A second level of test prep which many agree with would be the free online demo or sample questions posted online on the specific test company's website. Free practice tests online, offered by the testing company, are generally considered becoming acquainted with the test and are not considered to be gaming the system. Individuals most often aware of free practice tests online may be those who are educators, have an older child in the system, volunteer at school, research extensively online, join forums, and/or socialize with other parents having an older child in the system. Those who may be unaware of practice tests online may be those learning the ropes as they shepherd their first child through the system, those who do not join committees, participate in forums, research online, socialize with other parents, or volunteer in the classroom.
I have spent many hours in the classroom, socializing with other parents, and doing research, and yet I still feel unaware at times of the available resources, especially with the ever-changing tests and standards. I would hope any new parent who posts a question about resources doesn't feel that more experienced members view him or her as an anti-social, uninvolved, and uneducated parent!
A level of test prep which may be broadly rejected as giving a falsely inflated result (generally not sustainable or supported by the child's ongoing progress/performance/achievement) is the test prep available from commercial companies at a price. This may be regarded by some as unethical, cheating, and/or gaming the system. Some may associate this type of test prep with the often negatively regarded concepts of tiger parenting, vanity parenting, hothousing, and trophy kids. There are other threads which discuss these concepts.
I think it would make more sense if we each offered advice from our own experiences, rather than making it sound as if this board/these parents are a monolith. I think that the entire issue is a lot more nuanced than this. Obviously, I am guessing most of us (and the original poster) aren't in favor of kids getting a copy of last year's CoGAT test so they can memorize answers. OTOH, I know many of us did activities with our kids to promote the same kinds of skills required on tests like the CoGAT. Truly, I think a lot of parents worry too much about this. If prepping were really that easy, every HS kid would be getting perfect ACT/SAT scores
I think it's more important to advocate to keep gifted classes geared towards gifted students, and to help teachers and administrators understand how differently gifted kids can present. But I guess I don't view a targeted test prep as really that different than doing Sudoku or logic puzzles with my kids, listening to Grammar Girl podcasts, or having them work on Khan Academy. We all want to nurture and encourage our kids' best potential. "Some" may immediately assume a parent who buys some test prep materials may be a lying, unethical, vain, tiger parent, but I would prefer not to immediately jump to that conclusion.
