Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Non-gifted sibling

The figures don't say that all siblings are the same area of IQ but there is a high probability of being within 1SD and a very high probability of being within 2.

Hi... not sure why some of the posters think I was suggesting my younger daughter is gifted. I clearly indicated that I did not think she was... The OLSAT was given to the entire 2nd grade as a screening for the gifted program (this is a new procedure that started this year, so my older daughter did not take the OLSAT, just the WISC IV, and other screening tools before being allowed to take the IQ test).

I was simply surprised that my younger daughter scored average to below average... and was wondering if the OLSAT was a good tool to evaluate young children, and whether there might be something else going on that explain why she did not test in the higher average area that I kind of expected she would.

Also, I had read siblings tend to be with 1-2 standard deviations of each other, so I noted the gap.

Anyway, thanks for the thoughtful input!

Why would you want to take this one snapshot (test) as an indication of your kid's abilities, rather than the everyday picture she presents to you? Why would you want to have her tested privately? To place her in a gifted class? It may or may not be an accurate test (your description of her sounds does not sound incompatible with an "average IQ" kid, especially if she is in a stimulating environment). Unless there are concerns (choice of classroom, school, red flags regarding disabilities etc.) I simply don't see why this number matters...

why does everyone think I want her placed in the gifted program???? I just don't think she is a kid of "average IQ" and thought she would score in the "brighter spectrum". My initial question was whether anyone had a child the scored substantially lower on the OLSAT than an individually administered IQ test.

Wish I had never posted this...

Nutmeg, I have a younger sister who is very bright and incredibly argumentative. As far as I can tell, she doesn't have a LD. I do. Yet, it was me who usually scored 99 percentile and was eventually doubled skipped because we moved a lot and I got placed based on math assessment results. Her husband who is the sweetest guy in the world thinks her IQ must be sky high but I actually think it's within the average range based on her academic history. .

My point is, I think there are some people like my sister who is very intelligent but does relatively poorly in school and on IQ tests.

I understand where you are coming from. I think you have every reason to ask if that number is really an accurate estimation of her cognitive ability. There's a big difference between being at the 45th or 50th percentile and being high average such as the 85th in terms of what kind of academic work she can handle. And to answer your question, I don't think it is an accurate test.

If it's any consolation I'd be way too curious to not try the WISC. I'd just have to know, especially since it isn't unheard of to test lower on the OLSAT.

I have a friend who's kid came out PG when they screened all of the kindergarten kids in the system. They were completely blind-sided and the kid showed no outward signs of being gifted (to the parents or teachers). Even now meeting the kid he seems very average (I coach and volunteer a lot with kids). Not all kids are super obvious and with a gifted sibling I wouldn't want to miss a hidden talent (and/or LD masking it) just because I didn't look. That and I'm just way too curious

Why?

Dude and I are clearly enjoying the conversation, so it's definitely in the "win" column.

I don't think anyone is assuming you think she should be gifted. If she were one to two SD below she would be high average to MG and it sounds like the former is what she appears to you. What people are saying is a) it is not that great a test, and b) since the test results surprised you that you should keep an eye out for any possible problems that may have depressed her score.

Nutmeg, what jumped out of me from your original post was this -- you said she was mature, with a wicked sense of humor, and a great vocabulary. One thing I have learned from hanging out on this board is, you've seen one gifted kid, you've seen one gifted kid. Frequently, younger sibs present as less "typically" gifted. You may not think she seems gifted, but I rather think she might be. Mature, sense of humor, good vocabulary... If it were me, I would want to test.