Posts filed under ‘Gifted / Classical Testing’
Trib article on Kindergarten Test prep
Interesting article today in the Trib about parents who prep their kids for CPS testing for Kindergarten.
Some interesting points that may or may not have been covered in previous articles in on the topic:
“It’s just yet another example that the country has gone test crazy,” said Robert Schaeffer, public education director for FairTest, a national nonprofit that advocates for other methods of assessing young children. “This sort of insanity testing produces test coaching for little kids and gaming of the system by parents and others to figure out what’s on the test and get their kid a leg up. We’re not letting kids be kids, and we’re making them into little Einsteins.”
As kindergarten is an entry year for most of those programs, many parents are hiring private tutors, researching tests used in other large urban school systems, finding age-appropriate questions online and doing whatever else it takes to get their kids on the right track early.
The article mentions a mom who hired a former Montessori teacher to help prep her child. It notes that there are no formal test prep companies for young kids in the city but there are some specific resources mentioned in the article:
-Testingmom.com (been meaning to mention this site lately)
-Tutor Lemi Erinkitola started a tutoring company for kids as young as 3, preparing children, mostly on the South Side
As usual, one of the key questions is whether a school district should be revealing the test that’s used (like NYC does) or whether the shroud of secrecy should continue in Chicago. And of course, whether it makes sense/is fair to prep kids.
Now interestingly, the Trib has published some sample questions (provided by testingmom.com – I think I’m seeing how this article originated now…) I assume these are highly useful if you live in NYC but probably can’t hurt for Chicago parents to take a peek to get an idea of what type of questions *might* be on the test.
And finally, a nice article on the difference between Classical and Gifted testing and some nice tips on how parents can work some of the “practice questions” into their kids’ day without blatantly “cramming.”
Test Prep for 4 year olds?
I’ve seen a couple people asking whether it is worth buying some test prep materials for kids entering K and taking the gifted/classical test.
For the gifted test, the questions are more logical in nature: analogies, patterns, logic, which item doesn’t belong, etc.
The classical test measures pre-reading and pre-math skills (not sure how they test pre-reading if a child can’t actually read, but it happens!)
For the classical component, I would say that you can do that yourself with having kids practice letter sounds and basic number concepts. I had some of those colorful magnetical letters and a little board and I’d try to trick my son into playing some fun games as I made simple words like BOO and change it to POO to see if he could tell that it said. Hilarious! He barely realized he was reading. I’d make up little funny stories to go with the changing words. For “math” you’re probably all doing it anyhow – taking 2 action figured and another 2 and making the team of 4. Look, 4! Woo!
The gifted stuff is a little hard to “practice” on a daily basis as we don’t typically make simple analogies throughout the day. I do think some simple practice could make sense here just to get them used to the idea of these questions.
To me, the concept of test prep is making them feel comfortable with what is going to happen in the room, rather than drilling on stuff. So being able to follow directions, circle things on a piece of paper (i.e. which doesn’t belong, which comes next, etc) probably helps a little bit and may relieve some confusion in the room. Heck, they may not even use pencils for the K testing. It probably would help to also practice having them point to the right answer from a group of 4 possible answers.
In NYC, they all know that the test used is the OLSAT but we don’t know which test is used here. So to me, it could be risky trying to practice a lot of one type of question, only for your child to get in the room and it’s all different.
If you order any workbooks, read the description carefully to see what’s inside and if there’s a variety of questions (or if not, is it all the type that you want?) Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately) most of the books avaible are just general practice books, not true test-prep like you can do for the SAT’s or other standardized tests. One thing I do like about the general prep books is that you can see what areas your child can answer questions and those that stump them… and hopefully make up some games, questions, drawing, quizzes of your own to help them with those skills in a way that is fun and relevant to them. Or if you help them solve the questions, they can get an idea of the thought process used. Sometimes that is half the battle with my son and math problems.
I’ve emailed ThinkTonight.com to see if they have any specific recommendations for kids entering K in CPS. I’ll let you know what I hear.
http://www.thinktonight.com/default.asp
Think Tonight has good information and the owner Helen is very helpful if you want to email her. One polular test that *might* be the one they use here is called the OLSAT and ThinkTonight has a lot of materials for that test: http://www.thinktonight.com/OLSAT_s/26.htm
http://www.mercerpublishing.com/index.html
I just found this site. COGAT is the test they used to use in NYC, I think. I’ve seen some practice questions and they’re probably good basic practice ones for any kids (and fun if you are nerdy like I am.) Not sure if there is a prep book for just K either.
The booklets about gifted testing in NYC are very interesting to read and also have a short practice OLSAT test at the back (different one for each grade.) Check them out here:
http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/GiftedandTalented/EligibilityApplications/default.htm
The Gifted/Classical selection process
I’ve been writing a page that will be a FAQ for the Gifted/Classical program, but in the meantime, here’s what I’ve written about the selection process for those who don’t know.
I would pay good money to get to be in the GEAP office during this whole process. (Hey, there’s a CPS fundraiser idea!)
As a disclaimer, this is my interpretation. Please add any information or other interpretations you may have…
How does GEAP select who gets in?
Once all the kids have tested, they rank the kids in test score order. They start at the top and see what school those kids picked and assign them their top choices. They keep moving down the list of test scores, assigning kids, trying to get you into your highest choice.
In the past, there were 2 lists of kids: Caucasian and Non-Caucasian. Caucasian kids could get up to 35% of the spots in a class (they make up about 9% of CPS overall.) So the GEAP office worked its way down the 2 lists separately.
For the 2010/2011 school year, CPS is using a 4-Tier system that assigns kids to schools based on the socio-economics of their census tract. 40% of gifted/classical spots will be assigned based on test score alone, and the remaining 60% of spots will be evenly divided by Tier. There is no gender balancing in the gifted/classical program.
Once the first round of spots are offered and some families turn spots down, GEAP will continue to call to fill the spots, moving down the list (by Tier) until each class is filled. You could even be called the week before school starts.
If your child scores really high, they’ll probably get a spot in your top choice. If they scored well, but not super-great, they may get in your 3rd or 4th (or last) choice.
As note on strategy: If you accept your #4 choice, you won’t get to move up to your #1 if a spot opens. That is the tricky part – do you take #4 or take the chance of turning it down in hopes of a better (or closer) position being offered.
Gifted Test – Why yes, I do have something to complain about….
So as I mentioned, I took my son to the gifted test today (testing for a 2nd grade spot.) Thanks to blog poster “Y” for keeping me company during the test.
Anyhow, to dump a little information:
-I gave my son the COGAT sample questions this morning and he said that the actual test he took seemed different from it. (Man, it is SO great to be able to pump him for information now, unlike when he was 4!) So, from the mouth of a 6yo, maybe the test is not COGAT (that’s the test that is used in NYC.)
-He did say that a test person read through all the questions, telling them what to do for each and then they had to fill in a bubble with the right answer.
OK, so now for the complaining part. Keep in mind that my background is in marketing research so I’m all about test validity. So… they split the kids into 3 color groups and took each group away to another test room. We waited maybe an hour and 10 min and group 1 comes back. Shortly thereafter, group 2 comes back. Waiting, waiting….. our kids’ group was still in the test over a full 30 MINUTES more than the other groups. I finally went up to the 2 (grad school looking) administrators at the front of the room and started yammering about why it was taking so long and throwing out words like “testing bias” which I *think* accurately describes my issue.
I asked them at what pace the test administrator goes through the questions and whether they wait for each child to finish before moving on to the next question. They told me that the extra time my kid was gone was most likely due to a longer bathroom break (meaning maybe all the kids had to go) AND they also said that the administrator tries to make sure each kid is ready to progress before moving on. Uh, WHAT?! Is it just me or does that seem insane? THAT is testing bias, people. There were 3 test rooms today and 2 seemed to move at a pretty good clip while 1 group may have had a couple slowpokes who dragged out the entire test for all the kids.
The question is… how does that influence the results? One the one hand, a non-slow kid could have more time to think about their choices and do better. On the other hand, a non-slow kid could get bored out of their mind and lose interest with an extra 30 minutes crammed in there. Not to mention the having-to-pee-because-your-mom-bribed-you-with-McDonald’s-beforehand factor.
I know I sound obsessed, but it just bugs me because it shouldn’t be THAT uneven of a test time. And it bugs me that they weren’t concerned about it.
I guess we’ll find out a few days after March 15 when the scores go out. My son said he did pretty well but then he didn’t do well when he had to pee. Interesting report.
Gifted Practice Test Link
For anyone who needs the link again, this has some practice questions based on your child’s age. (And available in many languages!)
I’m running through these with my son before the gifted test today (in true procrastinator style 3 hours before test time.)
http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/GiftedandTalented/EligibilityApplications/GT+Handbooks+09-10AY
He’s been bribed with getting the Lego Harry Potter Nintendo DS game as a reward. So of course as soon as he woke up this morning he insisted that he wanted the game BEFORE the test. Given his history of getting really frustrated with any new game during the first couple hours (given his relatively weak game-playing abilities that still are better than my horrible game-playing abilities) there is no way in heck that’s gonna happen.
Will report later. I’m hoping that by the time high school testing comes around this all seems like a cakewalk to him. Wonder what I’ll be bribing him with then? Probably some kind of electronic that doesn’t even exist yet.
Gifted test this week
Yep, I’m a glutton for punishment. (Well, inflicting punishment.) I’m going to have my son take the gifted test for the 3rd year in a row. Our test is this Saturday.
I joked last year about taking the test just in case something happened at our school or his current RGC program was canned. And guess what. I’ve just found out that the principal at our school will be retiring at the end of this year (which makes me really sad.) So SEE?! You really never know what’ll happen from year to year.
I’m treating it mainly as a free assessment and a point of data to see if he is leveling off in some way (which will mean possibly helping him keep up more by supplementing at home.) But of course part of me has no desire to see if his “giftedness” (which in his case is more “brightness” than true giftedness) is declining. But ultimately I’m a data person and if there’s a way to know, I want to know.
I don’t think I’m going to do anything to have him practice this week. Well, maybe practice a few logic questions. Heck, what can it hurt right? Just to get him back in the swing of things after a cushy winter break. (As a side note, I mentioned to my son this morning that it was time to get “get back into the swing of things” which he interpreted as “get back onto the swingaling” which sounded a lot more fun to him. It’s about time they installed that swingaling at the school!)
Explaining the test gets a little weird. I’ll just tell him once again that it’s a test that some kids take to see what they’ve learned in school. From what I understand there are plenty of kids whose crazy parents test them every year just to keep the options open. The Decatur principal implied that parents consider switching from Edison to Decatur year by year. Not sure if that’s true or not.
Let me know if there are any good stories about the tests or if your child is one of the few who spilled the beans about what was on it.
Back to the swingaling of work now…..
Introducing the new admission criteria for Gifted/Classical schools
I called the GEAP office this morning to confirm the “ranking” process for the Gifted and Classical schools for the 2010/2011 school year.
As many have figure out, for each class 40% of the kids (11 kids) will get in based on test scores alone (no consideration of race or socioeconomic level.)
The remaning 60% (17 kids) will be selected based on the 4 socioeconomic levels derived from census tract. So about 4 kids per socioeconomic group.
Not sure what I think about it yet. I guess it will please the people who think admission should be totally merit-based and also please the people who think race/socio should be taken into account.
Mainly I think I got lucky applying in the year we did (2 years) ago because it sounds like my son would have had a much slimmer chance of qualifying under the new system.
Some resources for gifted/classical test “prep”
This is some information from Helen at www.thinktonight.com which sells some books that could help your child feel comfortable taking the gifted or classical test. I’m not calling it test prep per se (because then we’d be like freaky new yorkers) but hey, what can it hurt to have your child practice answering some questions in advance so they know what they’re doing that day? At the very least I’ve found them fun to do with my son since they’re more like brain teasers than actual school work. Use your best judgement to see what makes sense for your own child. Unfortunely none of us know what actual test is used, nor are true test-prep materials actually available for sale.
From Helen:
My top picks for testing before Kindergarten are
Building Thinking Skills Primary and the interlocking cubes that are used
with it (attribute blocks are used too but they can be made out of colored
cardboard) for verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Done with a parent scribe
who talks the exercises through with a child this really builds vocabulary.
There is an easier level of this called Building Thinking Skills Beginning
but most Pre K children being tested are ready for the Primary level so long
as the parent remembers that they’re not expected to be reading the
questions or writing the answers. It’s a read aloud for preschoolers.
http://www.thinktonight.com/Building_Thinking_Skills_Primary_p/05231pbn.htm
http://www.thinktonight.com/Building_Thinking_Skills_Beginning_p/05233pbn.ht
m
BambinoLUK system (books can be purchased in two or three book sets if the
entire set looks like too much. Controller is needed). In addition to the
cognitive skills this was developed to teach the design encourages
concentration, perseverance and independence. Unlike my other suggestions a
child can use this completely independently after they’ve been introduced to
the system.
http://www.thinktonight.com/bambinoLUK_s/283.htm – the product
http://www.thinktonight.com/How_to_Play_LUK_s/288.htm – how it works
Can You Find Me? Pre K and Can You Find Me? Pre K for logic riddles
requiring listening and identification of a picture solution (a common way
that pre school tests are presented). Even if the Pre K looks simple it’s
worth doing because many of the questions during testing will be simple and
it’s important for a child to understand that they need to give the correct
answer – the one that most children who answer correctly will choose -
rather than a “smart” answer that they could justify. That’s a fun thing to
do with a parent but not during testing.
http://www.thinktonight.com/Can_You_Find_Me_s/55.htm
For Preschool readiness (and some tests) a math book is also a good idea.
The Beginning 2 or Level A are the most likely to be suitable. Beginning 2
develops understanding of numbers up to 20. Level A corresponds to a
typical kindergarten curriulum.
http://www.thinktonight.com/Mathematical_Reasoning_s/46.htm
Helen
Those New Yorkers will pay for anything (Test Prep for Kiddies)
For the commenter who recently asked whether parents actually try to prep kids for testing before Kindergarten — in NYC the answer is yes. Check out the following NYTimes story:
I think this sums up the mindset (and that of Chicago parents who are thinking about it.)
“Test preparation has long been a big business catering to students taking SATs and admissions exams for law, medical and other graduate schools. But the new clientele is quite a bit younger: 3- and 4-year-olds whose parents hope that a little assistance — costing upward of $1,000 for several sessions — will help them win coveted spots in the city’s gifted and talented public kindergarten classes.”
I haven’t known of parents in Chicago going to great lengths on test prep, but I think there are local parents who’d like to have their kids do a few practice questions just to make sure the kid has a clue about what to do come test time. I’ve done some of the workbook-type stuff that I ordered from ThinkTonight.com and in my opinion I could help my son understand how questions are asked (which maybe gives him an edge? Or not.) but in no way could I push his level of comprehension. So I guess what I’m saying is that I can hone his test-taking skills but not his actual knowledge. Actually that was true when he was pre-K level. There are just certain mental breakthroughs that kids that age either have made or not. You can’t fake it. (That was Piaget’s whole theory.) That’s why I think it can make sense for parents to do some work at home, but paying $1000K for a prep service seems crazy to me. But everything in the NYC education system is bumped up about 10 notches.
Although it drives me crazy how much of a secret the test is in Chicago, I also think it’s weird that the NYC public school system makes theirs widely knows (its called the OLSAT.) The article even says that they provide 16 sample questions to level the playing field. I’ll have to try to track that down.
A company in NYC called BrightKids has an OLSAT boot camp that is now full but parents can order a test-prep book for a mere $90. (I am almost loathe to post the link – I know I’d have been tempted to order this book when we were testing for K, but I have a weird resentment for these companies getting rich off of blatant test prep for 4-year-olds.) I will point out that we don’t actually know whether the CPS test is OLSAT and in theory if you have your child practice on this workbook you could be throwing them totally of course if a different test is used.
http://www.brightkidsnyc.com/view-news.asp?id=1
UPDATE: Helen from Thinktonight.com was nice enough to send me the following information. This is the best example of actual test-type questions I’ve seen to date . Keep in mind this is OLSAT which may not be what Chicago uses.
Here’s the link to the NY Gifted handbooks. The practice tests are at the end.
http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/GiftedandTalented/EligibilityApplications/G
T+Handbooks+09-10AY
They’re designed to introduce children to the format of the test. They’re
not full length and not necessarily the same difficulty level as the actual
test. This test is intended as practice for NYC parents who have signed up to have their kids tested there.
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