Hmm. The first thing I notice is that there is quite a substantial difference between her Verbal and Perceptual Reasoning index scores (and BTW, is the PRI using extended norms, or no?). A nearly 2 SD difference between the indices suggests a skewed learning profile, which potentially could signal a 2e. That, and the middling PSI (although one should always consider that Avg/High Avg PSI is not that unusual in gifted kids).
I bring this up in particular because Everyday Math is a highly verbal, writing heavy math curriculum, with an emphasis on "process" which plays rather to the disadvantage of naturally mathy kids, who honestly see no process between the question and the answer. It's one of the classic constructivist, Chicago Math-style curricula developed by verbally-strong educators. A lot of time (even when you do receive instruction) is spent on exploring and "discovering" math principles. She is strong, but not stratospheric, in language, but is being asked to restrict her progress in her area of strength to the level of her relative weakness. Without support for the weakness. (VCI of 124 is kind of borderline for a one-year grade advancement in writing, which is what has, functionally, been done here.)
As to the shyness, all of the factors you have named are possibilities. I would add that G&T programs also tend to be biased toward highly-verbal, extroverted children, as that is who teachers preferentially nominate. So now she is also in a setting that is full of these chattery, socially-assertive peers, which might make a shy or introverted visual/nonverbal learner feel just a bit overwhelmed. She probably needs a break at lunch, after struggling with the constant verbal bombardment during class.
I would suggest building her social skills by selecting quieter, less-emotionally and -verbally demanding peers for one-on-one play dates. In the school setting, she may need the quiet time. I wouldn't demand that she have to play or converse with groups of children all the time. If it is necessary to work in a group, build in restful alone time, so she can balance solo refreshment with group exertion. There is nothing wrong with being a person who is energized by being alone and reflective, as long as you gradually learn to manage being with other people, and engage in a few selected deep personal relationships.
Dd is now in 3rd grade and they are doing a new kind of math called Project M3 which seems to have an even greater emphasis on verbal skills and writing than EM seemed to. In fact, when I flipped through the book it is all story problems with lines for writing out their responses. Dd just took the Unit 2 Project M3 test and failed miserably
. Granted there were only 7 questions in total and 4 of them were fill in the blank type in a paragraph and a story problem. The others were multiple choice and about measuring which she only missed one.
I don't know what to say, there is a huge discrepancy between what she can do at school with this math curriculum they are using and what she does at home. Yesterday she said that while at the math games center her group mates were supposed to make math problems for each other but they all ended up making problems for her only because they were impressed with what she was able to do and were trying to stump her which they couldn't do. So she is very capable, in fact based on what she is doing at home I'd say she's at a pre-algebra level. She easily does the Everyday Math 5th grade book.
She is getting more instruction this year but it's still not great. For instance, a week ago the teacher just handed the math group a packet to work on as a group and there were no directions to go along with it. It's hard to explain without actually seeing the packet but it was impossible for the kids to do the packet (a sort of math project) without directions. They did the best they could but because there were no directions to go along with it and they all ended up getting the same answers or examples because they were lost. They couldn't ask the teacher for help because she was with other groups and they aren't allowed to interrupt and when they do ask for help they usually are told to go figure it out with their group. It was just impossible to do this without directions.
They ended up being lectured for their lack of quality work with this assignment. I find it suspect when you have 2 different groups (10 kids) working on the assignment and not one does what the teacher considers quality work.
I really don't know what to do to help dd. I think she really needs to slow down and read carefully before answering. I also think that she needs to work on the verbal aspect of math that they are doing, but I hate that her natural math ability is being squashed and her actual strengths aren't being recognized. How do I explain to a teacher, one that I question her ability to truly understand kids, that just because dd isn't strong verbally in math, she still has strong math abilities?
