My daughter got a great NNAT score (142, 99%) but I don't think she is doing spectacularly at school. In her second quarter report card, she had a few O's (science is one of them) and mostly Gs, but she also had a couple of Ss. Any ideas on whether this is considered good performance or not?

She has always been very smart (quick to grasp new concepts) and we expected a strong NNAT score. But, she is a September kid (the youngest in her class) so she lacks focus. Do you think that strong test scores and a combination of Os and Gs in her final grades (1st grade) should get her to AP?

Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest to have a conference with the teacher. Find out when his last dra test was and how he scored. Do you have him read aloud to you to see that he sounds out the words correctly. Maybe his teacher is a really hard grader?
I also go in to help with reading groups at times and it is interesting how even the best readers in the class don't have the fluency you would expect. It is eye opening to go in to the class to see how your kid is performing.

Reading test last year was 192 out of 193 - is that good or everybody gets all 193?

193 is the max for the DRA word analysis test, and it is not an uncommon score for kids in K who can read well already.
Your son should have had a DRA2 test in the fall of 1st grade. The teacher should be able to provide you with the result. This number will likely be somewhere between 10 and 28. They won't test a first grader past 28 regardless of ability.

You should ask for his 1st grade dra level. Benchmark at end of the year for 1st is 16 so if you are 16 or more now I thought you were supposed to get a g or o.

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest to have a conference with the teacher. Find out when his last dra test was and how he scored. Do you have him read aloud to you to see that he sounds out the words correctly. Maybe his teacher is a really hard grader?
I also go in to help with reading groups at times and it is interesting how even the best readers in the class don't have the fluency you would expect. It is eye opening to go in to the class to see how your kid is performing.

Reading test last year was 192 out of 193 - is that good or everybody gets all 193?

I would suggest to have a conference with the teacher. Find out when his last dra test was and how he scored. Do you have him read aloud to you to see that he sounds out the words correctly. Maybe his teacher is a really hard grader?
I also go in to help with reading groups at times and it is interesting how even the best readers in the class don't have the fluency you would expect. It is eye opening to go in to the class to see how your kid is performing.

Sorry, I meant well - rounded academically. I know some older kids who are off the charts in math, etc but didn't get in and get pull -outs instead.

But what if the child scores 99% on those tests, but otherwise the report card has "G"s and "S"s?

Mine got an "S"s even in math, while my honest feeling is that he is well ahead of what they are learning in 1st grade. On reading he is also an "S", but he easily reads 100 pages a day, is totally crazy about books, takes them everywhere all the time, started to read National Geographic for kids, books on experiments and physics, etc. And he totally gets what he reads. I don't know what it will take to get him something better than an "S"! It's frustrating. I am ready to accept that he is not gifted, if that's true, but I just don't understand how he can do better in school.
I noticed before that he suddenly resolves a problem way beyond my expectations, but totally fails on something simple. I am just trying to figure out how to help him.

We're 139 as well, but all g's and o's. We'll see how things go... My daughter is quiet in school, a bit of an introvert and also a bit of a perfectionist. Not sure if she'll stand out as her class has lots of really outspoken, bright kids. But my Dd is very much a well- rounded student, which is what I hear the committee is looking for.

I don't think they care about well-roundedness in the traditional sense all that much, frankly. It's not like a college admissions process. They are looking for kids who exhibit a level of academic giftedness such that their needs are not going to be met in the base school program. So if, by well-roundedness you mean having lots of outside interests, I believe those are relevant only to the extent they demonstrate the characteristics of a gifted child, e.g., an intense, sustained interest in a particular subject & wanting to learn everything possible about it, or other things of that nature. But the fact that a child plays soccer & basketball & tennis and is on swim team and plays the clarinet and is a girl scout really has nothing to do with the eligibility determinations. (Let's face it, every kid around here is signed up for a zillion activities.) And in fact, they changed the name of the program from Gifted & Talented to AAP because people thought that if their kids were gifted at baseball or piano or whatever, they should be in the program. So the change reflects that it's advanced academics and that's the type of giftedness they're looking for.

Now, if I totally misunderstood you and by "well-rounded student" you meant she does well across all subjects and all aspects of school, then yes, that's very helpful to her chances.

Having rambled on about all of that, it sounds to me like your DD is pretty likely to get in, based on the high NNAT and report card. I wouldn't worry about for now it if I were you - I think you are in good shape! (And I am envious of that score - I honestly don't believe my 96th percentile kid belongs in the base program, but because we're below the cutoff, I'm already anxious about the screening process next year!)

Wea are 99%!

Nobody. Everyone in Fairfax County is in the top 1%. Its the rest of the country which fills up the other 99%.

Didn't you know?

WTF? Who didn't get 99%?

What school your dd goes to?

We're 139 as well, but all g's and o's. We'll see how things go... My daughter is quiet in school, a bit of an introvert and also a bit of a perfectionist. Not sure if she'll stand out as her class has lots of really outspoken, bright kids. But my Dd is very much a well- rounded student, which is what I hear the committee is looking for.

Does anyone else has this combination - 99 percentile on tests, but report card is so-so?

Got ours yesterday. Wolftrap ES. 139/99%.
Didn't prep him at all.
Didn't expect much, the report card is mostly "S"s and "G"s. Scratching my head now.