Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Small schools like Vienna elementary have around 50 kids in second, so that would be top 5. Its not per class but per grade. I also think there can be multiple kids with the same score making the top 10% greater than actually 10% of the class.

Then there are large schools that have 200+ kids making the pool larger.

It still speaks to how skewed the FFX area is, if the majority of the top 10 percent of a grade are actually falling within top 2-3 percent or higher, nationally, such that a school cutoff just to be "in pool" is above the 97th (130) or 98th (133-134).

The CogAT national percentiles are based on kids who didn't prep. FCPS isn't that much more gifted than anywhere else. A lot of FCPS people prep, which boosts the scores enough to skew them. This actually happens in every major city with this type of gifted program. Suddenly, an overabundance of kids are in the national top 2% on whatever easily prepped standardized test is being used.

DC is a major metropolitan area and families move to Nova for their schools. We live in a high SES area and our school is filled with well educated parents from Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, UVA, etc. The offspring of these engineers, lawyers and doctors will also test well like their parents. MCPS, FCPS, LCPS, Arlington all have concentrations of well educated people. These are not the same as any normal area.

I see where you’re going with this… but it makes it seem like testing well is genetic. Just gives an icky feeling.

Smart parents have smart kids. It is genetic.

Yeah. That’s the ick.

But it's science. Just like children get their eye and hair color from their parents.

Mmm… Hair and eye color can be pinned down to specific genes - as in scientists can point to specific places on the chromosomes that control those traits. Height, too - though even that is a combination of several different things.

There are plenty of highly educated and achieving parents whose children get dealt the harder hand of a learning deficit. Or parents who don’t recognize the gifts of their high potential child.

The ick comes from the feeling of birthright parents have when it comes to their kids’ ability. Wanting everything and believing the best in your kid - 1,000%. But when you present a zip code and expect that that zip code doesn’t follow the same standard deviation rules as your zip code because that zip code is less educated is flawed. That’s all.

We moved from a high farms area to one of the wealthiest areas and the student population could not be any more different. The old school had a few gifted kids but the peer group just wasn’t there. One of the kids ran circles around my kid at age 5-6. He supposedly doesn’t test well despite seeming really bright. Home was a mess. Parents divorced. He did not have a stable home, always getting into fights, not listening to teachers, into girls at a young age. I’m sure if his parents did puzzles, took him to the library and he tried harder in school, he could have tested better and gotten into AAP. That same kid in our new neighborhood would likely be playing chess, playing lacrosse, skiing, getting math enrichment, playing piano and saxophone, debate and excelling. The kid who was so athletic and so smart who taught himself to read at age 4 is such a waste. I know his mom is suffering from mental illness and verge of homelessness.

The kid who lives in McLean, Oakton or Vienna whose two stable well educated parents enrich them by taking them to museums, buys all sorts of educational puzzles and toys, does not allow screen time or phones and buys a cogat book and does a few practice tests is going to do better. The bar at that school will be higher. The scores will be higher.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Small schools like Vienna elementary have around 50 kids in second, so that would be top 5. Its not per class but per grade. I also think there can be multiple kids with the same score making the top 10% greater than actually 10% of the class.

Then there are large schools that have 200+ kids making the pool larger.

It still speaks to how skewed the FFX area is, if the majority of the top 10 percent of a grade are actually falling within top 2-3 percent or higher, nationally, such that a school cutoff just to be "in pool" is above the 97th (130) or 98th (133-134).

The CogAT national percentiles are based on kids who didn't prep. FCPS isn't that much more gifted than anywhere else. A lot of FCPS people prep, which boosts the scores enough to skew them. This actually happens in every major city with this type of gifted program. Suddenly, an overabundance of kids are in the national top 2% on whatever easily prepped standardized test is being used.

DC is a major metropolitan area and families move to Nova for their schools. We live in a high SES area and our school is filled with well educated parents from Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, UVA, etc. The offspring of these engineers, lawyers and doctors will also test well like their parents. MCPS, FCPS, LCPS, Arlington all have concentrations of well educated people. These are not the same as any normal area.

I see where you’re going with this… but it makes it seem like testing well is genetic. Just gives an icky feeling.

Smart parents have smart kids. It is genetic.

Yeah. That’s the ick.

But it's science. Just like children get their eye and hair color from their parents.

Mmm… Hair and eye color can be pinned down to specific genes - as in scientists can point to specific places on the chromosomes that control those traits. Height, too - though even that is a combination of several different things.

There are plenty of highly educated and achieving parents whose children get dealt the harder hand of a learning deficit. Or parents who don’t recognize the gifts of their high potential child.

The ick comes from the feeling of birthright parents have when it comes to their kids’ ability. Wanting everything and believing the best in your kid - 1,000%. But when you present a zip code and expect that that zip code doesn’t follow the same standard deviation rules as your zip code because that zip code is less educated is flawed. That’s all.

A General Ability Index (GAI) score is a composite score that estimates a person's intellectual ability while de-emphasizing the role of working memory and processing speed. It may appear on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) or the WPPSI-IV Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scale of Intelligence.

Anonymous wrote:Iready and Vallss scores are in the 98/99th % + GAI of 130. We parent referred and I’m hoping kiddo gets in eventually.🤞

what is gai?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Small schools like Vienna elementary have around 50 kids in second, so that would be top 5. Its not per class but per grade. I also think there can be multiple kids with the same score making the top 10% greater than actually 10% of the class.

Then there are large schools that have 200+ kids making the pool larger.

It still speaks to how skewed the FFX area is, if the majority of the top 10 percent of a grade are actually falling within top 2-3 percent or higher, nationally, such that a school cutoff just to be "in pool" is above the 97th (130) or 98th (133-134).

The CogAT national percentiles are based on kids who didn't prep. FCPS isn't that much more gifted than anywhere else. A lot of FCPS people prep, which boosts the scores enough to skew them. This actually happens in every major city with this type of gifted program. Suddenly, an overabundance of kids are in the national top 2% on whatever easily prepped standardized test is being used.

DC is a major metropolitan area and families move to Nova for their schools. We live in a high SES area and our school is filled with well educated parents from Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, UVA, etc. The offspring of these engineers, lawyers and doctors will also test well like their parents. MCPS, FCPS, LCPS, Arlington all have concentrations of well educated people. These are not the same as any normal area.

I see where you’re going with this… but it makes it seem like testing well is genetic. Just gives an icky feeling.

Smart parents have smart kids. It is genetic.

Yeah. That’s the ick.

But it's science. Just like children get their eye and hair color from their parents.

Iready and Vallss scores are in the 98/99th % + GAI of 130. We parent referred and I’m hoping kiddo gets in eventually.🤞

Anonymous wrote:Cogat: 136
NNAT: 133
Pyramid: Langley
In Pool: No

You must have been just off.

Cogat: 135
NNAT: 140
Langley
In

Cogat: 136
NNAT: 133
Pyramid: Langley
In Pool: No

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Small schools like Vienna elementary have around 50 kids in second, so that would be top 5. Its not per class but per grade. I also think there can be multiple kids with the same score making the top 10% greater than actually 10% of the class.

Then there are large schools that have 200+ kids making the pool larger.

It still speaks to how skewed the FFX area is, if the majority of the top 10 percent of a grade are actually falling within top 2-3 percent or higher, nationally, such that a school cutoff just to be "in pool" is above the 97th (130) or 98th (133-134).

The CogAT national percentiles are based on kids who didn't prep. FCPS isn't that much more gifted than anywhere else. A lot of FCPS people prep, which boosts the scores enough to skew them. This actually happens in every major city with this type of gifted program. Suddenly, an overabundance of kids are in the national top 2% on whatever easily prepped standardized test is being used.

DC is a major metropolitan area and families move to Nova for their schools. We live in a high SES area and our school is filled with well educated parents from Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, UVA, etc. The offspring of these engineers, lawyers and doctors will also test well like their parents. MCPS, FCPS, LCPS, Arlington all have concentrations of well educated people. These are not the same as any normal area.

I see where you’re going with this… but it makes it seem like testing well is genetic. Just gives an icky feeling.

Smart parents have smart kids. It is genetic.

gro

Yeah. That’s the ick.

It's not ick. Everyone is born with different talents. Is it "ick" when very attractive parents have equally beautiful children? Or when other talents like amazing vocal quality run in families? In my view, there is nothing wrong with smart kids being nurtured to develop and grow their innate intelligence. All kids should be encouraged to develop their talents, whatever they are. That doesn't mean they are all the same or should endeavor to be. The FCPS quest for equity is a race to the bottom, but that's a different issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Small schools like Vienna elementary have around 50 kids in second, so that would be top 5. Its not per class but per grade. I also think there can be multiple kids with the same score making the top 10% greater than actually 10% of the class.

Then there are large schools that have 200+ kids making the pool larger.

It still speaks to how skewed the FFX area is, if the majority of the top 10 percent of a grade are actually falling within top 2-3 percent or higher, nationally, such that a school cutoff just to be "in pool" is above the 97th (130) or 98th (133-134).

The CogAT national percentiles are based on kids who didn't prep. FCPS isn't that much more gifted than anywhere else. A lot of FCPS people prep, which boosts the scores enough to skew them. This actually happens in every major city with this type of gifted program. Suddenly, an overabundance of kids are in the national top 2% on whatever easily prepped standardized test is being used.

DC is a major metropolitan area and families move to Nova for their schools. We live in a high SES area and our school is filled with well educated parents from Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, UVA, etc. The offspring of these engineers, lawyers and doctors will also test well like their parents. MCPS, FCPS, LCPS, Arlington all have concentrations of well educated people. These are not the same as any normal area.

I see where you’re going with this… but it makes it seem like testing well is genetic. Just gives an icky feeling.

Smart parents have smart kids. It is genetic.

Yeah. That’s the ick.

I have always been a good test taker as is my husband. My kids all test well.

I am not an athlete. DH was an ok HS athlete.

When I take my kid to a basketball game and I see some kids and their 6’6” dads who look like professional athletes, I can see where the big kids get there genes. My kid unfortunately has two average height parents and will likely never get past 5’10”.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Small schools like Vienna elementary have around 50 kids in second, so that would be top 5. Its not per class but per grade. I also think there can be multiple kids with the same score making the top 10% greater than actually 10% of the class.

Then there are large schools that have 200+ kids making the pool larger.

It still speaks to how skewed the FFX area is, if the majority of the top 10 percent of a grade are actually falling within top 2-3 percent or higher, nationally, such that a school cutoff just to be "in pool" is above the 97th (130) or 98th (133-134).

The CogAT national percentiles are based on kids who didn't prep. FCPS isn't that much more gifted than anywhere else. A lot of FCPS people prep, which boosts the scores enough to skew them. This actually happens in every major city with this type of gifted program. Suddenly, an overabundance of kids are in the national top 2% on whatever easily prepped standardized test is being used.

DC is a major metropolitan area and families move to Nova for their schools. We live in a high SES area and our school is filled with well educated parents from Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, UVA, etc. The offspring of these engineers, lawyers and doctors will also test well like their parents. MCPS, FCPS, LCPS, Arlington all have concentrations of well educated people. These are not the same as any normal area.

I see where you’re going with this… but it makes it seem like testing well is genetic. Just gives an icky feeling.

Smart parents have smart kids. It is genetic.

Yeah. That’s the ick.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Small schools like Vienna elementary have around 50 kids in second, so that would be top 5. Its not per class but per grade. I also think there can be multiple kids with the same score making the top 10% greater than actually 10% of the class.

Then there are large schools that have 200+ kids making the pool larger.

It still speaks to how skewed the FFX area is, if the majority of the top 10 percent of a grade are actually falling within top 2-3 percent or higher, nationally, such that a school cutoff just to be "in pool" is above the 97th (130) or 98th (133-134).

The CogAT national percentiles are based on kids who didn't prep. FCPS isn't that much more gifted than anywhere else. A lot of FCPS people prep, which boosts the scores enough to skew them. This actually happens in every major city with this type of gifted program. Suddenly, an overabundance of kids are in the national top 2% on whatever easily prepped standardized test is being used.

DC is a major metropolitan area and families move to Nova for their schools. We live in a high SES area and our school is filled with well educated parents from Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, UVA, etc. The offspring of these engineers, lawyers and doctors will also test well like their parents. MCPS, FCPS, LCPS, Arlington all have concentrations of well educated people. These are not the same as any normal area.

I see where you’re going with this… but it makes it seem like testing well is genetic. Just gives an icky feeling.

Smart parents have smart kids. It is genetic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Small schools like Vienna elementary have around 50 kids in second, so that would be top 5. Its not per class but per grade. I also think there can be multiple kids with the same score making the top 10% greater than actually 10% of the class.

Then there are large schools that have 200+ kids making the pool larger.

It still speaks to how skewed the FFX area is, if the majority of the top 10 percent of a grade are actually falling within top 2-3 percent or higher, nationally, such that a school cutoff just to be "in pool" is above the 97th (130) or 98th (133-134).

The CogAT national percentiles are based on kids who didn't prep. FCPS isn't that much more gifted than anywhere else. A lot of FCPS people prep, which boosts the scores enough to skew them. This actually happens in every major city with this type of gifted program. Suddenly, an overabundance of kids are in the national top 2% on whatever easily prepped standardized test is being used.

DC is a major metropolitan area and families move to Nova for their schools. We live in a high SES area and our school is filled with well educated parents from Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, UVA, etc. The offspring of these engineers, lawyers and doctors will also test well like their parents. MCPS, FCPS, LCPS, Arlington all have concentrations of well educated people. These are not the same as any normal area.

I see where you’re going with this… but it makes it seem like testing well is genetic. Just gives an icky feeling.

Cogat: 127
NNAT: 151
Pyramid: Madison
In Pool: yes

Anonymous wrote:I'm just speculating, but I would posit that the scores aren't averaged and that the higher of the two is used for in pool calculation.

For example, the 2nd poster on this thread posted:
Cogat: 139
NNAT: 118
Pyramid: Falls Church
In Pool (yes/no): Yes

The average of the two would give 128.5 and that wouldn't seem high enough to be in pool. Again, I'm just speculating as I don't know what the local school norms are.

The FCPS description makes it sound like some combination of the two. Falls Church HS (& its feeders) might have a lower cutoff than Marshall's.