Posts filed under 'Regional Gifted Program'
GEAP / Magnet Fair
A reader has passed on this information. I believe this past year was the first time CPS held this fair. It’s a great idea as a way to get familiar with the schools without going all over the city.
Hi, just wanted to pass along some info on the GEAP fair for this year. The 2009 GEAP/Magnet fair will be Oct.3, at Malcolm X, 9am-12. That is a Saturday. I just spoke to someone at the Office for Academic Enhancement on July 28th..and that is the stated date.
5 comments July 30, 2009
CPS Gifted Programs in jeopardy?
A few people have asked me about the recent (and massive) cuts to Illinois education funding that were voted in this week. Some of the cuts:
The state board reluctantly slashed foreign language, arts and agricultural education programs. They sliced teacher and principal training programs and wiped out gifted education.
(Wow, Illinois has agricultural education programs?! I would like to see a city version of that: Urban Education)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-education-cuts-22-jul22,0,2979212.story?obref=obnetwork
It certainly is disturbing to see “wiped out gifted education.” My brain was racing with thoughts on where I’d want to send my son if his program was wiped out before school starts. Neighborhood school? Butter up some magnet school principal? Homeschooling if I’m still unemployed? Beg for a spot at his current school? Boarding school? (Actually I just threaten that one from time to time.)
I spoke with the Asst Principal at our school today who had heard nothing about any upcoming changes and said he’d just spoken with the CPS Gifted Office today and they were moving forward for the school year full steam ahead.
Speculation is that CPS doesn’t actually get much (if any?) money from the state for the gifted programs so hopefully it won’t make an impact in any way. Not like putting all the kids from the gifted programs back into the neighborhood schools would be a bad thing given that it would raise the bar a bit in the local schools, but then what would we freaks have to obsess about?
This is the web site for the group that lobbies for gifted education in Illinois. I thought I’d see something here but nothing yet.
I wonder if this cut in state funding moves IL to #50 out of 50 states. We’ve been hovering at #49 for a while. Maybe we’ve finally earned the last place spot! Which reminds me, I did actually ponder moving to the suburbs for a brief moment when considering a school change — that’s how dire it’s become.
5 comments July 23, 2009
GEAP letter never came
So my son’s GEAP letter never arrived in the mail and I have a couple friends who didn’t get theirs either.
If you need to get your letter, you can call the GEAP office at 773-553-2060 and the will re-mail it or you can go there in person and pick it up.
The letter tells you how your child scores on the gifted and/or classical test and which school, if any, they were selected for.
http://www.cpsgifted.org/apps/contact/?rn=970756
1 comment April 4, 2009
The testing gods have spoken…
Well, it appears that the GEAP office either lost a bag of mail or it is hidden away at the central post office somewhere. My son’s GEAP results letter has not arrived, nor have those of several friends.
Today I sent his father to the CPS office to retrieve it. I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive. I’ve heard of a few kids who’s scores dropped from last year. And while I know logically that it doesn’t mean anything, I just really didn’t want to see it. I know so much of that score depends on the kids’ mood, etc. I have repeated this mantra to others until I am blue in the face and I firmly believe it. Yet of course when it comes to my own child I fear it means that he’s leveling off to the norm.
So, he did indeed drop a few points on his gifted test score. Didn’t get into any 1st grade programs as he’s now sitting at what is probably right below the minimum needed to get in anywhere.
So it’s all a crapshoot with a few questions here or there making or breaking your entry into a program. He’s a bright kid who squeaked his way into a gifted program last year because he had a good test day. If he were testing for Kindergarten this year it would be whole different ballgame, what with all these smarties testing so well.
Of course I worry a little that in a few years he won’t be able to keep up with the accelerated curriculum unless I browbeat him constantly. But in the end, who cares? As long as he enjoys learning, that’s all that matters. And of course getting into a selective enrollment high school. (ha ha.)
Speaking of browbeating, for those who wonder what Kindergarten homework is like, the work is easy, it’s the mental engagement that seem difficult, at least in this household. Homework last night consisted of writing 5 words. This took a good twenty minutes as I dealt with the following behavior:
-Writing the word “poop” where a word should go
-Drawing a poop and writing “poo” where a word should go
-Acting like a robot, making robot noises
-Tipping chair so it toppled over then denying he caused it
-Poking his armpit repeatedly with pencil
-Claiming that he “cannot control himself” when I question his behavior
And THAT is why I don’t like homework.
13 comments March 27, 2009
Answers to some comments/questions
Thanks for all the comments. It is great to find some fellow-obsessers out there. See, you’re not alone!
In response to some of the questions posed:
Q: What score do I need to get into a gifted program?
A: Well, based on group consensus, it looks like a score on the gifted portion of 130+ is the 98th percentile. Those of you with a high 130’s+ are probably in the 99th+ percentile. In the past, that would have gotten you a spot somewhere. This year it doesn’t seem as certain. My son got into one with a 127 last year so you can see the difference between last year and this year. (And yes, am I glad I gave birth in 2003 and not 2004.) I have to think that if you have a score in the 140’s that something will come your way. But I could be wrong.
Q: Why is CPS screwing our kids over with these big class sizes?
A: There isn’t enough money to hire more teachers. Illinois has a pathetic record for education funding. I really would like to know why some classes go up to 30+ while others max out at 28. I get the sense it is a school by school decision but I need to investigate that more. I do know that my son’s school has offered 28 spots for Kindergarten next year.
Q: My son scored a 144 on the ‘gifted’ portion and a 99.8 percentile ranking for the ‘classical’. He was accepted to a classical school but it’s somewhat far and was our lowest rated choice (out of 5). Do we accept by the 4/17 deadline or wait for something better?
A: That depends how badly you want him in a classical/gifted class and what your backup choices are. Only you can decide how far is too far. As I said above, with a score of 144 I’d have to think something will come your way if not this year then next year (Bell? Beaubien?) I *think* it is worth the risk of turning down the classical and waiting it out. Oh, and can you please sign a waiver saying you won’t sue me if it doesn’t work out?
Q: I was wondering if anyone has experience with siblings getting into a RGC? My son got into Edison this year and we really want our daughter to be in the same school when she is of age. If she were to get a good enough score to qualify, is there any preference for siblings?
A: The straight answer is “no.” Siblings get no preference at all. It is just straight test scores. However rumor has it that if you work the GEAP office and the principal, some of them might be willing to help work it out. Edison has always been the hardest to get into and therefore I suspect the least willing to negotiate.
Q:
Who has the authority to jack the gifted class sizes up? Is it the principal? GEAP? Or are they offering slots according to an internal rubric? With the 8000 number you are quoting, that would come out to about 160 kids testing in the top 2 percent. Divided by the available class spots, that leaves room for either smaller classes or a lower cutoff, even with the larger number of applicants…
But at what point do they say this child did not test high enough for us to increase the class size beyond our (completely ignored) limit of 28.
A: Again, no idea who decides the class size. Very good question indeed. In regards to the 2%, I know 2 things (or I suspect 2 things.) More than 2% of the kids will test as Top 2 %. I assume people who bring their kids in for the test figure they have a decent shot, so you are probably testing 8000 fairly smart kids. I bet at least 4% or more test as “Top 2%.” It is a national norm, not a Chicago CPS norm. I do know for a fact that kids get into gifted programs with lower than 98th percentile. Mine was 96th and I’m sure kids got in around town with lower than that last year. I have heard they don’t offer spots if the child is below 90th percentile.
So overall, my questions remains – what is up with the super high scores this year? More kids? Smarter kids? Different test?
18 comments March 25, 2009
Info from GEAP
Just to summarize some info I learned yesterday from a variety of sources:
GEAP reports that there were WAY more kids who took the gifted/classical tests this year than last year. Approximately 8,000 were tested this year compared to under 6,000 last year. That is a HUGE increase. I would attribute it to the economy – perhaps parents of private school kids who want a CPS back-up? GEAP also attributes it to the gifted/classical school fair they held this year. I didn’t attend it, but they feel that it helped increase awareness of the whole process.
GEAP claims they change the test each year. Not sure if I buy that or not. It would be inefficient for the test-givers to administer a totally different test each year, right? I think they just want to prevent parents from trying to prep their kids. In any case, IF that were true, perhaps that helps explain the abundance of high scores this year? OR, maybe just the sheer number of kids has raised the bar in terms of the scores needed to get first round acceptance. But still… why was there no percentile this year? I need to get an answer to that one. If anyone calls GEAP, see if they’ll give a reason.
Given the huge number of kids tested, there is no way they can give a test that really truly measures a child’s intelligence. These tests are hopefully a decent indicator and for now, that’s the best we’ve got. If CPS wanted to use a better test method, we’d probably have to switch to a system like I’ve heard of in suburbs where a child needs teacher recommendations to take the test (or maybe other outside confirmation.) CPS doesn’t care about stuff right now, leaving it a big of a crapshoot, much like the lotteries.
Just as a reminder, there are SO few spots out there for Kindergarten. If you live on the north side and don’t want your child to travel too far there are 3 K programs: Edison, Decatur, Coonley. If you break it out by white/non-white (35%/65%) that is roughly 10 spots per school for white kids, maybe 20 spots per school for minority kids. They don’t balance on gender, but if it falls out 50/50, that means there are 10 gifted spots for a white boy up north and 5 classical spots. Hey, quit your complaining! Before Coonley came along there were only 5 boy spots! Again, it isn’t gender balanced, but that was how I was pondering my chances last year.
So the spots are few, the number of kids is massive. And people I’ve talked to who have gotten spots offered are not totally set on whether they’ll take them. People like their neighborhood schools, they don’t like the idea of big class size, they don’t want to travel too far, they don’t like the idea of the “gifted” label, etc. Spots will open up in April and beyond.
And where is MY stinkin’ letter by the way?!
43 comments March 24, 2009
Be patient, this is just the begining
OK, so despite what I had hoped would be my reassurance, it’s hard not to go into a panic when you get the letter saying your child didn’t get in anywhere or didn’t get in your top choice. This is just the very very first set of letters to go out and there will be a ton of re-shuffling over the next 2 months (and even at the begining of the school year.)
To recap, there are some weird things going on this year. The gifted scores which used to send out a score and percentile have inexplicably switched to just the score this year. To date, my best guess of the type of test given for the gifted program is the Stanford Binet test which is basically and IQ test (and thus that score you’re given may be an IQ score.) Check out this post (scroll down) to see how they break out kids by IQ. It matches up with the CPS claim that scores of 130+ are ”good.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_giftedness
So the weird thing this year is that kid who scored in the high 130’s don’t seem to be getting into the programs they necessarily wanted. I know that there are kids at Edison (the north side school that has traditionally take the uber-smarties) with scores in the lower-mid 130’s and kids at Coonley in the mid-upper 120’s. I believe I’ve heard of kids with 97% getting into Decatur.
But there are a couple things that may have ruffled things up this year:
1. Could they have changed the test or scoring? Seems odd about them removing the percentile and at the same time the high-scoring kids are getting spots.
2. More private school kids were tested this year in case their parents want to save money on tuition or lose their jobs.
3. Throwing Coonley into the mix with Edison has sort of shaken things up a bit.
A friend of mine who is good with getting info out of CPS is going to call the GEAP office tomorrow to see if she can find out anything.
But in the meantime, sit tight. There are many spots that’ll open up next month and again after that. Many parents apply to gifted/classical programs without even realizing where they’re located. Once they figure it out or find out there isn’t bussing availabile, they’ll bail. Others will get spots in private schools or magnet programs. Others will move to the suburbs. Some will pick different schools to keep their kids together or because the schedules don’t work. Spots will open for sure. The hard part is waiting, especially if you fall on the cusp – I’d say for Classical in the 97%+ or for Gifted in the 130+ (or maybe even lower based on last year.)
I’ll report any news from GEAP when I hear it. In the meantime, keep sharing the information… it’s so helpful to everyone to know what’s going on.
UPDATE: Not a lot to report from GEAP, but they do say that there were many more kids who tested this year (probably due to the economy is my guess) and that they *may* be seeing higher scores this year (no logical explanation other than some years kids score higher, others lower.) For whatever reason, the kids born in 2004 were smarties.
I’ve also heard the number of kids testing for Kindergarten was around 2000, which is double what I’d been told by GEAP. Gotta love the CPS system… it’s nearly impossible to get an answer about anything. Could they please hire me as their director of communication?!
READ COMMENTS FOR MORE GOOD INFORMATION!
29 comments March 22, 2009
Waiting for the test scores
As I sit here today waiting for the gifted test scores to arrive, I’m reminded what a weird time it was last year when my son was tested before Kindergarten. For most of us, getting those test scores is the first external validation we have of our child’s intelliegence, which is such a surreal piece of information to be given.
In some ways, there is so much more wrapped up in that score than just whether a kid gets into a certain school or not. It’s a validation of our own (or our spouse’s) intelligence, confirmation of our parenting skills, a glimpes at the opportunities thay may or may not open up for our child down the road, and their general proclivity for success in the crazy CPS system.
We somehow imagine that seeing a high score on the test means our child will be graduating from Harvard some day, forgetting about other factors like level of slacker-ness (the likely problem with my son,) the child’s personal interests (maybe they’d rather be a starving artist or give acting a try or open a plumbing business,) and of course the insane COST of Harvard.
Seeing a high score feels like it will validate all those classes we took at the Old Town School, the foreign language DVDs we ordered, and all the times we adeptly made teachable moments out of playtime.
I’m sure every person who takes the time to test their child thinks their kid is smart. How can we not? For crying out loud, they’ve learned to walk, talk, count, and more in just 5 short years. That takes some brains, right?!
But that test. That damnated test seems so random in who it decides is “gifted.” Of all the kids I’ve known my sons age, I’d say nearly all of them have seemed to be of comparable intelligence. And one kid stood out as uber-smart. Yet the test scores were doled out – some high enough to get into a gifted/classical program, some not. Frankly, I’m sure they could all do the work in those accelerated programs. It’s just a matter of a few questions right or wrong on that test. Of a few minutes staring off into the corner. And the uber-smart kid? Didn’t get high scores, which shows that the test isn’t the be-all-end-all.
So I guess what I’m saying is, when you rip open that envelope, try (if you can) not to let it mean more than it is – one little test on one type of measure.
UPDATE: Ergh. Mine didn’t arrive today.
UPDATE 2: If I recall correctly, my son got a score of 127 on the gifted test last year and got into a program. There WILL be more spots open after the first round of acceptances are taken/rejected. Don’t give up yet….
16 comments March 21, 2009
Some updates from GEAP
I called the GEAP office this week to confirm that the letters will mail out this Friday, March 20th. They will. She said they take them right to the post office.
I also asked how many kids took the Gifted test for entry into Kindergarten this year. 1023 kids. Wow, that is a lot of testing manpower required.
There are 7 regional gifted centers that start at the Kindergarten level, so there are 196 Kindergarten spots to fill. Now, according to this interesting page I found on the CPS site, there are 28,975(!) Kindergarteners in the city. In theory, about the top 2% of kids are truly gifted. Based on that, CPS *should* have 580 gifted Kindergarten spots. So by my calculation, they owe us 384 spots. I also know that kids get into the programs who test below the 98th percentile. So I think that means that there are some super smart kids out there who probably never take the test because their parents don’t know about all that testing crap and nobody takes the time to walk them through the process. Hopefully CPS is serving those kids well.
Some other interesting facts I found:
-There are 666 schools in CPS (gotta love that)
-CPS is 9% White
-CPS is 84% Low Income
-CPS spends $11K per kid on education (sometimes I wonder if they’d do better just sending the whole city to private school)
Check it out for more facts:
http://www.cps.edu/About_CPS/At-a-glance/Pages/Stats%20and%20facts.aspx
Edited to add: I had to come back later to double check that 28,975 Kindergarten number. Seriously, I can’t believe there are that many Kindergarten kids in this city. It boggles my mind. If only we could harness their energy somehow it could power the whole city of Chicago.
5 comments March 18, 2009
