GT Preparation Strategies for Parents

1. Keep communication open with the second grade teacher of your child. Work positively with him/her on every little progress, academically or behaviorally. Although the screening committee of your local school consists of several members, the voice of your second grade teacher weighs most.
2. Know who the GT Specialist is in your school. Get his/her suggestions as early as possible in the process. Don’t wait until the decision has already been made. The appealing process is not fun, FOR PARENTS! Trust me!
3. Work samples: Math sheets of multi digit multiplication or division won’t help a lot. Find some samples that can truly reflect the creative capability of your child, such as robot and lego models, stories and poems, pictures of scientific projects or him/her doing them. Start paying attention to and collecting them even when your child is in kindergarten. So, Moms, you’ve found a new work-from-home opportunity! This could be your full-time job!
4. If you do need to appeal, my personal recommendation is to go to testing institution that your county recommends and find out what tests are acceptable by the county. For example, Fairfax County Public Schools recommends the George Mason University Psychological Clinic. Schedule with them early because they will get very busy after everybody receives the decision. The appealing window doesn’t open long.
5. Although it is not recommended to prepare kids for the tests, I personally feel it is necessary to equip yourself and your child with the knowledge of what types of questions are tested and how they are administered. I got my son these two books: Practice Test for the Cognitive Abilities Test CogAT® Multilevel Editionand Practice Test for the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test® (NNAT®) Level C.