Truscifi Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Ds5 is being given a pre screening by the special education coordinator at the local public school to determine if he qualifies for testing with the school psychologist. I'm wondering how to explain this process to ds - he does well in new situations as long as he has an idea of what to expect. I don't mean what specific things he will be asked about, just how he is expected to behave and what will happen. Also, I'm a little nervous about sending him in with someone he's never met before. He does well with new people once he gets used to them (which can take anywhere from 10 minutes to several days depending on how they try to engage him), but he has not had to interact with a new adult without me being there with him before. I have already told him that he will be talking to a grown up at the ps and she will be asking him questions to help me see how he thinks so I can do the best job teaching him. Is there anything else I should tell him? Should I specifically tell him I won't be in the room with him? I am leaning toward giving him as much info as possible without skewing the test. TIA for any suggestions! (And yes, I have read the Hoagies page, I just want more input from some seasoned veterans here ;).) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Ds5 is being given a pre screening by the special education coordinator at the local public school to determine if he qualifies for testing with the school psychologist. I'm wondering how to explain this process to ds - he does well in new situations as long as he has an idea of what to expect. I don't mean what specific things he will be asked about, just how he is expected to behave and what will happen. Also, I'm a little nervous about sending him in with someone he's never met before. He does well with new people once he gets used to them (which can take anywhere from 10 minutes to several days depending on how they try to engage him), but he has not had to interact with a new adult without me being there with him before. I have already told him that he will be talking to a grown up at the ps and she will be asking him questions to help me see how he thinks so I can do the best job teaching him. Is there anything else I should tell him? Should I specifically tell him I won't be in the room with him? I am leaning toward giving him as much info as possible without skewing the test. TIA for any suggestions! (And yes, I have read the Hoagies page, I just want more input from some seasoned veterans here ;).) I can understand why you are concerned. And I don't have any great answers. It is because of your concerns that our local ps won't test (unless forced) until later. Young kids just aren't used to testing under these circumstances. I would tell him that he's going to play some games, do some puzzles and answer questions. Be sure to tell him to NOT give one word answers. Practice with him. That's all I've got, unless he's allowed to bring in some sort of "lovey" to make him more comfortable. Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Is there a specific reason they are choosing to test at five versus waiting until he is six and can test with the WISC or the Stanford-Binet? Testing prior to six isn't as reliable for the reasons you mentioned. Are you looking for services from the school, or is their the question of a delay in some area? I would discuss this with the person who will screen your son. Often they have a plan of approach that you could share with your son. Say, first they will do some puzzles or interactive play of some sort, then look at pictures, you get the idea. That would give you the best information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted August 30, 2009 Author Share Posted August 30, 2009 He is testing for the REACH (gifted) program. It was recommended by the school personnel we interact with - we use the AR program and are discussing using the STAR math program through the school as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talexand Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Try not to stress the results too much. My son took the CogAT in K under similar circumstances. He did well but not in the gifted category. Looking at the subscores he missed fully half of the questions in one area. Obviously he didn't understand what he was supposed to be doing that day or he wasn't paying attention at all. At 7 yrs old I had him take the WISCIV through a private tester. It turns out he is highly gifted, which validated my own observations. I knew the CogAT results weren't good but it did confuse me to see them. The gifted coordinator wasn't surprised by the scores, she was familiar with the fact that 5 year olds don't test well. The only reason he was given the test at 5 was because he was so obviously ahead of the class. They still accomodated him in K but didn't put him in the gifted pull-out which was pretty lame anyway. They would have tested him again in 2nd grade but by then we had moved to a private school which didn't test at all. I decided to do the testing for my own information. When we returned to the public school in third grade they took the WISCIV results and put him in the gifted program. When my second son took the CogAT at 6 (first grade) I did some early logic and comparison questions with him for practice. I also had him practice the multiple choice, fill in the oval type test environment. This son did much better and qualified for the gifted program through the test. He took the test in a classroom full of kids rather than being singled out which was good for him. He was anxious when singled out. I would help if you knew what test he will be given. Then you can ask about it specifically or google it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaTanya Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 I don't know how your ds will respond as the students I screened were 7+ and had seen me around the school or in their classrooms doing lessons. However, the screening tests we used were VERY short (30 minutes or less to complete) and limited in scope. One used nonverbal "puzzles" (analogies) and the other had some vocabulary and puzzles. I (as the examiner) would give the students some examples to let them know what was expected (2 or more for each kind of task) and tell them we were going to do some activities to see how they think about or look at things. Keep it low key. Maybe tell him that the teacher won't expect him to get every item correct (some gifted students have a hard time "missing" one and freeze up because of perfectionism issues) as the tasks typically get progressively harder until the examiner has reached the child's "ceiling." Sounds like you've already prepared him from what you say! As a gifted teacher, my experience shows that VERY often gifted students are not identified at this age. That does not mean they are not gifted! If it doesn't go as you hope or expect, further testing may be recommended, but I have taught many students who were not identified until 3rd grade or higher. Maturity and confidence can play a huge role, imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted August 31, 2009 Author Share Posted August 31, 2009 Thanks for the info! We are going to have the prescreening today. Also, just to satisfy my curiosity, what kind of logic games and puzzles are good for a 5 year old? He is doing 2nd grade work in all subjects and is reading at a 4th grade level, but I have never done logic work with him. I enjoy logic puzzles and would like to do some with him, but I want to make sure they are approrpiate for him so he doesn't get frustrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 Ds took the prescreening test today. It was the KBIT 2. Never heard of it before today, and I still don't know much about it, but he did well enough to be sent for further testing with the school psychologist to determine if he is gifted and would benefit from being in the gifted pull out program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchel210 Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 My dd did a prescreening in the school before first grade...and they told me I was crazy...and she wasnt close to gifted and they wouldnt do the IQ testing. She was very nervous and refused to talk to them. (even though she was working in 2-3 grade level) I also think they didnt want to waste resources on a "homeschool kid" (just my opinion) Our PS doesnt offer any part time programs for Home school kids...so it would have served no use to them to test her. Later I had her tested at home with another school psychologist...and she tested very high IQ and well over the school qifted program levels. Now both my girls are in PS and in the gifted program full time. They offer full time gifted classes in our school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted September 4, 2009 Author Share Posted September 4, 2009 I had full time gifted classes when I was in school, and I SOOO wish they had them in the school district where we now live. Ds might even be in public school then :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 Ds took the WPPSI today. We should get the results next week. Oh, the joy of waiting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 Update: it was a short wait! The school psychologist just called and said ds does qualify for the gofted program. We will have a meeting in 1-2 weeks to discuss the results in detail and decide where to go from here. :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Pea Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 Update: it was a short wait! The school psychologist just called and said ds does qualify for the gofted program. We will have a meeting in 1-2 weeks to discuss the results in detail and decide where to go from here. :hurray: Congratulations! I just read through the whole thread and thought you deserved a congrats after all that. And a great big sigh of relief. My dd 5yo, I believe is gifted, but she's only (haha) doing first grade right now. I am too scared to have her tested yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted September 19, 2009 Author Share Posted September 19, 2009 Thanks - I'm so anxious to get the full report! And I know what you mean about being scared to test. If someone from the ps hadn't suggested it I might have waited. I have heard that kids do best when tested at 7-8 years old, but I really feel ds needs interaction with other kids with similar interests. Right now, though, he is asking to do some science - so off we go! :auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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