Filed under: nnat test, NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT Test | Tags: nnat test prep, NYC Gifted and Talented, OLSAT test prep, testing mom
- Although the Principal said that the gifted and talented test was supposed to last one hour, and maybe a bit longer most of the kids were out by 40 minutes. This is true for the kids testing in the session before us, and also for our session.
- My son went in at 10:40 and was out at 11:20- that included climbing up and down 2 half flights of stairs to the next floor and getting into the classrooms where the test was being administered.
- He was not the only one- about 4-5 other young boys that had gone a few minutes before him, all came back out together after taking the OLSAT test and the NNAT test. The girls were still inside when we left 5 minutes later.
- When I asked him about the gifted and talented test, he said some questions were hard so he said “I picked the wrong answer”. When I asked why he did that, he said the teacher did not say anything or tell him to try again.
- He said he had never seen any puzzles like this before (He has an almost photographic memory of the questions. One he has done some, he tends to remember them).
- He also did not remember the name of the teacher (test proctor) with whom he went. It is highly likely that they did not engage with the kids even while walking them up.
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT Test | Tags: NYC Gifted and Talented, OLSAT test prep
I read the most interesting article about a New York City mother’s story about the tedious process of the school selection after her daughter took the OLSAT test for the gifted and talented program for this year.
Here’s her story:
If you applied for a Kindergarten spot to the New York City’s Gifted and Talented Program for your child, then welcome to the finish line. The G & T placement offers are being released this week, marking the end of the brutal trifecta that some New York parents went through this year with the goal of securing the best educational option for their children.
If you don’t know what I’m referring to, first of all, you are lucky. If you have heard rumors or unreasonable tales, I tell you now: it’s all true. Every word. I was born and raised in the Washington Square area of New York City, and being a cool native, I swore I wouldn’t sweat it out. But, a cucumber I was not. We did it all, and though we started on the right foot and with all good, controlled intentions, curves came up on our road that were so sharp, our wheels lifted.
Filed under: naglieri test, NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT test prep | Tags: huffington post, naglieri test, OLSAT test prep
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: OLSAT BRSA test prep for NYC gifted talented, OLSAT Test | Tags: bsra practice questions, OLSAT test prep
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, Uncategorized | Tags: gate program, gifted and talented, OLSAT test prep
In recent years, gift and talented test methods have been used with younger and younger children. The idea behind such testing is to identify those students who are advanced in skills and abilities will need special programs in order to further hone their education. The theory is that children who are identified as gifted at a young age will be better served by early identification and placement in a gifted and talented program.
Today’s gifted and talented testing for children prior to, or shortly after entrance to, kindergarten has many parents interested in free gifted and talented test practice or sample test resources. They want to be able to provide their children the chance to practice and become familiar with the G&T test methods before sitting for the actual examination, ideally improving their kid’s chance of getting into a G&T or GATE program.
To get free OLSAT test sample questions or to be added to my gifted and talented newsletter list email me at skipper646@gmail.com. Don’t forget, you can also get 50 free practice questions on TestingMom.com.
Filed under: Games and Fun For Gifted and Talented, NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT test prep | Tags: ivy chronicles book, karen quinn, OLSAT test prep
If you’d like to receive my NYC gifted & talented newsletter or receive OLSAT prep practice test questions email me at skipper646@gmail.com.
I recently had the pleasure meeting Karen Quinn who recently wrote a book “Testing for Kindergarten”. The book outlines strategies to help your child ace the tests for gifted and talented qualification. Karen also wrote an amazing book a few years ago titled “The Ivy Chronicles”. Check-out Karen’s site for further details. You’ll be hearing much more from me about Karen in the coming months as G&T testing process begins in NYC.
Karen is in the process of launching a new test prep board game coming out in the next few weeks! Readers of my blog will receive a special promotion to buy the game for OLSAT, WPPSI-III, Stanford-Binet, and ERB testing skills in a fun and educational way.
Karen has even created this video on OLSAT and ERB test prep questions with her dogs in the video below. Just watch the video below with your child and read the story out loud to your child from the video. After the video, ask your child the questions below the video player!
1. What is the name of the black dog? Bronco
2. What is the name of the white dog? Honey
3. What do these two dogs like to do together? Kiss
4. What shape does Honey like to walk in? Circle
5. When Honey walks in a circle, how does she feel? Happy
6. How many kisses did Bronco give Honey in the video? 6
7. Does Honey walk in a straight line when she’s happy? No.
Can you draw a straight line on this piece of paper?
8. Does Honey walk in a square when she’s happy? No.
Can you draw a square on this piece of paper? (If your child can’t do this, draw 4 dots for her to connect)
9. Does Honey walk in a triangle when she’s happy? No.
Can you draw a triangle on this piece of paper? (If your child can’t do this, draw 3 dots for her to connect)
10. Does Honey walk in a circle when she’s happy? YES!
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program | Tags: g&t handbook for nyc, OLSAT test prep
Good News! The NYC DOE just posted the Gifted and Talented Program handbook on their site.
To apply to take the OLSAT test for the NYC gifted and talented go to:
https://prod.semsnycdoe.com/parentsite/
I’ll be digging into this information over the next couple of days and provide updates on changes compared to last year so you can start your OLSAT test prep for your child. NOW is the time to start OLSAT test prepping your pre-K and kindergartener for your child for the OLSAT testing in January and February. the infromation you need is on the site.
As I mentioned before, I now cross-post on GothamSchools.org under the Community tab so look for updates there as well. They are a little different than what I post on my blog.
I’ve been getting requests from hundreds of parents on good OLSAT test prep materials so contact me if you need more information on that topic for NYC gifted and talented program. I’ve been reviewing other items over the past few weeks that I think would be helpful.
Also, if you’d like 6 FREE sample OLSAT questions let me know. They are from a new book that just got released a couple of months ago. Email me at skipper646@gmail.com.
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program | Tags: Gifted and talented ciriculum, OLSAT test prep, PS 33 Chelsea Prep
If you have questions or comments regarding the NYC gifted and talented program et me know. skipper646@gmail.com. Thanks – Michael
We visited our child’s G&T class at PS 33 Chelsea Prep for parents of gifted and talented students and teacher/principal meeting. Overall, we are extremely pleased with the teacher and principal Lindy. The principal stood before us and explained the expectations of parents for the gifted and talented program. I have to admit, the expectations are extremely high for parent involvement but I prefer that than low expectations for parent involvement. Principal Lindy told us about the math and reading ciriculum then she told us the children have special instruction in robotics! (more…)
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, OLSAT BRSA test prep for NYC gifted talented | Tags: OLSAT test prep
Filed under: NYC Gifted and Talented Program, Parents Resources for NYC G&T | Tags: Brooklyn P.S 686, Brooklyn School of Inquiry, New York Times Article, OLSAT Practice, OLSAT test prep
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me at skipper646@gmail.com. Thanks! Michael
Well, we finished our first week of kindergarten for our child at PS 33. All I can say is we are VERY pleased so far with the program at PS 33 Chelsea Prep. From the teacher to the principal everything has run smoothly and we believe the rest of the year will be just as good if not better. Our child’s class is a true representation of the diverse backgrounds of this wonderful city and we’re glad our child will be able to attend a school that accurately reflects the various cultures and backgrounds of NYC.
On another note, there was an interesting article in NY Times regarding the NYC gifted and talented program a few weeks ago. Not sure I agree with all of it but I found it a good read. The article mentions OLSAT test preparation along with OLSAT scores for the NYC gifted and talented program. Here’s an excerpt from the article: (more…)
