CPS Gifted Testing: It is upon us now...

The CPS Gifted Test is in full force. Parent are receiving last-minute letters with their testing dates and nervously acquiring every possible piece of info that they can. From searching online test booklets to hiring over-priced gifted test prep services, they are doing everything they can to ensure the best environment for their gifted child. But is it necessary? The answer is not a simple one.

The first question parents should ask themselves is "Why am I doing this for (or to) my child?"


The answer is probably a complex one. From reasons of better peer environments, to higher expectations and teacher standards. Gifted schools can be a great place for kids. Challenging at times in both depth and amount of curriculum (read homework increases), gifted programs offer creativity and problem-solving lessons, which at most schools, is very much held in low-regard, or at least paid little attention to.

Additionally, gifted school programs tend to have much higher parent involvement. In my mind, parent involvement makes or breaks a school. Gifted parents are smart, driven, and have many resources to offer a school, and ensure something that needs to be done, gets done, with no apologies.

Gifted schools in Chicago and New York are however, notoriously hard to get into, have a complex, and sometimes unfair admissions process, and sometimes put undue stress and work on parents and children. But is it worth all the effort.

If we look at the intrinsic benefits for the child, and if they can hack the work, the answer is a resounding yes. But does it have any other benefits? Well sure..

Take the other options, moving to the suburbs, or paying for private schools.

A nearby private preschool charges $22,000 per year for kindergarten and increases from there. If you do the math, nine years at private school equates to 198,000, and that's before interest, etc.

So the monetary benefit is huge. But if you are the parent of a gifted child, this is not your reason. You want to do the best by your child, so don't stress out. Getting into gifted my be hard and a pain in the keister for both your child and you, ut it's worth it, and on the other end of the testing and admissions process, you will both be in a different educational world....

Matt Kelley
Owner
Chicago & New York Gifted and Selective Enrollment Test Preparation Services
www.cpsmagnet.com