Jr. Cognitive Course - FAQ Contents


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Why should I enroll my child in the Jr. Cognitive Course?

Even if you are simply an involved parent/guardian/grand-parent, you have realized the value of engaging your child in deeper thinking and asto how it makes more effective learning while having fun. Critical thinking produces bright, independent, innovative children who succeed in school and in life. We hope and wish you give your children the gift of reasoning and encourage them to participate in our Jr. Cognitive Course for the K-6 level.


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Why is critical thinking of particular value, especially at such a young age?

Studies have consistently shown that scores on critical thinking skills tests significantly correlated with academic excellence. It has also been shown that critical thinking skills can be learned, which suggests that as one learns them, one's performance might well improve. In further support of this hypothesis is the significant correlation between critical thinking and reading comprehension. Improvements in the one are paralleled by improvements in the other. Now if you can read better and think better, might you not do better in your classes, learn more, and get better grades. It is, to say the least, very plausible.


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What are the major benefits of the Jr. Cognitive Course to my child?

The Jr. Cognitive Course (K-Grade to Grade-VI) is useful for your young child as follows:


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Children in which grades are eligible to participate in the Jr. Cognitive Course?

The Jr. Cognitive Course is available for K-Grade thro Grade-VI. In view of increasing understanding/maturity we have split the course into 3 levels as follows:


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Is it mandatory that all school-going children are subject to assessment tests?

The main purpose of standardized achievement tests is to provide schools with information/scores that can be used to check each students' year-to-year growth and to help identify some of the students strongest and weakest areas of achievement. While the results of such standardized tests will not typically be used to determine report card grades of students, they will be however used as a yardstick in conjunction with other information from both the classroom and home, to identify and address the educational needs of each student. We encourage the students to do their best on such standardized tests and hope to provide them with exposure to some types of questions they may face, so as to reduce their stress and anxiety and ultimately help your child to have a positive "standardized test" testing experience.


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What kind of assessment tests are available to a typical K-6 grader?

If they have not already, your child/ward most likely will be taking one of more of the following standardized tests. The list provided here is purely for the awareness of the parents and is by no means exhaustive. We also wish to clarify here that the Jr. Cognitive Course is not affiliated with nor endorsed by any of the following :

       § : FCPS approved ability tests        ‡ : LCPS approved ability tests


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I have a PreK/K-Grade child -- will he/she benefit from the Jr. Cognitive Course?

Early years are the most important time to identify children's learning needs and provide a secure foundation for academic excellence. Research has shown that childhood learning is critical to later success in school and life. A child's development during the early years, forms the foundation on which much of his or her future academic success depends. The Jr. Cognitive Course has a specific level (Level-I) designed to provide exposure to non-verbal concepts to help children this young grow and develop, so that later 'logic' learning is built upon a sound foundation.


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Can a PreK/K-Grader be expected to focus for 20-30 minutes? Is there a precedent where an exam exists for such young kids that demands this attention span?

Yes. While focusing for a period of 20-30 minutes on one task, at that young age, could be considered as a difficult accomplishment, we have observed this requirement to be a norm rather than an exception especially for some Standardized tests conducted at that age level. E.g. The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (38 questions in 30 minutes + 10 minutes for other non-test questions)


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What is the educational footprint of the course counselors?

The typical educational footprint of course counselors at Wish2Excel varies a lot in terms of experience, academic background, etc. Some bring in their rich academic expertise with qualifications ranging from Bachelor's to Master's Degrees in Science to Ph.D. The Course organizers and advisors are graduates of prestigious national and international colleges including MIT and Indian Institute of Technology and/or are Mensa Certified. The common underlying characteristics are sincerity, devotion to education and a strong passion towards 'knowledge cultivation'. They are always aware of the huge expectations that each student has from them.


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What is the suggested preparation for this Jr. Cognitive Course?

All the course material discussed in sessions will be self-explanatory as well as self-sufficient. We do not expect parents/students to need to refer to any extra material/references.


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What is the content of the Jr. Cognitive Course?

The Jr. Cognitive course will consist of face-to-face contact sessions where students will work hands-on on logic and cognitive problems as building blocks in preparation for the standardized tests. These sessions will be of drop-off nature and parents are encouraged to leave the children to work by themselves in emulation of standardized testing environments.


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What is your mode of instruction?

The Jr. Cognitive course will make use of a variety of methods closely resembling those of the standardized tests to provide the students with challenging problems. Then in a fun way we shall make them aware of the typical tricks involved and simple methods to arrive at a correct solution.


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Does the PreK/K Grade child need to be able to write to be able to participate?

The cognitive ability tests aimed at PreK/K Graders often are non-verbal in nature and only need the students to pick a correct choice from questions based on figures. Reading and writing abilities are hence not a key to doing well on these tests. In line with the actual expectations, our Level-I course as well, does not have reading/writing as its pre-requisites.


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Will you be conducting any of the actual cognitive ability test(s) of those listed in #6?

While we have modeled our sessions/questions closely to the most common 'cognitive' areas of the tests listed in #6, we are not focused on any one in particular. Hence we will not be, in any shape or form, conducting a trail-run of any of the tests listed above, but merely preparing the student to know what is expected and how to deal with cognitive/logic questions.


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Will the child be deemed as 'gifted' by the Jr. Cognitive Course?

The process of identification of being 'gifted' is complex. Classroom teachers and gifted resource teachers regularly review student progress and performance. Students can be identified at any grade level if giftedness is demonstrated in classroom work or in performance on achievement and ability tests. Identification is based on multiple factors such as Student Profile, Teacher Rating Scale, Ability Test Scores and Achievement Test Scores. While we can arm the student mind with information and strategies, the final privileged decision as being 'gifted' would remain with the relevant school and county authorities.


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Where will this Jr. Cognitive Course be held?

The Jr. Cognitive Course will be held in Ashburn, VA. The exact location and dates/times will be provided in advance to those who register. If you have any more questions or queries please Contact us.


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What is the registration fee structure?

Registration fees and schedule details for different courses are here. There is a 15% discount for additional siblings.


We wish see you at upcoming Jr. Cognitive Course!!! Please add yourself to the advance notification list by filling out details on the Contact Us page.