Help Your Impulsive Child Focus When Tested For Gifted & Talented

I wanted to share a question a mom from Florida asked me yesterday because she brings up a problem that so many parents struggle with. Her son is very smart and does super well in school. His teachers for the last 2 years have recommended him for the school’s Gifted and Talented Program. Each time he is tested, however, he misses the cut-off and can’t get into the program. She is a member of www.TestingMom.com. When she works with him on practice questions from the site, she observes that he is impulsive and doesn’t consider all the possibilities before choosing an answer. She asked me if there was any way to help him with this.

The answer is YES! There is. It is so important to realize that when you do practice questions with your child, he is learning 1) how to handle the substance of different types of questions whether it be math, analogy or “What Doesn’t Belong” items, and 2) how to answer a test question, which involves reading (or listening to) the whole question, considering each possible answer, eliminating answers that are definitely wrong, and choosing the answer that seems most right. These are two very different skills.

If you have a child who doesn’t listen well to questions, doesn’t think them through, doesn’t consider all of the options, here is what I would recommend that you do. Select a group of age appropriate questions to work with. These can be practice questions from a test your child is not taking. Here, you are working on test-taking skills, not practicing for a particular test.

Ask your child the first question. Instead of having her go right for the answer, ask her to tell you why each answer choice is either right or wrong. Then have her select the best answer. You can let her know if she is correct or not. Either way, talk about how well she thought through the question, or what she might have missed in her thinking so that she can do better next time.

Now go to the next question. Do the same thing with this question. And so on. By getting your child to articulate his thinking, his answer elimination, and his ultimate choice, you are teaching him how to think through, analyze and answer test questions. Later, when he is actually tested, he will know to go through this process in his head. He will not rush to mark an answer!

Many tests, such as the OLSAT and CogAT, have subtests that require children to listen carefully to questions, remember them, and then answer them. In going through this process, you might discover that your child isn’t hearing the entire question. Maybe she isn’t paying attention, maybe her mind is wandering, but she isn’t focused! Once you discover that, tell her to “put on her listening ears” each time you read a question. Concentrate on getting her to focus and then go through the analysis described above. Even if you only work with a few questions this way, you will be teaching your child the skill of listening to, analyzing, and choosing answers to test questions. This will help her when it really counts!

Finally (and this is “advanced” test taking when it comes to younger children), when your child isn’t sure about the answer, you want to teach her how to eliminate answers that are definitely incorrect, and then choose between the answers that seem possible. When you are talking through your child’s analysis of a question, talk to her about how she is sure that these two answers are wrong, so just focus on the ones that could be right. Still not sure? Make your best guess! By learning to block out the options that are definitely wrong, this will help her focus and increase her likelihood of doing well.

Visit www.TestingMom.com.

1,603 Kids Qualified For New York City City-wide Gifted and Talented Program

This year, almost 50% more preschool children earned in the 99th percentile over last year when testing for New York City’s “City-wide” programs. Last year, 1,089 children scored in the 99th percentile. This year, 1,603 children scored that high.

Children who score in the 97th percentile or above qualify for the 5 city-wide programs. However, with so many children scoring in the 99th percentile, these will be the children taking places in those schools this year. The only exception will be siblings. If a child has a sibling who already has a place in a city-wide G&T program, they can be admitted to the same program as long as they score in the 97th percentile or above.

This year, if your child scored in the 97th or 98th percentiles, your best option would be to choose district-wide programs as your top choices, even though your child would have technically qualified for city-wide programs.

For more information, visit DNAinfo.com.

New York City Gifted & Talented 2011-2012 Results

The Department of Education released G&T statistics for children qualifying for the gifted and talented program this year. To everyone’s surprise, almost 5,000 children qualified for gifted and talented kindergarten seats, a 22% increase over last year. Of these children, 2,656 qualified for admissions to the 5 most selective schools in the City (the Citywide programs) by scoring 97% or higher:

Manhattan

NEST+M = New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (K-12)
PS/IS/HS 539M – District 1
111 Columbia Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 677-5190
http://www.nestmk12.net

TAG Young Scholars (Gr. K-8)
PS 12M – District 4
240 East 109th Street
New York, NY 10029
(212) 860-6003

The Anderson School (Gr. K-8)
PS/IS 334M – District 3
100 West 77th Street
New York, NY 10024
(212) 595-7193
http://www.ps334school.org/

Opened September 2009 with K & Grade 1

Brooklyn

Brooklyn School of Inquiry
PS/IS 686K – District 20
50 Avenue P
Brooklyn, NY 11204
(718) 935-3614
www.brooklynschoolofinquiry.org

Queens

STEM
PS 85, Judge Charles Vallone – District 30
23-70 31st Street
Queens, NY 11105
(718) 278-3630
http://www.ps85q.org

Unfortunately, there are only about 400 seats in these 5 programs, so children will have to have scored in the 99th percentile to even have a chance to get in. These kids, plus the remaining children that scored in the 90th percentile and above will qualify for a district gifted program. There are dozens of these across the 5 boroughs of Manhattan.

Since 2008, the NYC DOE has used the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test or OLSAT (a reasoning test) and the Bracken School Readiness Assessment or BSRA (a knowledge test) to qualify children for their G&T programs. Beginning next year, the New York City Department of Education will replace the BSRA with the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test or NNAT, a visual-spatial reasoning exam. For thousands of practice questions for the OLSAT and NNAT, visit TestingMom.com. Parents can also get over 1,500 practice questions for the OLSAT, Stanford-Binet, WPPSI-III, and BSRA through IQ Fun Park, the test prep kit that feels like a game to children. Practice questions for the NNAT will be added to IQ Fun Park in the spring/early summer of 2012 and all parents purchasing the game in 2012 will be offered the supplementary NNAT practice questions.

For more information on 2012 G&T results, check out:
As Number of Gifted Children Soars, a Fight Brews for Slots in Kindergarten

Chicago Public School or CPS Selective Enrollment Exam

To qualify for the best public schools in Chicago, your child will be tested. With over 3,000 applications filed for the 500 seats in Chicago’s classical and gifted kindergarten programs, parents want to do everything they can to get their children ready. Unfortunately, CPS does not disclose the name of the test(s) they use to qualify children for these programs. So getting ready for a test that you do not know the name of can be quite tricky, but it does not stop parents.

From what we can tell, the test used in Chicago to qualify for their gifted program is either the OLSAT or Otis Lennon School Ability Test or a test that is very similar to that. At www.TestingMom.com, we have our clients first work with OLSAT practice questions and then CogAT or Cognitive Abilities Test to prepare their kids for the CPS Selective Enrollment Exam. The test for the Classical program is some kind of achievement test – the name of which is not disclosed by the Chicago Public School District. To prepare for that test, we suggest that our parents work with the practice questions we have for the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement and the ITBS or Iowa Test of Basic Skills. For 50 Free practice questions you can try with your children, visit www.TestingMom.com.

To learn more about the CPS Selective Enrollment Exam, CLICK HERE for an informative article from the Chicago Tribune.

Bracken School Readiness Assessment (BSRA)

The Bracken is a test first published in 2002 that is currently used in admittance to the New York City Gifted and Talented Program, as well as other G&T programs and private schools around the country.

If your child is taking this test in NYC, there are a few things you’ll want to know. First, it is given with the OLSAT test, which we’ll talk about in a separate video. For children applying to kindergarten, there are 40 OLSAT questions and 88 Bracken questions for a total of 128 questions. If your child is applying to 1st or 2nd grade, there are 60 OLSAT questions and 88 Bracken questions for a total of 148 questions.

The Bracken counts for 25% of a child’s score, while the OLSAT counts for the other 75%. To be eligible for a district G&T program, your child needs a composite score in the 90th percentile or better. To qualify for a city-wide program, your child needs a composite score in the 97th percentile or better, although in recent years, there have only been enough spaces for children scoring in the 99th percentile or above…so 99th percentile is really the score your child is aiming for.

The Bracken test is a school readiness test. It assesses whether or not your child knows basic information that children should have acquired by a particular age. It is the same for Pre-K as it is through 2nd grade. There are no levels. Younger children can miss more questions on the Bracken than older children can miss. At the pre-K level, the Bracken is always given at the same time as the OLSAT. For older children, they are sometimes given separately when they are given in school.

The Bracken assesses five basic skills.

#1. Colors. Make sure you child can identify common colors by name.

#2. Letters. Your child will also have to know all the letters, both upper-case and lower-case.

#3. Numbers & Counting. Your child must be able to identify single AND double-digit numerals and be able to count from 1 to 99.

#4. Size and other comparisons. Your child will have to demonstrate knowledge of comparative words such as short, long, big, bigger, tall, tallest, large, larger, little, tiny, light, or heavy, to name a few. Make sure you child can differentiate or match objects based on other comparative words like narrow, wide, shallow, deep, equal, identical, different, or opposite.

Finally, #6. Shapes. Your child needs to be able to identify basic shapes by name. These would be one-dimensional shapes like square and triangle and 3-dimensional shapes like cylinder, cone and sphere.

For practice questions and more information on the BSRA and other tests, go to www.TestingMom.com.

OLSAT and BRACKEN Score Required for NYC G&T Program

If your child is taking the OLSAT and Bracken School Readiness Assessment (BSRA) for admittance to a NYC G&T program, there are a few things you’ll want to know. For children applying to kindergarten, there are 40 OLSAT questions and 88 Bracken questions for a total of 128 questions. If your child is applying to 1st or 2nd grade, there are 60 OLSAT questions and 88 Bracken questions for a total of 148 questions.

The Bracken counts for 25% of a child’s score, while the OLSAT counts for the other 75%. To be eligible for a district G&T program, your child needs a composite score in the 90th percentile or better. To qualify for a city-wide program, your child needs a composite score in the 97th percentile or better, although in recent years, there have only been enough spaces for children scoring in the 99th percentile or above…so 99th percentile is really the score your child is aiming for.

New York CIty Department of Education Gifted Programs

Bracken School Readiness Assessment: Coverage

The Bracken School Readiness Assessment covers 6 tests in relation to the basic skills that will test the child’s readiness for school. These tests can determine whether the child is well adapted to the grade he is in or whether improvements can be made to better assist the child’s growth especially with the cognitive abilities and language performance.

The test is administered individually, with no time limit required. The length of time the Bracken School Readiness Assessment test depends solely upon the child’s capabilities. The test makes use of verbal and visual needs.
This IQ test or the Bracken Test focuses on these 6 basic skills that the child needs to identify:

Color – identification of the color presented visually

Letters – letters should be recognized by the child in their upper or lower case as presented

Numbers and Counting – the child should be able to count from 1-99, and be able to identify numbers of single digits form those of double digit numbers

Sizes – the size should be amply identified by the child (e.g. tall, wide, short)

Comparisons – objects should be matched accordingly based on the characteristics given

Shapes – basic shapes should be duly recognized and easily identified by the child

http://www.ehow.com/about_6130925_bracken-assessment-iq-testing.html

Bracken School Readiness Assessment: References and Tools

In preparing your child for the Bracken School Readiness Assessment Examination, there are several supplementary aids in helping your child be better equipped in taking the test.
Here are some of the many additional resources to serve as tools in preparing your child achieve optimal results in taking the Bracken School Readiness Assessment test:

Purposeful Play for Early Childhood Phonological Awareness
This is well suited for children in the second grade level, and is focused in making use of phonology as an antecedent to the road to reading as this book is designed to help the child make use of the sounds such as through songs, role plays, and games requiring interaction from the audience. Through such, identification of words, syllabication, and mastering rhymes are made easy and fun for the child.

My First Brain Quest
A game making use of questions through pictures, this book is made specifically for children 2-3 years of age or those in the pre-K level. This supplementary tool makes interaction captivating enough for children with short attention span yet at the same time, promotes language development, and improvement in the child’s cognitive skills and abilities.

Mathematical Reasoning Beginning 1
Made for children in the pre-K level, Mathematical Reasoning caters to the child’s development of problem solving skills in mathematics, paving the way to better deal with higher mathematical challenges in the long run.

Can You Find Me?
This makes use of pictures as answers to riddles given by the ones presenting said picture cards verbally. Using such can make recognizing pictures easily, thus ensuring quick identification of the child with regards to the riddles presented.

http://www.thinktonight.com/BSRA_s/248.htm

CogAT Sentence Completion Skills

In grades 3 and up, children taking the CogAT are asked to solve sentence-completion questions using words and not pictures. As part of your child’s preparation for the CogAT, running through a few sample questions can be extremely helpful. Free CogAT practice questions are available online, and these questions are wonderful for familiarizing your child with the question structure. They may have never encountered this particular structure before, and understanding it can make a big difference in their performance.

The concept is simple. A sentence will be presented with one word missing. Your child will be asked to choose, from a short list of approximately five options, the word which best completes the sentence. If your child is struggling with this question format, work with them using free CogAT sample questions, cognitive tests, or thinking-skills materials. Many children unfortunately score inaccurately poorly on the CogAT due to a lack of familiarity with the question structures, but proper preparation can help avoid this issue.

http://www.120perhour.com/SENTENCE-COMPLETION/cogat-sample-test-sentence-completion1.htm

CogAT Verbal Classification Skills

For students in grades 3 and up, verbal classification skills are tested on the CogAT. Familiarizing your child with the structure of these questions can lead to higher scores, since they won’t waste time and energy trying to figure out what the question is really asking. Free CogAT practice questions are a wonderful way to help your student become familiar with this format.

Although it may be a structure which your child has never dealt with before, this format is really quite simple. Three words will be presented which have something in common. Below these three words are five more words. Your child will be asked to identify the word from the selection of five which would fit best into the selection of three. If your child is struggling with the concept, you can utilize some of the wonderful free cognitive abilities tests which are available online. Building these skills will help your child not only on the CogAT, but in their everyday academic life as well.

http://www.120perhour.com/VERBAL-CLASSIFICATION/cogat-sample-test-verbal-classification.htm