Gifted exams are for students whose knowledge and intellect is at a higher level than that of their peers. It is a great way to determine your child’s skills.
Preparing your child for a gifted exam can be quite stressful, mainly because a lot is riding on it. Read the following points to get a clear idea of what you need to do:
Your child’s score is very important
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. When seeking college admissions, your child’s gifted exam score can either turn the tables in their favour or against them. Thus, it is necessary that your child takes the gifted exam only when they are thoroughly prepared.
Gifted exams like CogAT, CogAT Grade 2, CogAT 3 take place only once a year. So, you need to prepare your child to get into the program because if you miss the opportunity, they will have no other option but to wait an entire year.
The test score will become a part of your child’s permanent record.
As mentioned earlier, gifted test results will play a key role in getting your child admitted to their dream college. Not only that, your child’s gifted test scores will go onto their permanent records and will be considered by all the institutions to determine their abilities and intellect.
Good school scores do not guarantee good scores in gifted tests.
Your child’s school scores are not a factor to determine their performance on the gifted tests. This is mainly because the criteria for both the tests are entirely different. School tests generally focus on knowledge a child of a certain age should have while on the other hand, gifted tests focus on the application based knowledge a child has and is based on a higher level than the child’s age group.
The tests are entirely different from the school course.
Simply being thorough with the school course will not help you in the gifted exams. The tests are based on topics that are more advanced than the ones taught in school at a particular age. Thus, your child may come across many types of questions that they have never faced during their normal school tests.
Studying properly is very important to get a good score
Many parents simply rely on their child’s intellect and do not focus on extra preparation for the gifted exams. This will result in a below-par score on the tests as on the D-day they will observe many types of questions that are considerably new to them. Since they are unaware of the matter, they will face major difficulty in understanding ultimately leading to the failure in answering them. Remember, if hard work is not backed up by talent, hard work can quickly takeover.
No matter how intelligent you think your child is, don’t let them go easy on their study schedule. Get them to practice for the gifted exam and help your child understand the different types of questions and decipher its best possible answer.
Abilities tests are timed.
As important as it is to understand what the question is asking for and the best way to answer it, it is also important to keep in mind that the tests are timed and not a minute extra will be provided. Thus, it is important that your child understands how much time they need to devote to a particular question.
Practice tests offer a parent the best ability to assess their child’s performance.
Practice tests by sites like Etutorworld are designed keeping in mind the kinds of questions that have either appeared in the previous years or have a high probability of coming in this year’s final exam. Thus, the score of the practice tests can help you understand your child’s strengths and weaknesses. Also, due to the accuracy of question types, there is a high correlation between how a child performs on these tests and their performance on the D-day.
Dedicate more time on the areas your child is weak.
In the practice tests, look for areas where your child is constantly getting the answers incorrect. Spend extra time to help your child understand the logic behind the answers. This will help them understand the topic better and thus increases their chances of getting a higher score.
Do not settle for a low-quality practice test.
The gifted tests are a major factor in improving your child’s academic future. However, just like high-quality tests can prepare them for the best, low-quality practice tests can ruin their understanding. So make your pick wisely and don’t settle for anything less than excellent. After all, it’s a matter of your child’s future.
This is an opportunity for your child to fly higher than the others, make sure he/she pilots to the best of its capability!
