lilacii Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Can anyone share the advantages and disadvantages of being tested for "giftedness"? Our state does not require outside testing or interaction with the local school district. I am biased against testing my child because I do not see the need. In addition, I do not advocate my child being compared to other students, realizing that any "standardized" test is simply that- standard, and does not appreciate a child as a whole person. I, as his teacher, know where he is in his exploration. Also, I do not feel it is wise to brag about his progression, knowing that I would be just as proud and accepting of him if he happened to have been born with a very low IQ. Are there any advanteges to testing that I am missing? What is the motivation for testing when it is not required by the local district? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYoungerMrsWarde Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 :bigear::lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Advantages: Admission to selective programs Ability to better place your child in curriculum Ability to find hidden learning issues Disadvantages: Time to test Money to test You do not need to share the results of the testing with anyone you don't want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 The Gifted Homeschoolers' Forum has a good article on why IQ testing is a good idea for homeschoolers. DD was tested at 4 3/4 when we were trying to make the decision about educational options. The results made it very clear that it would be difficult to find an appropriate classroom placement for her. DS has not yet been tested, but we probably will have him tested when he is 7. That's about the optimum age we've heard because the child is old enough that he/she will likely cooperate with the testing but young enough so that there are fewer issues with ceilings. If we for some reason do not have the budget for an IQ test, I will have him tested with the EXPLORE in 3rd-5th grade. It's a lot cheaper and is still acceptable for DYS and other programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Some of the online and summer camp programs require qualifying SAT/ACT scores in middle school in order to participate, so I have my kids take those tests in middle school. I personally would not have my kids take a test just to determine if they met the testing criteria for "gifted." I think the "gifted" label is important in a public school setting, but not in the homeschool environment. I have found curricula that are great fits for each of my children. I would not change their curricula programs based on a test score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I administered standardized tests at home to help me make curriculum and acceleration decisions. My DS showed resistance towards some of the grade-level curriculum so choosing a significantly higher than grade level test helped me craft a more customized education for him. I also recently paid for the Explore test to be administered privately (through the Belin-Blank Center). I was educated in another country and therefore, am not entirely familiar with the system here. The tests helped make the expectations of this system clearer to me. I similarly didn't feel he needed an IQ test. However when he turned 8, he showed obvious leaps in learning ability and understanding that clearly befuddled me. I managed to get testing done for very cheap at our local university's psychology department. The results might not be accurate (and I realize not many tests are) since he was tested by an intern but it was enough of a ballpark figure to make me re-customize his educational path to one he's more happy with and excited about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I would not change their curricula programs based on a test score. Having that score can help give a parent confidence to go ahead and make an acceleration decision. I've found that it is reassuring that I'm not totally crazy to do curriculum X in grade Y because, in fact, my child's "mental age" is quite a bit different from his/her chronological age. I'm not some horrible "hothousing" parent pushing material that is inappropriate, KWIM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Can anyone share the advantages and disadvantages of being tested for "giftedness"? Our state does not require outside testing or interaction with the local school district. I am biased against testing my child because I do not see the need. In addition, I do not advocate my child being compared to other students, realizing that any "standardized" test is simply that- standard, and does not appreciate a child as a whole person. I, as his teacher, know where he is in his exploration. Also, I do not feel it is wise to brag about his progression, knowing that I would be just as proud and accepting of him if he happened to have been born with a very low IQ. Are there any advanteges to testing that I am missing? What is the motivation for testing when it is not required by the local district? In general, I would say more data is good. Not always necessary, but potentially useful. As long as you know it doesn't change anything - it's still the same kid, whether you know scores or not, there's not a lot of risk to the testing process... It doesn't make you brag, it doesn't make you forget everything you already know about your kid as a whole person, it doesn't make you more or less proud. (Honestly, people who do those things will find some way to do them with or without data!) If you're talking about IQ testing in particular, my main reason for doing it is to "tease out" the pattern of scores -- not the overall number, but where the relative highs and lows are. As a previous poster already mentioned, knowing that The Number is way high or way low can tell you something about how well you might expect a school situation to fit... but what I think it more important, is that you can get a look into how a kid who, for instance, has very high verbal scores and very low working memory can be performing at a fairly average level because he's compensating for the memory, or because the memory issues are hidden by the other strengths. It gives you the hint that unusual approaches might be called for, or that a problem might surface later even though things are going well now. It's probably not necessary for the vast majority of kids, whose day-to-day work reflects their abilities just fine, but when there's something you think you're missing, or when you just can't get a handle on what this kid can and can't do, or you can't tell what's just personality and what's something seriously going on... that's the time when it can be vital. Standardized testing of the "regular" sort (ITBS, or CAT/5, or whatever) I don't find quite as useful... A Woodcock Johnson or WIAT is better, again because it shows you some of the scatter of, for instance, a kid who does really well with math concepts and really poorly with math speed... and because the WJ and the WIAT have a lot of room for valid scores - not just "at", "below" and "above" a grade level. Other than that I more often use achievement tests to document out of level work -- SAT and ACT for generally operating at a college-bound-high-school level, SAT subject tests and AP tests for completion of high school or AP level work, and competitive math exams for more advanced math. Beyond that, I prefer to use curriculum-specific placement tests for curriculum decisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Having that score can help give a parent confidence to go ahead and make an acceleration decision. I've found that it is reassuring that I'm not totally crazy to do curriculum X in grade Y because, in fact, my child's "mental age" is quite a bit different from his/her chronological age. I'm not some horrible "hothousing" parent pushing material that is inappropriate, KWIM? Yes, I know exactly what you mean about the "hothousing." I have had other parents say that about me.:glare: I also had another mom with an infant once ask me what flash cards I used when my son was her infant's age.:confused: My oldest especially is very advanced for his age. We were very lucky to stumble upon a great Montessori school with an amazing teacher when he was four (after a disastrous preschool year when he was 3). Within the first week, she recommended that he be placed one year ahead, and in addition, the school had him going up to the lower elementary level for math instruction. No one made a big deal out of it - the school was just meeting his needs. Having that experience helped me to see that age does not matter; you just meet your child where he is. Once he outgrew the Montessori school, we enrolled him in our "excellent" rated public school. He lasted 10 days before we decided to homeschool. I discovered the DYS program our first year of homeschooling. I debated then about whether we should go ahead and have the I.Q. portion done for him since we had the SAT qualifying scores, but we decided not to only because we knew he was being challenged, and we more than likely would not have made any changes to his educational programs. Again, had we been in a traditional setting where the parents have next to no control over the curricula, and test scores are critical, we would have gone ahead with that testing as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I'm interested in it because dd will start at a charter school in the fall. They do move students to different classes based on evaluations (the superintendent told me) and so dd will probably be tested. I am a bit interested in the scores the PPs have talked about, processing speed versus comprehension versus memory, etc, because my dds are certainly a puzzle! I'm slowly figuring it out but more information would be wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilacii Posted July 14, 2011 Author Share Posted July 14, 2011 I am so grateful to each who posted information showing the advantages of "testing for giftedness". I especially appreciate the article which was sited. I find it quite helpful. Thank you all!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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