education is very competitive these days, and your viewpoint sounds naive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child had a 96 percentile and didn't get in. I didn't prep because we were told not to. Had I known that prepping is so widespread, of course i would have prepped. I feel like I have done a disservice to my child.

Prepping is not "so widespread". The AAP forum on DCUM is not representative of FCPS or AAP.

I'd be very interested to know what percentage of kids admitted to AAP were prepped, even minimally. There's obviously no way to get this data, but there are several prep centers in my immediate area and they seem to be doing quite a bit of business.

Anonymous wrote:My child had a 96 percentile and didn't get in. I didn't prep because we were told not to. Had I known that prepping is so widespread, of course i would have prepped. I feel like I have done a disservice to my child.

Prepping is not "so widespread". The AAP forum on DCUM is not representative of FCPS or AAP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HOW does one prep for the NNAT? Play with LEGOs?

I don't consider legos to be prepping. I consider looking up & reviewing actual NNAT type questions with your kid to be prepping

OK, I’ll do that.

Anonymous wrote:HOW does one prep for the NNAT? Play with LEGOs?

I don't consider legos to be prepping. I consider looking up & reviewing actual NNAT type questions with your kid to be prepping

HOW does one prep for the NNAT? Play with LEGOs?

My child had a 96 percentile and didn't get in. I didn't prep because we were told not to. Had I known that prepping is so widespread, of course i would have prepped. I feel like I have done a disservice to my child.

Anonymous wrote:

1. The process isn't arbitrary. SIX committee members review the file before it gets admitted and that doesn't even mean for those that have 3 yes'...in which case 12 will end up reviewing it. Except for the sixth person, ALL REVIEWS ARE BLIND (as in, they have no idea what the other committee members were recommending regarding admission.

One careless mistake doesn't make a "huge difference." Lots of careless mistakes can make a huge difference OR maybe the kid legitimately missed several questions and then had a careless mistake and that affected things. One mistake? GMAFB

You seem unreasonably worked up and defensive over this. Was your child one of the one who had low test scores and somehow got in, making you cling to some notion the AAP panel is perfect and recognized some special giftedness in your child or something?

1. Every process in which someone holistically reviews someone else's application or resume is imperfect. No one has come up with the "right" formula for college admissions or job applications, and even if the SAME person is reviewing things, that person's opinions can be swayed by how early in the process they're reviewing the file, how strong the previous file was, or nebulous things in the file that they "relate to" or don't (case in point: The AART told everyone not to say that their kids needed AAP because they were bored or school was too easy, since that apparently negatively disposes the panel members toward your child). Much like college admissions, the AAP panel is AT BEST spending 5 minutes reviewing each file, which means they're making a snap judgement. Why do you assume that the AAP system is flawless when nothing else can manage to be so? Even the AAP panel seems to understand that there's a reasonable error rate in the process. If not, they wouldn't allow for appeals or admit anyone on appeal.

2. My kid had a 130 SAS on one section with only 3 incorrect answers out of 52 problems (actually, 2 incorrect and 1 unanswered). One more correct answer would have led to a 135+ on that section. Since the composite was just a hair under the in-pool cutoff, that one question could have made a huge difference. Kids generally don't get rejected with 98th percentile CogAT and high GBRS, but apparently they can be with 97th percentile CogAT and the same GBRS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I agree with you. But at this point, prepping is pretty widespread, the county has no way to prevent it, and the payoff (getting into AAP) can be huge. If the county truly doesn't want people to prep, it needs to come up with a better system. I'll admit that I kind of feel like an idiot for not prepping my child, who ended up being rejected with a just under cutoff CogAT score and a 15 GBRS (admitted on appeal, though). One more correct answer would have led to an in-pool score and presumably not having to deal with the appeals process. I'm not saying it's right to prep, but I can sympathize with the people who choose to do so in light of the way the current process works.

Did you not prep your child because you had high morale, didn't have time/money or simply weren't aware of the prep school existence?

PP here, and I didn't prep because I thought that if my child belonged in the program, she should have been able to qualify on her own. I didn't realize beforehand how broken and arbitrary the whole admission process is, nor did I realize that her school strongly viewed her as "needing AAP" I also didn't realize how low the ceilings are on those tests, such that one careless mistake can make a huge difference in the result.

If anything, I wish I had worked with her more on general test taking strategies. Seven year olds still tend to make a lot of impulsive or careless mistakes, and you really can't get many wrong before you fall below the pool cutoff. My DD is decidedly above average in AAP, so my initial decision to trust the committee was clearly wrong.

1. The process isn't arbitrary. SIX committee members review the file before it gets admitted and that doesn't even mean for those that have 3 yes'...in which case 12 will end up reviewing it. Except for the sixth person, ALL REVIEWS ARE BLIND (as in, they have no idea what the other committee members were recommending regarding admission.

One careless mistake doesn't make a "huge difference." Lots of careless mistakes can make a huge difference OR maybe the kid legitimately missed several questions and then had a careless mistake and that affected things. One mistake? GMAFB

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm equating the two because the school equates the two. Don't be obtuse. Just because you didn't want to PAY for one type of prepping, but opted to instead pay for a cheaper type of prepping, doesn't change the fact that you prepped. Look, it isn't a big deal, but it is against what the county wants, against what the purpose of the testing is supposed to evidence, and if you nevertheless elect to prep., own it rather than hide behind the, "Well, I didn't prep as much as some people, so don't lump me with them!"

I agree with you. But at this point, prepping is pretty widespread, the county has no way to prevent it, and the payoff (getting into AAP) can be huge. If the county truly doesn't want people to prep, it needs to come up with a better system. I'll admit that I kind of feel like an idiot for not prepping my child, who ended up being rejected with a just under cutoff CogAT score and a 15 GBRS (admitted on appeal, though). One more correct answer would have led to an in-pool score and presumably not having to deal with the appeals process. I'm not saying it's right to prep, but I can sympathize with the people who choose to do so in light of the way the current process works.

+1. Same exact experience here. My kid got 95th/97th percentiles on the tests and was rejected the first time (he did get in on appeal with a strong WISC). I did not prep him and felt like a fool when I heard several of the neighborhood moms talking about how they'd sent their kids to classes and bought books tailored to the tests. I obviously can't guarantee that prepping would have increased my kid's scores to over the cutoff on the first round, but I seriously doubt it would have hurt.

Did you not prep your child because you had high morale, didn't have time/money or simply weren't aware of the prep school existence?

PP here. I didn't know prepping for these tests was a routine thing, and didn't know materials or classes existed. DH and I attended all the AAP meetings but nothing was said about prepping. I wasn't going to appeal the initial decision but was encouraged to do so when I posted my kid's scores here. I don't agree with prepping on general principle and don't plan to do it for my younger kids, although I'm kind of tempted to prep one and not the other and see what happens (they are identical twins who get very similar grades and are on the same reading level).

I love identical twin studies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm equating the two because the school equates the two. Don't be obtuse. Just because you didn't want to PAY for one type of prepping, but opted to instead pay for a cheaper type of prepping, doesn't change the fact that you prepped. Look, it isn't a big deal, but it is against what the county wants, against what the purpose of the testing is supposed to evidence, and if you nevertheless elect to prep., own it rather than hide behind the, "Well, I didn't prep as much as some people, so don't lump me with them!"

I agree with you. But at this point, prepping is pretty widespread, the county has no way to prevent it, and the payoff (getting into AAP) can be huge. If the county truly doesn't want people to prep, it needs to come up with a better system. I'll admit that I kind of feel like an idiot for not prepping my child, who ended up being rejected with a just under cutoff CogAT score and a 15 GBRS (admitted on appeal, though). One more correct answer would have led to an in-pool score and presumably not having to deal with the appeals process. I'm not saying it's right to prep, but I can sympathize with the people who choose to do so in light of the way the current process works.

+1. Same exact experience here. My kid got 95th/97th percentiles on the tests and was rejected the first time (he did get in on appeal with a strong WISC). I did not prep him and felt like a fool when I heard several of the neighborhood moms talking about how they'd sent their kids to classes and bought books tailored to the tests. I obviously can't guarantee that prepping would have increased my kid's scores to over the cutoff on the first round, but I seriously doubt it would have hurt.

Did you not prep your child because you had high morale, didn't have time/money or simply weren't aware of the prep school existence?

PP here. I didn't know prepping for these tests was a routine thing, and didn't know materials or classes existed. DH and I attended all the AAP meetings but nothing was said about prepping. I wasn't going to appeal the initial decision but was encouraged to do so when I posted my kid's scores here. I don't agree with prepping on general principle and don't plan to do it for my younger kids, although I'm kind of tempted to prep one and not the other and see what happens (they are identical twins who get very similar grades and are on the same reading level).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I agree with you. But at this point, prepping is pretty widespread, the county has no way to prevent it, and the payoff (getting into AAP) can be huge. If the county truly doesn't want people to prep, it needs to come up with a better system. I'll admit that I kind of feel like an idiot for not prepping my child, who ended up being rejected with a just under cutoff CogAT score and a 15 GBRS (admitted on appeal, though). One more correct answer would have led to an in-pool score and presumably not having to deal with the appeals process. I'm not saying it's right to prep, but I can sympathize with the people who choose to do so in light of the way the current process works.

Did you not prep your child because you had high morale, didn't have time/money or simply weren't aware of the prep school existence?

PP here, and I didn't prep because I thought that if my child belonged in the program, she should have been able to qualify on her own. I didn't realize beforehand how broken and arbitrary the whole admission process is, nor did I realize that her school strongly viewed her as "needing AAP" I also didn't realize how low the ceilings are on those tests, such that one careless mistake can make a huge difference in the result.

If anything, I wish I had worked with her more on general test taking strategies. Seven year olds still tend to make a lot of impulsive or careless mistakes, and you really can't get many wrong before you fall below the pool cutoff. My DD is decidedly above average in AAP, so my initial decision to trust the committee was clearly wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm equating the two because the school equates the two. Don't be obtuse. Just because you didn't want to PAY for one type of prepping, but opted to instead pay for a cheaper type of prepping, doesn't change the fact that you prepped. Look, it isn't a big deal, but it is against what the county wants, against what the purpose of the testing is supposed to evidence, and if you nevertheless elect to prep., own it rather than hide behind the, "Well, I didn't prep as much as some people, so don't lump me with them!"

I agree with you. But at this point, prepping is pretty widespread, the county has no way to prevent it, and the payoff (getting into AAP) can be huge. If the county truly doesn't want people to prep, it needs to come up with a better system. I'll admit that I kind of feel like an idiot for not prepping my child, who ended up being rejected with a just under cutoff CogAT score and a 15 GBRS (admitted on appeal, though). One more correct answer would have led to an in-pool score and presumably not having to deal with the appeals process. I'm not saying it's right to prep, but I can sympathize with the people who choose to do so in light of the way the current process works.

+1. Same exact experience here. My kid got 95th/97th percentiles on the tests and was rejected the first time (he did get in on appeal with a strong WISC). I did not prep him and felt like a fool when I heard several of the neighborhood moms talking about how they'd sent their kids to classes and bought books tailored to the tests. I obviously can't guarantee that prepping would have increased my kid's scores to over the cutoff on the first round, but I seriously doubt it would have hurt.

DP but some of what PP said resonated with me. I didn't prep because you're not "supposed" to and while my kid does do AAP now, it involved a school change and prior to his admission I wasn't adamant that he must get in - I had a more, we will see what happens attitude. I do think it's good for this one because of 2E / ADHD diagnosis but I still don't think it's end all be all for my younger ones.