Another question about testing

[CadenceSophia]

For those of you who have had your children tested very young, what tests did you use and what prompted it? I keep hearing (not necessarily on this board) of very young kids with high IQ's, but I wonder who really tests 2-5 year old children. And why? My kids have the option for MAP testing and that's all I know of routinely offered. Are there any benefits to seeking testing if you plan to continue to homeschool anyway? It is not as if I need to prove anything to anyone. I am primarily asking about my daughter who just turned 5. She's working about 2 grade levels ahead in all (most?) areas. I have been reading blogs and articles about gifted kids. It really helps me understand her personality sometimes, but then makes me feel like an incredible slacker because I have never given her a lesson in anything. The most she will let me do is read her the directions in Singapore or answer questions about what a combination of letters sounds like. She writes letters to my mom about what she's learning and take notes on her "research".

 

Thanks!

[Arcadia]

Those that I heard of who test before 5 are suspected 2E cases. Early Intervention (3 years old to start of K) here is a lot more generous and it is easier to get a 504 or IEP if the child "graduate" from Early Intervention.

 

A girlfriend's boy was referred by the preschool twice for ADHD testing. She didn't pursue IQ testing because of costs but the conclusion at that time by the child psychiatrists was inconclusive at 3 and that her kid was bored and not ADHD at 4.

 

We would need to test early if we had wanted DS11 to enter K early. Since he was entering K at 4yrs 8mths, we didn't want to grade skip and so didn't see a need to spend money testing. We didn't need the IQ scores for his public charter to agree to subject acceleration and his public charter was the one who propose a grade skip.

 

We tested DS10 when he was 9 because of issues and insurance paid most of it. We tested DS11 at the same time because he would wonder why only DS10 keep having psychologist visits. We looked at Davidson Academy, Reno only after they met the eligibility criteria.

[rwilk]

Those that I heard of who test before 5 are suspected 2E cases. Early Intervention (3 years old to start of K) here is a lot more generous and it is easier to get a 504 or IEP if the child "graduate" from Early Intervention.

 

 

This.  DD was tested at 3 as part of a comprehensive set of tests to determine what sort of developmental issues were going on with her.  The IQ aspect was just an aside.  It is not particularly reliable at that age, so I don't really think about it as legitimate. Basically it helped the doctors realize that she didn't have cognitive issues, but her problems were related to other things. 

[Dmmetler]

DD was tested first at 2 as a possible 2e issue, and then at barely 4 for early K entry. In both cases, they didn't do a full scale IQ test, but did shorter ones (K-BIT was used at 4, for example). We still don't have an official IQ score, but her other tests have tended to indicate that her early IQ estimates were probably fairly accurate.

[displace]

DS was first tested at 5 because of a suspected learning disability.  Giftedness was confirmed then but disabilities were diagnosed a year and a half later. 

 

I would test DD3 (whom I suspect is gifted as well) prior to public school.  If I homeschool her I will likely get her tested if there are any hiccups in education to check for LD or if I decide to put her in public school.

Edited December 18, 2015 by displace

[Runningmom80]

We tested at 4 for early entrance to a gifted charter.

[Jackie]

We would have tested young to argue for acceleration if we had sent DD to school.

 

As it stands, we plan to test her around age 7. The tests are more reliable around then. I've been puzzled several times with putting together where she is and would find some objective testing helpful.

[CadenceSophia]

Those that I heard of who test before 5 are suspected 2E cases. Early Intervention (3 years old to start of K) here is a lot more generous and it is easier to get a 504 or IEP if the child "graduate" from Early Intervention.

 

 

Ohhh..  Well that makes perfect sense. I feel like I should have picked up on that :)

 

We would have tested young to argue for acceleration if we had sent DD to school.

 

As it stands, we plan to test her around age 7. The tests are more reliable around then. I've been puzzled several times with putting together where she is and would find some objective testing helpful.

 

Do you know yet what tests or where/how to have that done?

[Jackie]

Do you know yet what tests or where/how to have that done?

I know a couple of psychologists in town who work with children and do testing. I'm in a small town, so nobody here specializes in children, testing, or giftedness. For the most part, I'd be willing to discuss which tests with the psych and follow their recommendations. I do wonder if I've been underestimating and DD would qualify for DYS, so I would ask that they use tests that would be accepted by Davidson.

[Arcadia]

Do you know yet what tests or where/how to have that done?

EKS recommended WISC based on my DS10 being a "daydreamer" and already tested for ADHD and autism. Plenty of threads on WISC on these boards. Turns out DS10 has a percentile difference of 48 between processing speed and his other scores. That explains some of the difference between my DS10 and DS11.

 

My area has three private schools that require IQ test scores. It was easier for me to find a psychologist as my kids were already 9 and 10, used to B&M classes. It is harder if the child is younger as rapport needs to be built unless child is a social butterfly.

 

My DS11 doesn't like to talk though his verbal is strong. It was hard on the tester for the verbal response portions. Written and hands-on portions were easy for the tester to administer.

 

We did hear a general guideline of waiting until 8 years old unless you need the test earlier.

 

ETA:

Edited for weird autocorrect

Edited December 19, 2015 by Arcadia

[quark]

We did hear a general guideline of waiting until 8 years old unless you need the test earlier.

 

Agreeing. 7-8+ seems to be the best age after which kids might hit (more) ceilings and the result would be (even) less trustworthy. (Using parenthesis for cases where kids start hitting ceilings very young).

[kiwik]

ds8 was tested at 5 years 8 months to answer some questions I had after his first year of school.  Ds6 was tested at 4 years 10 months because I was trying to convince the school of his needs but it didn't work.