Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Is this gifted, or just "bright?"

Seriously, just be honest here. This is a child I am homeschooling. I am trying to discern whether I should invest time, effort, and expense into getting testing and looking into resources like Davidson, or whether I should just let her slide along at her speed.

This is 6 yr old girl, who I say is in "1st grade", but she is not doing ANY first grade work. And let me be clear I am far from an overachieving homeschooling parent. We have an older one, too.

Reading: She exhibited no signs of super early reading in preschool beyond letters and basic sounds, but when I started teaching her in Kindergarten last year, she picked it up and was reading fluently within a few weeks, and with almost unlimited capacity within a few months. She is now reading books advertised for kids in the 8-12 range, though, there are limits as to what she will read based on content and interest. (Likes things like The Guardians of Ga'Hoole and Rick Riordan's books.)

Math: I have her on a 3rd grade curriculum right now, and she is just blazing through it pretty effortlessly, but then every so often she has a fit, says something is hard, so I hesitate to push her further - yet she usually overcomes the fit and can perform the math flawlessly with even a few seconds of explanation.

Here is an example of "challenge problems" I gave her that are beyond the scope of her curriculum, with only concepts explained very casually and verbally (in response to questions in the car, for example)



Writing example. Sometimes I think she is capable of more, but she gets grumpy if I try to push anything more, and I feel I shouldn't because she's only 6? (This example, she listened to me read something orally, and then answered all these questions with no input or spelling assistance.)



Benefit from some kind of eval, or is this just the work of a bright 6 yr old and I should let it go?

I'd say that whether it's worth the trouble to do a screening depends on what you're hoping to accomplish with it. Typically we're talking about testing, DYS, and the like in order to find the right educational environment for our kids, because we've decided to send them to school for a variety of reasons, and we're trying to prove to them what we already know about our kids.

Since you've already decided to homeschool, she gets to move at her own pace, and it appears to be an appropriate environment... where's the problem?

To answer your original question: In my unprofessional opinion, that does not sound like, "just 'bright.'" There are some things you've posted here that sound very similar to my own gifted "first-grader."

I guess as her primary educator, I am not sure if I am doing right by her in terms of giving her an academic experience that includes effort, frustration, and all the things human beings should experience in order to gain the life skills and coping mechanisms needed as an adult, outside of school.

I am neurotic about this because I have a gifted brother (IQ was tested as a child, and it was close to 150). I won't get into the details here, but he skated through academics, but has never been functional in terms of work and relationships as an adult.

Right now everything is excessively simple to her, even most of the advanced content we've kind of fallen into without any plan.

When I try to push beyond that, I am at times met with tears of anger, humiliation, and self-loathing, which makes me feel TERRIBLE and back off immediately, berating myself for asking ridiculous things of a 6-yr-old.

But then at times, she comes back a few days later and shows off her comprehension at whatever I was trying to explain to her when she had her meltdown. Is this just a random epiphany or some demonstration of giftedness, I don't know. She's only 6, and her perschool years appeared pretty typical, so our experience is limited here.

I guess if she is gifted, I would hope to find resources (like Young Scholars) so I don't screw her up trying to educate her? I don't want her to end up like my brother, but I also don't want her to grow up thinking she has to perform feats of genius to win my approval.

I agree with Dude. Testing is expensive. If you plan on homeschooling anyway, then just move her along at her own very advanced pace. If you're looking for a program of some kind, then by all means test her.

FWIW, my DD5 in Kindergarten, IQ at the borderline-PG-range, is struggling with high 1st grade books, and flying through mid-2nd grade math. So by comparison, I'd say your daughter is more than just bright.

DD5 and PG DS7 both get grumpy when given extra work -- my son particularly hates writing, it's not a sign that your daughter isn't as smart as you think.

Also, her spelling is impressive!!!

Your daughter's story sounds similar to so many others on this board. I agree with the op's that she does indeed sound gifted. If I were in your situation and could afford it, I would have her tested. You'll be prepared in the event your situation changes or she decides she'd like to try a public school.

Testing not only gave us IQ's and academic standing but we also got a glimpse into how our kids' minds work.

I agree that she sounds gifted. Her quantitative reasoning in particular appears to be a very strong area. The fact that she can see the multiplication necessary in word problems indicates more than just rote memorization.

FWIW, in re to doclori's kiddo anecdote, my oldest is not PG. Her one IQ test had scores all over the place and a semi-uncooperative kid but it would put her in the MG-HG range. Based on years of interaction with the kid, I'd say that the IQ scores were probably a bit low, but not by dozens of points. She is likely HG, but not PG. At six, she was reading books like Harry Potter and the Chronicals of Narnia and working about a grade level or two ahead in math and writing amazingly well (writing has always been a major strength of hers).

I do think that unusual academic achievement can give insight into whether a child may be gifted, but isn't always the best pin point of the level of giftedness. Mine is very focused and intense and performs very highly -- probably even more so than her IQ would predict.

I agree with Agent99.

I am having DS4 tested at the GDC in Denver this summer (already spoke with Barbara Gilman)

I want him tested first and foremost because he is starting private Kindergarten early in the fall and I want a documented evaluation to be able to show to the school.
BUT, I also want him tested so that I can "get a glimpse into how his mind works" to quote Agent99. I want to know what I dealing with because at the moment I have no idea. I am suspecting though that he is in the EG range.

If you can afford it I think you should go for it!

"Emotional learners" - Serendipity, your description of your daughter sounds a lot like my son. We used to always know when he was in the midst of a learning breakthrough because of the shouting. Once he got past the screaming, he seemed to understand whatever is was, perfectly, permanently and happily. He is now 12yo, and it seems that between gains in experience and maturity or perhaps because the learning is more incremental now for the most part, it happens only rarely now. This seems to be a personality type -- our only other kid is his twin sister, and we have much less learning drama with her. I wish I could offer advice on how to manage this - if anyone else can I'd be interested too - but perhaps there is some comfort in knowing there are others out there. And even though we were at a loss to prevent it, there was also some comfort in realizing that anger equals learning.

Two book recommendations for you:

Living With Intensity: Understanding the Sensitivity, Excitability, and the Emotional Development of Gifted Children, Adolescents, and Adults, Susan Daniels and Michael M. Piechowski (editors)

5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options by Deborah Ruf

I'd hold off on the testing for a couple of years unless I had a specific need for it. Testing results tend to be more stable around the age of eight or so. The Ruf book has plenty of anecdotal evidence from early childhood reported by the parents of gifted children. A Level of Giftedness (from the 5) will probably be as helpful as an IQ score in planning the next steps for your daughter.

I think she could be a bright high achiever, and could well be gifted. It's tough to tell, but I'm not sure you need to at this point. She sounds like a wonderful kid, and test scores won't help you deal with her intensity (although some understanding from the books mentioned might well help).