Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT test prep, OLSAT Test | Tags: testingmom.com, testing mom
The team at TestinMom.com is hosting New York City Gifted and Talented seminars next week for parents going through the testing process. Here are a few of the discussion items at this seminar:
Here’s what you’ll learn at this must-attend seminar for any parent going through the gifted and talented testing
- Learn all about NNAT®-2 test (Naglieri® Non-verbal Abilities Test) which now accounts for two-thirds of the score
- The OLSAT test explained and how it’s now only the verbal section of the OLSAT which is one-third of the schore
- How moms and dads can prepare a child for testing without “prepping””
- How to read and interpret test scores along with tips on what to do when you review your child’s test
- Is your child shy? Learn how you can help him or her overcome testing anxiety as it relates to shyness
- Does your child have ADHD? or just can’t sit still? Learn how to help a rambunctious child sit through the entire test
- Things you can do at home to help your child prepare for testing
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT Test, OLSAT test prep | Tags: nyc gifted and talented test, olsat sample questions, OLSAT test prep books, olsat test questions
Below are some free practice questions for the OLSAT test (Otis-Lennon School Abilities Test). These are just a few of the types of of questions your child will be presented on the OLSAT exam for entrance into the New York City Gifted and Talented Program.
What is the OLSAT test? The OLSAT (the Otis–Lennon School Ability Test) is designed to access your child’s performance across a wide variety of reasoning skill sets. It is an intelligence test that can be given in a group setting, so schools use it frequently to assess children for gifted and talented programs like the one in New York City. This year, the OLSAT test score accounts for 2/3 of the grade for entrance into the program. For pre-K children the OLSAT test is most often given one-on-one. For older children, it is administered in small groups with a test proctor. The pictures on the test are black and white but it’s good to practice with color pictures to keep your child more engaged when preparing for the OLSAT test. You can get more free practice questions on Testing Mom.
The OLSAT assesses both Verbal and Nonverbal skills. Here is how it breaks down:
- OLSAT Verbal Comprehension – Following directions, antonyms, sentence arrangement, sentence completion
- OLSAT Verbal Reasoning – Logical selection, verbal analogies, verbal classification, inference
- OLSAT Pictorial Reasoning – Picture classification, picture analogies, picture series
- OLSAT Figural Reasoning – Figural classification, figural analogies, figure series
- OLSAT Quantitative Reasoning – (for Levels E – G – grades 4th and above) Number series, numeric inference, number matrix
1) Do you see these 3 rows of boxes with designs inside? In the top row the designs go together in a certain way. In the second row, the designs go together in the same way as the designs in the top row. Now look at the bottom row. Do you see the empty box? Which one of the 4 designs goes with the bottom 2 designs the same way the designs in the top 2 rows go together?
2) Point to the clock that reads 4 hours earlier than 5 o’clock
3) Which of these is the widest?
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT test prep | Tags: PS 33 Chelsea Prep, linore lindy
We received a letter from PS 33 Chelsea Prep principal Linore Lindy about the upcoming school year and all the amazing activities the children of P.S. 33 gifted and talented program will experience this coming school year. Don’t worry, the list doesn’t include any OLSAT test prep or NNAT test prep after school programs. I’m quite impressed with such the variety of activities that all the children at PS 33 will experience and how Principal Linore Lindy lays it all out in such an easy to read and understand format. A few of my personal favorites that I know my daughter will enjoy are:
- Annual College Fair
- Cookshop
- Audubon Socity
- And of course the school’s famous Halloween Parade on the sidewalks surrounding the school
See which one below your child would like the best by clicking on the image below to enlarge the letter from Principal Lindy.
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT test prep, naglieri test | Tags: OLSAT test prep, naglieri test, huffington post
I did an interview last week with Huffington Post blogger C.M. Rubin, who grilled me for details on the test preparation process for very young children. After explaining how I first became interested in testing and why admission to gifted programs is so competitive (hint: it’s because it places children on a successful track through college), I explained that parents, not tutors, should be involved in preparing their children for the OLSAT (Otis-Lennon School Abilities Test) and Naglieri tests (NNAT-2) by incorporating some easy real-life examples into their daily routine. I also broke down the seven abilities measured by testing: language, knowledge and comprehension, memory, mathematics, visual-spatial reasoning, cognitive skills, and fine-motor skills. It’s worth noting that these tests don’t measure a child’s creativity, artistic or athletic ability, as well as social and emotional intelligence; I also discuss with C.M. the accuracy of these tests, as well as the pros and cons of hiring tutors for children as young as four.
I talked about TestingMom.com, the site where you can get 100 free practice questions and how Testing Mom offers resources and expertise to a growing worldwide customer base by offering customers a tremendous library of practice questions and online prep games. I also hashed out the difference between Testing Mom and costly intensive “cram session camps,” which don’t allow children the time needed to properly absorb the concepts measured by these tests. My personal belief is that children should learn the concepts of the test over a period of weeks or months.
With the recent announcement of the test change next year for the NYC Gifted and Talented program it will be interesting to see how the OLSAT scores compare to the scores from this year and the impact on the total number of students eligible for this high-demand program in New York.
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT test prep | Tags: OLSAT test results, nyc district wide, city wide schools
As of March 30, 2012 the NYC department of Ed web site still says the OLSAT test results will be sent to parents in mid-April. The site also indicates that placement decisions for gifted and talented school selection by parents need to be made by Friday, April 20 (which is only 3 short weeks at the time of this writing). Considering New York City schools have spring break starting April 6 and ending on April 15 this doesn’t give parents much time to visit district-wide and city-wide G&T programs in New York City. I suppose we’ll see how it pans out and if the OLSAT test scores are sent to parents in time to visit schools and make their stress-filled decisions by April 20. This really seems like it’s cutting it close but I suppose they could always extend the decision process another week to give parents a chance to make a rational decision when it comes to placing their gifted and talented child into a school for the 2012-13 school year here in NYC. If you thought prepping your child for the Otis-Lennon School Abilities test was stressful wait until you have to make a school selection and then the real waiting game begins!
Also, please note that all gifted and talented schools in the 2011-12 school year will have a G&T program next year. So if you are wanting a specific school you may want to research that the school will have a program in 2012-13. Also, some new G&T programs will start next school year that are currently not announced.
It looks like the G&T shuffle is about to begin folks! Make sure you keep up with the OLSAT test prep by practicing 100 questions you can get for free on TestingMom.com.
Keep me posted on how the school visits go and if there’s any drama. Also, if you can take photos with your phones and send the photos to me to post! Email me at skipper646@gmail.com.
Are you smarter than a 4 year old? How about Pickle the bird? Find out by watching the cute video below of Pickle the bird answering some tough OLSAT practice questions to get ready for the upcoming gifted and talented test. If you’d like free sample questions just email me at skipper646@gmail.com. Enjoy the video!
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT Test, OLSAT test prep | Tags: 4th grade olsat, 5th grade olsat
According to the NYC dept. of education gifted and talented program the application period is open for students entering 4th and 5th grade who wish to be considered for available seats in Gifted & Talented programs for this coming year. It doesn’t look like there was a 4th or 5th grade OLSAT test needed to get placed in the G&T program but rather a score of 4 on both the State ELA and Math tests. For more information, and to apply, please visit their site. The deadline to apply is August 31, 2011. If you’re looking for OLSAT practice test questions for the fourth and fifth grade make sure you check out www.TestingMom.com.
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT Test, OLSAT test prep | Tags: gifted and talented, OLSAT, OLSAT test, Otis Lennon
To get Otis-Lennon School Ability Test sample questions or to be added to my gifted and talented newsletter list email me at skipper646@gmail.com. You can also get 50 free practice questions on TestingMom.com.
You may be asking yourself, what is the OLSAT test? Standardized assessment tests like the OLSAT, which is a rational and abstract thinking skills test used with K-12 students, can be intimidating. After all, these tests have greater implications for students and may result in being accelerated in their students, being held back a year in school, being placed in remedial courses, or finding their way into gifted and talented programs.
Helping your child perform well on the OLSAT is easier today than it may have once been. There are OLSAT sample tests available for purchase online. There are also sample exams available free of charge on the internet as well.
Students who have the change to take practice OLSAT exams or complete sample sections of an OLSAT test before the official testing day at school have a tendency to perform better on the formal OLSAT exam.
Filed under: BSRA OLSAT tests, NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT test prep | Tags: OLSAT test, stanford-binet, wppsi
If you’d like to be added to my gifted and talented testing newsletter email me at Skipper646@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget that you can now get over 3,000 practice questions for the OLSAT, WPPSI and Stanford-Binet from TestingMom.com.
It’s the old chicken-egg dilemma! Are G&T kids more academically successful because of their natural gifts or because they are afforded a special environment?
A recent study conducted in the North Carolina school system has raised the question of whether the learning environment in Gifted and Talented programs like the ones in New York has more to do with the success of these students than some might care to admit.
The North Carolina DOE studied over 10,000 children in a program called Project Bright Idea to try to explain the underrepresentation of black and Latino children in advanced and gifted classes. (more…)
Filed under: ERB WPPSI, OLSAT test prep | Tags: Gifted and Talented NYC, gifted testing, OLSAT practice test, OLSAT sample test, private school tests
If you’d like to be added to my newsletter or receive free OLSAT sample test questions email me at skipper646@gmail.com.
Now’s there yet another reason sites like TestingMom.com where you can find over 1,600 pratice questions for OLSAT, Bracken, SB-5, WPPSI and Naglieri are needed by parents when preparing their children for G&T testing. It’s now even more important for parents to take matters into their own hands when it comes to preparing their child for the ERB-WPPSI and Otis-Lennon School Abilities test. Don’t rely on your high-dollar pre-school on the Upper Eastside to do the job – at least according to this article.
Only in NYC! (at least for now)…here in Manhattan (UES), things are heating up in the competitive (more…)
