Help with GT program (Fairfax: elementary school, college, live) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

2GirlzMom · 06-26-2009, 12:18 PM

Hello,

I am very happy to have chanced on this website to post my queries and concerns. My 2nd grader was screened for CogAT, NNAT and didnt quite make the pool. I think as a mother I didnt do enough to prep her for these tests, if I did she probably would have had a better chance to make it.
The more I think about it, the more guilty I feel, that I didnt do enough. She will be in 3rd grade next year and I would like to know what I can do to get her to qualify for GT school.
Will they have these tests again in 3rd grade? If not are there other options.
Please help.

tgbwc · 06-26-2009, 12:48 PM

I don't think you can really prep a 2nd grader for the CogAT and Naglieri tests. Students are rescreened in 3rd, but they don't retake the tests. Other variables are considered for GT placement such as teacher rating scales and teacher input. Parents can also make referrals and the teachers will base much of their decision upon what is seen in the classroom. In my experience a GT student is not coached to do well on tests. Honestly, if you need to prep and coach the child, he/she is probably not GT eligible. Don't feel guilty, you can't really do anything to "get her to qualify" in my opinion. Does she work hard and do her best? It is not a bad thing to not be in the GT program.

2GirlzMom · 06-26-2009, 01:01 PM

Thank you for your response. Yes, she does do well at school, interested in school work, reading and math. As you suggested, she will probably make it on her own with the teacher input etc. in future grades. Lets see...

oneasterisk · 06-26-2009, 01:11 PM

I never knew how I got into the gifted program as a kid. I didn't get into it until 5th grade and I didn't really understand what the process was. All of a sudden I was told to get on a bus and I was taken to a different school for a few hours every week. The subjects they taught were much more fun than what I was doing previously. I didn't realize they started testing in the 3rd grade. I may have got into the program earlier, but I didn't get into the country until the 3rd grade. Your child may still get in so don't fret.

choff5 · 06-26-2009, 03:37 PM

tgbwc is right, there's more to the screening process than just the two tests in 2nd grade. Plus, there is also GT programs in all schools, as well as differentiated learning, so ask about that at your base school and talk to the GT resource teacher there. You can request for a retake on the testing but they only redo one of the two, and that's almost always the CogAT because it gives much more detailed information. BUT it can only be redone once in elementary school, so think about if or when you would want that done. There is also private testing, but again, check with the GT teacher and read up on it on the county website as there are qualifiers on who can/can't do it and/or submit it. I had one in and one not in the GT center years ago and have seen that it really depends on the student. I also know students who are qualified but the families chose to stay at their base school. The bottom line is she being challenged, and is happy, where ever she is.

Denton56 · 06-26-2009, 10:37 PM

You can't prep a second grader for the Cogat or the Naglieri. I've been involved in GT education in Fairfax for 20 years and have never heard of any child who was prepped for those tests. I can't even imagine how you would even try to do that. It's like prepping your child for an IQ test, it's just not possible. So stop feeling guilty. You couldn't have prepped her even if you wanted to.

If you think your child belongs in a GT program, you can refer her yourself. You can also have her tested privately. To find out how to refer your child for GT services, go here: FCAG : Fairfax County Association of the Gifted Those folks know everything about GT programs.

live_strong28 · 06-26-2009, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denton56

You can't prep a second grader for the Cogat or the Naglieri. I've been involved in GT education in Fairfax for 20 years and have never heard of any child who was prepped for those tests. I can't even imagine how you would even try to do that. It's like prepping your child for an IQ test, it's just not possible. So stop feeling guilty. You couldn't have prepped her even if you wanted to.

If you think your child belongs in a GT program, you can refer her yourself. You can also have her tested privately. To find out how to refer your child for GT services, go here: FCAG : Fairfax County Association of the Gifted Those folks know everything about GT programs.

Aren't there study aids that simulate the Cogat or Naglieri?

All in all, kids should get into GT programs if they qualify by themselves, not because of extensive tutoring or prepping. But of course, this goes totally against some asian groups that send their kids over to the US just to enroll in the GT programs in NoVA.

mississippimagnolia · 06-28-2009, 07:20 AM

We have five children. I think all five are what most people would consider "bright" kids. Or at least that's what we've been told by teachers. Our oldest is in college and our youngest is in the first grade.

Remember that all five kids have had similar upbringings. Only one of our five is "gifted". She was flagged as highly "gifted" (I hate that term...all kids are gifted in some way) in the second grade. She has been involved in different programs through the years. We were encouraged to allow her to skip high school and go directly to college when she was in the eighth grade. We didn't do that, opting instead to allow her to attend college during the summers if she chose to do so.

I've been dealing with an "academically gifted" child for years. She has taken so many assessments, college assessments, evaluations, AP exams.....I've lost count. I've never prepped her for anything. First, why add that kind of stress to your child's life? If she needs the extra attention that these kids need, the teacher's will (hopefully) pick up on that and have her reevaluated at some point. Also, I'm convinced that even if every teacher my daughter has had had missed the opportunity to have her tested, and she had never been in the gifted programs, she still would have found ways to supplement her own learning. That's what these kids tend to do. They seek out opportunities to learn. Even when they aren't in a special program, they thrive because they work on their own or they become leaders in their classes.

I wouldn't push this. I would let it work itself out. If she isn't in the gifted programs now, she'll have other opportunities. In middle and high school, there are honors, AP and IB courses. There are college programs during the summer. If you look, you'll find tons of ways to supplement her education if you feel she isn't getting enough at school.

I wouldn't push this. Trying to coach your daughter will simply cause both of you way too much stress.

Denton56 · 06-28-2009, 08:23 PM

>>>Aren't there study aids that simulate the Cogat or Naglieri?<<<

Nope. Not that I know of. They aren't like the SAT or MCAT's or the GRE. They are tests designed for little kids!

I have to ask, 2GirlzMom, was this entire thread facetious? Were you razing on overly involved parents? Parents who really care about their children's education?

Denton56 · 06-28-2009, 08:26 PM

>>>some asian groups that send their kids over to the US just to enroll in the GT programs in NoVA. <<<

Really? I've never met kids in NOVA, Asian or otherwise, who lived here without their parents so that they could get into our GT programs. Where might these children be? Who do they live with? Rich relatives? Why would their relatives agree to that? And where are their parents? Is this similar to the rich folks in England who send their kids to boarding schools? Or the rich liberals in the US who send their kids to New Mexico and Wales for the IB boarding schools?