The Young Children's Assessment Test is used to determine whether a child is eligible for Buist Academy or not. But what is this test? Should it be used at the age of 4 or 5 to determine whether a child is gifted and talented? Dr. Janet Rose of CCSD has publicly stated numerous times that she recommended Buist Academy NOT begin before 2nd grade. So why does CCSD continue to test 4 and 5 year olds? In fact, Sallie Ballard, principal of Buist Academy, wants us to believe they can determine which children will be successful at Buist and which ones won't. Unfortunately, this test may be excluding the best and brightest. Children who were reading (yes, I said reading) before kindergarten have not met the 75th percentile testing score as required by Buist Academy. Is Principal Ballard concerned? It appears not. What school excludes children who are reading PRIOR to kindergarten as not meeting the academic entry requirements?
Buist's SAIL program is also raising eyebrows. Evidently as many as 16 children in one 2nd grade class did NOT meet the SAIL requirements last year. What did Buist do? Well, they retested the kids, of course. All children at Buist must meet the SAIL requirements for 3rd grade...there are no alternatives.
So, can we determine gifted and talented children at the mere age of 4? It appears not.
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3 comments:
What is the YCAT, you ask? It's just another way for Sallie to control which attorneys' and yacht club members' offspring get into HER school.
Dr. McGinley knows what's going on. How can she justify moving Ms. Gadsden and NOT move Ms. Ballard??
I agree with the poster above. The YCAT is a joke. Who checks to make sure Sallie Ballard isn't tampering with the tests' results?
I hope the OCR is looking into that during their investigation.
I've copied part of this comment from a later post because it might help explain what Y-CAT is and how it is used at Buist.
Many people don't know that the Y-CAT and PACT test scores are not the only tests that can be used to qualify for Buist. If a parent has an independent testing service give the latest version of almost any generally recognized IQ or academic aptitude test with results in the upper 80%, CCSD & Buist will accept those scores in lieu of Y-CAT or PACT.
If you don't ask, you don't get. Just another one of the secrets CCSD likes to keep from parents and the public.
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