OP, this is 5:32 from the other day. Your friend might be referring to subscores of the CogAT, but your son took the WISC. If you look at the AAP appeals thread from last year, it seems the WISC is perhaps carries more weight than the CogAT or NNAT, presumably because the WISC is individually administered by a psychologist. I'd still emphasize the high subscores. Also 127 on the WISC seems to be within the range of WISC scores that were accepted last year (according to the appeals thread). Our DC had qualifying scores last year on each of the CogAT and NNAT. We also had a WISC done privately, which was 128. (As you mentioned, processing and working memory brought down the overall score.) DC had an adjustment period in AAP but is doing fine now with accommodations (for dysgraphia and anxiety). Your son obviously is very bright and may well thrive in the AAP environment. Twice exceptional doesn't seem to be al that unusual in AAP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:5:32, I just spoke to a friend today who said this year the AAP Committee is not looking closely at subscores as they did last year. This year they are strictly weeding out people who don't make the cut off of 132.

Have you heard this? Has anyone else heard this?

Heard the exact opposite.

meaning you heard that they will be looking specifically at the subscores?

I wouldn't take the word of other moms. Only the AART or a committee member knows what they're truly looking for.

Anonymous wrote:5:32, I just spoke to a friend today who said this year the AAP Committee is not looking closely at subscores as they did last year. This year they are strictly weeding out people who don't make the cut off of 132.

Have you heard this? Has anyone else heard this?

Heard the exact opposite.

PP: I do not believe this. My guess is it will be like previous years, with either a slightly higher requirement on the test scores, or down weighting the scores relative to the GBRS. No one on the committee would speak to what is the approach, and your "friend" sounds like it might be spreading FUD

5:32, I just spoke to a friend today who said this year the AAP Committee is not looking closely at subscores as they did last year. This year they are strictly weeding out people who don't make the cut off of 132.

Have you heard this? Has anyone else heard this?

If he is not found eligible, there is always next year. If he has a great year in the regular classroom in 3rd, and you feel he is adequately challenged, then you can let him be. If you feel he really needs the extra challenge, you can always parent refer. I did that with my son (also has ADHD-combined, and a 504), and we got in on the first round in grade 3, and he started this year in 4th. I was actually glad to have the extra year, and another (experienced) teacher who felt it was the right fit for him.

Anonymous wrote:5:32, thank you for your support and insight. It's probably too late for me to write a parent letter to the committee but I appreciated your feedback very much! It helps to decipher the results of his test.

NP here: I suggest you request a meeting with the AART at your son's school as to how to best proceed. You may be able to add additional information on appeal or you may be able to have the school assist in an assessment based on the discrepancy of his scores (particularly processing speed and working memory), which is a completely separate issue from the AAP program.

OP here: sorry. I'm a tired mom and sometimes I don't overlook what and why certain pieces of information are relevant.

Well, he sat well enough for the WISC and for the makeup Cogat too. But since he has a Section 504 right now, he either gets small group testing or individual testing if necessary. He's able to take most of his tests (math, reading, spelling, etc..) in a large classroom. But for standardized or long tests, we requested he be pulled out and allowed to take such tests in a quieter room.

I don't want my child in AAP if it truly will be very hard for him to succeed even with support. I don't what him to feel demoralized after failure in such a program.

5:32, thank you for your support and insight. It's probably too late for me to write a parent letter to the committee but I appreciated your feedback very much! It helps to decipher the results of his test.

"Not sitting" for the test is very different than "sick for the test".

OP, your original post made it sound like your kid couldn't even sit still to take the test. Then you mentioned ADHD. I bet if you had worded the original post differently, you would have received very different responses.

Even the tactful sympathetic posters who read "Do I have any recourse to get my ADHD kid who can't sit still to take the group test and has scores well below the cut off into AAP" are going to have a negative reaction. Your later posts made so much more sense, where the first one made you seem like one of those nutty AAP at all costs moms. Just an observation.

OP, it's 15:21 again. Dysgraphia wouldn't likely be relevant in your DS's case, since the symptoms are labored handwriting and usually poor spelling and mechanics.

You might want to look online for what types of concepts picture concepts and similarities cover, since those were your DS's lower scores. Still, two ceiling subscores of 19 in core areas of comprehension and block design is awesome! You could emphasize that in your parent letter to the committee.

Don't listen to the naysayers who think that 127 composite is low. You have to look at the entire picture to see what's going on. I bet your DS's ceiling subscores cores are much higher than subscores of many other children in AAP. These scores show that your child is gifted, and together with the teacher observations, show that he can understand complex concepts at an advanced level. If the issue of the lower subscores comes up, that can start a dialog regarding accommodations, but I'd think the committee would agree that a child with ceiling subscores in both verbal and non-verbal areas belongs in AAP.

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is 15:21 again. Did your evaluator give you any insight into the subscores? 19 on block design is the ceiling - that is certainly gifted. But 7 on picture concepts is low average and dragged down the overall perceptual score. What did your evaluator say about the spread? Do they think this is because of the processing and attention issues, or could there be some other issue? Was any other educational testing done or recommended? Does your DS do alright in all core areas - reading, writing, spelling and math? (Our DS had similar overall WISC scores - although not the large spread - and presents with slow writing/processing. He was recently diagnosed with dysgraphia.)

OP again: no, nobody really told us anything and we were left trying to decipher it on our own. The school offered a makeup cogat (he was ill and didn't take it the first time it was offered). But no results in yet on that makeup cogat. I don't know what picture concepts are. If I knew what it was I could tell you why he had such difficulty with it. The only thing I've been told by his teacher is that he reads at the highest level possible based on their DRA scale. He did get the highest number of correctly spelled words in the first grade on their Great American Spell Check contest. He is also in the highest level math class. Teacher describes remarkable comprehension also. I don't know why there's such a large spread in his scores. As far as we know he has ADHD and also some sensory issues. What is dysgraphia btw?

OP, this is 15:21 again. Did your evaluator give you any insight into the subscores? 19 on block design is the ceiling - that is certainly gifted. But 7 on picture concepts is low average and dragged down the overall perceptual score. What did your evaluator say about the spread? Do they think this is because of the processing and attention issues, or could there be some other issue? Was any other educational testing done or recommended? Does your DS do alright in all core areas - reading, writing, spelling and math? (Our DS had similar overall WISC scores - although not the large spread - and presents with slow writing/processing. He was recently diagnosed with dysgraphia.)

OP - why didn't your DC take the cogat? how about the nnat? are there any circumstances there that could effect his file?

Anonymous wrote:OP, what were your DS's scores on the verbal and perceptual sections of the WISC? I would take the position that these scores (as opposed to the processing score) show his true abilities. A 30 point difference in processing speed as compared to his verbal and/or perceptual score seems to point to the fact that he has a learning disability that needs to be accommodated. If as you said he has an ADHD diagnosis, then that can help to you and the school to determine and and put in place the appropriate accommodations. Those accommodations will level the playing field and allow your DS to show what he knows in the classroom and perform well along side his peers.

OP here: Had to go back and check but VC is 134 (Similarities is 12, Vocabulary is 16, and Comprehension is 19). Perceptual reasoning was 124 (Block Design was 19, Picture Concepts is 7, Matrix Reasoning is 15). There is indeed more than a 30 point difference between processing speed and VC.

OP, what were your DS's scores on the verbal and perceptual sections of the WISC? I would take the position that these scores (as opposed to the processing score) show his true abilities. A 30 point difference in processing speed as compared to his verbal and/or perceptual score seems to point to the fact that he has a learning disability that needs to be accommodated. If as you said he has an ADHD diagnosis, then that can help to you and the school to determine and and put in place the appropriate accommodations. Those accommodations will level the playing field and allow your DS to show what he knows in the classroom and perform well along side his peers.