What You Need to Know
about Manhasset Schools
For Grade 5 Parents
At the end of the year, your children will be considered for 6th grade advanced math, which is the only path to accessing the most advanced math and science pathways through high school. If you want your child to have access to these programs, you should learn about the process for 2023 and 2024. Click here to understand the issues.
First, prepare your child for the CogAT test. Study books with practice tests are available. Typically, your child needs to be in the 98th percentile to be considered for advanced math. To learn more about the CogAT, click here.
One of the most important determinants of access to advanced math is who your child has a fifth grade teacher. If your child has an easy grader, he/she has a 93% chance of admission (after meeting the aptitude test threshold). If your child gets a hard grader, he/she could have as low as a 30% chance of admission. Read about the impact of teacher ratings here. If you are in a low grading teacher class such as Dr. S or Mrs. A in Munsey, contact your teacher to request a generous rating to ensure your child has a fair chance at admission.
In addition, you need to start teaching your child 6th grade math outside of school. Your child will be tested on 6th grade math content through a "secure exam" and is expected to show mastery of content he/she is not taught in school. (Importantly, the teacher rating really does matter. If your child gets a high teacher rating, then he/she only needs to score a 50% on the secure exam to get in. If your child gets a low teacher rating, then he/she could need a score of 80%.)
If you child does not hit the stated 98th percentile CogAT threshold, call Lauren Tallarine (516-267-7570) and complain. In 2023, parents did, and she lowered the threshold. Those students got to take the secure exam more than one week after the others and spoke with their peers about exam contents.
Ideally, parents should not have to worry about which teacher their child has and how it impacts admission chances. They also should not have to worry about whether extra students are added to the process and given a testing advantage.
Talk to Your Teacher
Tell your child's teacher that his/her rating is a driving factor for admission to advanced math for grade 6. Your child's teacher may not understand the full process. Educate them by sending this link to your child's teacher: www.manhassetexcellence.com/teachers
Request that your child be given a 60 out of 60 on the teacher input form by checking the "always" box on each question. Three teachers did this in 2023 and were not questioned.