Is it worth testing?

[mommymilkies]

My oldest daughter is very gifted. In Kindergarten, her teachers told us that we needed to "slow her down", even sending several notes home on the subject, because she had completed all of the K and 1st grade materials. She was reading novels while they were learning 1-10 and starting their ABC's. This is one of the reasons we homeschool. She has an amazingly advanced emotional intelligence, she is responsible and has a "steel trap" memory. Her photographic memory is unlike anything I've ever seen. Her abilities in foreign languages are just absurdly advanced.

 

I was considering testing her, but she is 10 which is after the "preferred age" for testing. We do not live within about 4 hours of any gifted schools and most schools in our state (IL) have done away with gifted programs, at least the ones outside of Chicago. I can not ask my step-father for help as we do not speak anymore (long story).

 

Would it be worth calling the school district about testing? Are there any reasonable online tests? Is it worth testing at her age? I more want an idea of what we're facing here because I'm nosy. :tongue_smilie:

[EKS]

The problem with testing after age 9 is that there might be more pronounced ceiling effects. You will still be able to tell if she is gifted and where her relative strengths are.

 

I've had both of my kids tested. The older one also has learning disabilities and has been tested four times (aack!). The younger one doesn't seem to have LDs, but I found that the testing was helpful and I'm happy we did it.

 

I personally wouldn't go through the school system. I would try to find someone with experience and interest in gifted children to do the testing.

[wapiti]

Five kids later my brains have all leaked out of my ears. :lol:

:lol::lol:

 

I personally wouldn't go through the school system. I would try to find someone with experience and interest in gifted children to do the testing.

:iagree:

[mommymilkies]

Anyone know where to look, if not the school district? The University nearest to us is not an option. Would I call psychology departments at colleges?

[wapiti]

Did you check the list at Hoagies? (odd, I can't find the page just now, but there is a list of some testers by state)

 

Also check the websites of any schools for gifted kids in your area. They may have psychs listed who are approved for their admissions testing.

 

Other than that, a college or university psych or neuropsych department would be another place to call.

 

Lastly, word-of-mouth.

[abbeyej]

Personally, I've decided that (largely *because* we home school), it simply isn't necessary for us to know. (BTW, my FIL was a psychologist as well, and used to let dh take IQ tests to kill time, as the rest of us might hand our kids a sudoku. In consequence, dh has a pretty cynical view of what they can and can't tell one anyway. ;))

 

But really, as a home schooler, I alter the level and pace of our work to fit the kids. There were times when they were younger and especially when they'd hit a big developmental leap, and I'd wonder if I'd *ever* be able to figure out what the heck I was doing or how to keep up, but over time I feel we really *have* gotten a great handle on that.

 

If they were in school and I needed to fight for acceleration, differentiation, pull-out programs, etc, I can certainly see going for it.

 

As it is, ITBS and CogAT scores qualify them for Duke TIP. That allows them to take the Explore and the SAT, which give them a chance to do some out-of-level testing and (if we had endless sums of money) enrichment programs etc. I haven't come across anything where I needed an IQ test rather than an excellent achievement or CogAT score in order to open doors. As they get older, that'll be even more true: no one really cares about IQ scores, but they do care about SATs, GREs, and the work one has done.

 

I certainly don't *object* to parents having their kids tested. It's just that, as a home schooler, I've found it quite possible to find good materials that challenge and inspire my kids. Sometimes those materials are meant for kids close to my kids' ages, and sometimes they're intended for a much older audience. Luckily, I don't have to justify my choices to anyone outside my family. :)

 

In my experience, home schooling mitigates many of the challenges of educating gifted kiddos. :)

[catz]

When I was a child, my step-father was a Psychology professor and used me as a guinea pig for his students to practice IQ tests with. He never let me see the test results but I was in gifted and they said my IQ was "astounding". Five kids later my brains have all leaked out of my ears. :lol:

 

My oldest daughter is very gifted. In Kindergarten, her teachers told us that we needed to "slow her down", even sending several notes home on the subject, because she had completed all of the K and 1st grade materials. She was reading novels while they were learning 1-10 and starting their ABC's. This is one of the reasons we homeschool. She has an amazingly advanced emotional intelligence, she is responsible and has a "steel trap" memory. Her photographic memory is unlike anything I've ever seen. Her abilities in foreign languages are just absurdly advanced.

 

I was considering testing her, but she is 10 which is after the "preferred age" for testing. We do not live within about 4 hours of any gifted schools and most schools in our state (IL) have done away with gifted programs, at least the ones outside of Chicago. I can not ask my step-father for help as we do not speak anymore (long story).

 

Would it be worth calling the school district about testing? Are there any reasonable online tests? Is it worth testing at her age? I more want an idea of what we're facing here because I'm nosy. :tongue_smilie:

 

At age 10, achievement testing can be very informative and much less expensive. I doubt it would be very informational to test through the school system.

 

I have 2 gifted kids. My 10 year old took the NNAT at school in kindergarten and hit the ceiling of the test (I had no idea he was gifted prior to this even though he had all the "symptoms"). We've had 3 open ended achievement tests done since then that have been consistent with the NNAT results and put him at a highly to profoundly gifted level. If you do test, keep in mind that it's one piece of data you have to piece together a puzzle on your journey.

 

Locally for us, it would run about $2000 out of pocket to test my kids that have no sign of a LD and that we're homeschooling. If my kids had quirks that I couldn't figure out or I suspect them to be 2E, I might do it. But for us, it wasn't worth the cost.

[mommymilkies]

I just looked up the CogAT and that looks like a good first step. She's never taken standardized tests. Are there any good materials to acquaint her with the testing before I order it? I found this:

 

http://www.bjupress.com/product/065581?path=199049

[catz]

I was just going to say, my child has taken the SCAT, the Peabody Oral achievement (K-12) twice - this was extremely valuable info and only cost $55 in my home to take. And this year my child took the Explore for the first time (waiting for scores on that one). And then the NNAT through the school system.

Edited February 23, 2011 by kck

[mommymilkies]

Did you order the tests or did you have to find a test administrator? My husband certainly qualifies as a tester. I'm less than 10 credits away from qualifying. :glare:

[abbeyej]

I just looked up the CogAT and that looks like a good first step. She's never taken standardized tests. Are there any good materials to acquaint her with the testing before I order it? I found this:

 

http://www.bjupress.com/product/065581?path=199049

 

CogAT is useful. It's far from perfect, but given the price and the fact that you can administer it at home, and the analysis available at cogat.com, it's useful. You really don't need to "prepare" for it at all, though you could get one of the Spectrum Test *Practice* (not "prep") books for her grade level (I usually go up a couple of grades) to get her used to working with a separate test booklet and bubble-type answer sheet. They won't prepare her for the CogAT specifically, but it'll give her experience so she doesn't have to learn *how* to take the test once she sits down to do it.

 

I've had good experiences with BJU's testing department. Their turn-around time is much, much quicker now than it will be later in the year (second half of April, any time in May) when they get bogged down a little.

 

CogAT is also nice because it will give you percentages and stanines based on both grade level and age level.

[mommymilkies]

I just ordered the practice books and I'll work on getting dh certified to give them the test. Not the Stanford one, though, as I don't have 2 other kids in her grade level to test at the same time. ;)

[wapiti]

The thing I'd keep in mind about the CogAT is that it's a screening tool rather than an IQ test, and does miss a certain number of gifted kids. This has happened to kids I know - kids who don't score in the 98th percentile on the CogAT despite having an IQ in the gifted range according to actual IQ tests like the WISC. Personally, I wouldn't bother with it unless the result from that particular test were necessary for entrance to some program. But then, my kids tend toward 2E, with slow-ish processing speed, which can be a significant problem on the CogAT.

[mommymilkies]

Well, I was considering CTY sometime in the future, so the test scores would be helpful.

 

My husband just talked to his sister (she's a sub working on her Master's in Ed) and she said she'll ask around at her University to see if anyone needs test subjects so our kids can do it that way. Otherwise, I'll send in the form so dh can give them the IOWA and CogAT. SIL said she might be able to do the Stanford one, if we want her to, but she's 34 weeks pregnant. :lol:

 

I was wary of bringing this up to her since she is very anti-homeschooling by principle, but dh brought it up. She did test my oldest dd a couple of years ago for one of her certifications. That was just a simple reading comprehension test, though. Dd can read LOTR through with no problems, so I know she's ok in that regard.

[EKS]

I just looked up the CogAT and that looks like a good first step. She's never taken standardized tests. Are there any good materials to acquaint her with the testing before I order it? I found this:

 

http://www.bjupress.com/product/065581?path=199049

 

Be sure that you give her the CogAT intended for kids at least two years older than she is. The CogAT has a pretty low ceiling, so if she makes a silly mistake on the on-level test, her score won't be in the gifted range.

 

The other limitation of the CogAT is that it generally won't identify gifted kids with processing speed issues (or other issues that affect speed).

[mommymilkies]

Be sure that you give her the CogAT intended for kids at least two years older than she is. The CogAT has a pretty low ceiling, so if she makes a silly mistake on the on-level test, her score won't be in the gifted range.

 

The other limitation of the CogAT is that it generally won't identify gifted kids with processing speed issues (or other issues that affect speed).

 

Thanks. Good thing I didn't order last night, then! I'm waiting to hear back from SIL and I'm going to send in the form for BJU either way to get a head start. :)

 

The IOWA comes in a package with the CogAT. Should I also test her ahead on the IOWA?

Edited February 24, 2011 by mommymilkies

[EKS]

 

The IOWA comes in a package with the CogAT. Should I also test her ahead on the IOWA?

 

I think you can also order the tests separately.

 

I'd test her ahead on the Iowa if she is working ahead.

[MSNative]

The only reason I can see to pay for all the testing is if you want to get your kid into a program that requires it - like Davidson. If not, I wouldn't bother. I'd use the money you'd spend testing her to pay for books, curriculum, classes, etc.

[SusanK]

In my experience, it's very helpful to have someone administer the test who is at least familiar with the child...someone seen "as their side" instead of an opponent. If it isn't possible to meet the test administrator briefly prior to the testing appointment, it may help to ask for an extra 15-20 minutes at the beginning for a get-to-know-you.