The scores for many of the kids rejected this year seem really out of whack. They are really high. Not to stir the pot but the subjectiveness of the new admissions process has me suspicious. Are your kids Asian?

I'm really surprised at the focus on test scores in so many posts in this thread. The letter we received stated:

A selection committee has completed a careful review of your child along with all other candidates. The selection committee considered a number of factors when making its decision such as: parent recommendation, school recommendation, academic progress based on report cards from Grade 2 and the first semester of Grade 3, student performance on the [MAP-R], current school attended to determine the presence of an intellectual peer group of other highly able students, special services, and student performance on the CPHG assessment that was administered in January. . . . A combination of these factors considered together provided an overall profile of the students and their need for the CPHG; there is no single priority indicator.

That's seven different explicitly identified factors, only one of which is the test.

I get that it's easy to focus on the test score (and compare to others), but it's an incomplete comparison. And even if you could get camparative stats for quantifiable/identifiable criteria (MAP-R, report card grades), that still wouldn't give you the nonquantifiable comparisons (parent and teacher recommendations, the presence of an intellectual peer group of highly able students at the home school).

To 17:21, I really don't think even a breakdown of how your child did on particular sections of the test would be all that enlightening -- it was a shortened test, and on a different day or under different time pressures your kid might do much better or worse, who knows. I think there are more comprehensive tests you can do to figure out your kid's intellectual strengths like the WISC IV. But even without the tests, you can figure out what he's bored with and how you can supplement/enrich (or find a private school with a more challenging curriculum).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I have received both letters. I find it interesting that some are reporting percentages. On my child's score sheet, there was no percentage just the median score of those tested and his score. Are there different score sheets being sent home? We are cold spring.



Yes, I'm curious if the people reporting percentages are in the pilot programs (Drew, Fox Chapel, Stonegate, Matsunaga, and maybe Piney Branch) vs. the scores being reported at the traditional programs (like Cold Spring). My kid is in Drew but we haven't got the score letter yet.
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Another data point: my nephew was rejected from Drew. The letter said he was 94th percentile and median for pool was 67th percentile.

Our score letter only had a median score (113) of the applicant pool, with no percentages; it did not indicate that the "pool" was only for our area, which I now understand must be the case based on other posts. We're in the Pine Crest/Oakview area. Our DS was accepted with an SAS score of 121.

I really think it had more to do with teacher recommendations this year, and showing that the student is an "outlier," as defined in the orientation presentation back in the fall. My DS scored surprisingly low (based on the scores I'm seeing posted on this forum) on the SAS (maybe a bad test day?) at 121, but got accepted to Pine Crest/White Oak.

I think you have to make a request under FERPA. (Assuming that just calling and making the request to Choice/AEI doesn't work)

How do we get the underlying data? DS scored 125 SAS with MAPs in the 230. How can we get that underlying data to see strengths and weaknesses, better support child? Maybe public school isn't a good fit for my child, could think about paying for the rigor in private middle school, or would you stay public in the hopes of continuing to score high and graduate top of the class. I can only speak for my DS, but we just moved to moco this year, didn't do any prep class or even know what these various tests were until now

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else still waiting for the letter? wondering why it takes so long.

We received a call from Barnsley earlier this week but still no letter.

Anyone else still waiting for the letter? wondering why it takes so long.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cold Spring is surely the most competitive. While many kids with 140+ are put in the wait pool, I know an accepted kid with a SAS score of 160. Is that a perfect score?

That's the perfect score.

Wow. This is the kind of kid that the HGC program is truly meant for!

Well, if that were the case there would probably be one class of two to three kids each year. About 1 out of every 30,000 kids has an IQ that high.

It's not an IQ test. 160 is not the child's IQ score.

No, but I'll bet a score of 160 is about that uncommon. Perhaps not 1/30000 but very uncommon.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else hear that a third HGC classroom has been added at Barnsley? If so, I'm glad that MCPS is increasing the number of seats at existing centers too!

There already are (and have been for at least the past three years) three HGC classrooms in both 4th and 5th grades. There's also a separate program for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders who are GT/LD (aka 2E, both gifted and learning disabled, although the 2E program does admissions separately.

Did you hear that maybe they're adding a 4th classroom, or maybe you're thinking of a different Center school?

Anonymous wrote:Anyone accepted into cold spring with a score under 140?

I wonder what the acceptance scores are. Are mostly 150+?

Anonymous wrote:Anyone accepted into cold spring with a score under 140?

Yes. But MAP-R was exceedingly high.

Anyone accepted into cold spring with a score under 140?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS was accepted with a lower SAS than some who were waitlisted for the same school (according to this thread). I'm worried now that he won't succeed in the program. He does perform at a high level in school and MAP tests, so it's not a total fluke, but those higher sas numbers are worrying me

The same with us. And we are in Cold Spring cluster.

Those cold spring numbers are high. We are in the Barnsley cluster and they're clearly much lower (more focus schools?)

Anyone else hear that a third HGC classroom has been added at Barnsley? If so, I'm glad that MCPS is increasing the number of seats at existing centers too!