Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment OLSAT and Gifted...or not?

Our son recently took the OLSAT and according to the test, he's not gifted. His verbal is 101. His non-verbal is 95.

I looked up NVLD (NLD) and some of the symptoms are just not him. He's currently working at a fourth grade level in math (he's a second grader) and third grade reading with excellent comprehension with books higher. However, he has never liked puzzles and coloring much. He isn't crazy into Lego, either. But some symptoms are him. He's spelling at above fifth grade level easily. He has an excellent memory.

We are wondering if there was some sort of distraction at the test. The reason we are really concerned about this being a possibility is because the testing took place at the local elementary school (not his regular school), and he went without his teacher or his class. We asked the local elementary to give him the test without his current school's knowledge because we wanted to see some sort of confirmation of need of gifted services. That seems to not have been the result! I've read on Hoagie's that the OLSAT sometimes doesn't show a highly gifted child as such. Has anyone more information on this?

Now we are thinking we need to get him evaluated someplace else. A Neuropsych or a Psychologist. Where do we start?

Isn't the OLSAT a screener? Much like the CoGAT? If so, it's a group test and misses some gifted kiddos. Have you checked the Hoagies list of testers? Our tester was on that list and was outstanding.

It is used as a way to determine the academic needs of children. The district uses it to find those who need interventions.

We received a list of testers (I.Q.) from the local Gifted Children "Network", but we were hoping there was some way to have him re-tested with the OLSAT (is this even done right away? or is it a matter of waiting until the next testing season?)

I've read that testing children younger than third grade may not be desirable in order to "prove" giftedness because of the whole argument that kids who are advanced even out with their peers by third. If we're to spend money on a psychologist, I want that person recognized by our district and I want DS to be of an age that the argument of him being a hot-housed child one that won't hold water.

Re-testing on a short interval is generally not recommended, as it places the results in doubt, due to re-test score inflation.

There is no obvious reason that a test on an 8-year-old would not be valid. It is true that scores in a young child tend to be less stable. If you plan to test exactly once, then, yes, probably wait until he is 9 or 10, when scores will be mostly stable, but there will still be a good ceiling for an HG+ child on the major individually-administered instruments.

I'm sure you could find many examples of not "evening out" in a quick scan of this board!

For recognition by your district, the simplest would be to have a district psychologist do it. Also has the advantage of being free. If you don't feel comfortable with the PS testing, a university-associated clinic is probably the next-most-accepted source. I seem to recall that you're in the PNW, in which case you could try the Robinson Center at UW-Seattle.

If I were you, I would definitely not rely on the OLSAT to determine giftedness. It is a screener and misses many gifted and gifted/twice-exceptional children. Each question is only given once and not permitted to be repeated so it seems anyone who has processing issues is already in trouble and it is given in a group setting. I would get your child tested/evaluated by psych or a neuropsych using the traditional tests- WISC, Stanford Binet, etc. Oh and yes, in our district the psych or neuropsych has to be a "state school certified psychologist" as well for the school to accept the findings and report. Good luck!

Also the OLSAT is screener - your district/school probably only uses it to screen. The kids that "pass" the olsat are still not considered identified as gifted - they go on to have a proper evaluation with an instrument like the WISC or SBV. It is not uncommon for a child to pass the OLSAT but then not be identified ultimately as gifted and vice versa.

The OLSAT is supposed to catch gifted and high achievers. In our district, you get into the regular gifted program, but are not considered for the Highly Gifted programs unless you are tested by a district psychologist (OLSAT is given by the teacher). The score generated is for SAI (School Ability Index) meaning it tests ability in areas relating to tasks at school.

Both my kids tested HG with a private tester, but both were not gifted according to the OLSAT.

Both of my kids are extremely creative, but not particularly interested in school….

It depends on the district, the district that my son is in only uses the cogat and the nnat. No IQ testing is done. They also rely on work samples, student interview, parent and teacher ratings on the SIGS (gifted behavior questionnaire). They have to tick 3 out of 4 boxes to be classified. I've heard from teachers though that if they don't get high enough test scores, they aren't going to be classified, regardless of the other criteria. The other stuff is more for kids who have borderline scores, and to meet guidelines set by the state to use more than one criteria for gifted identification.

For the highly gifted program they also look at district assessments of reading/math level and require higher cogat scores.

Not necessarily. My district uses it as one of the 3 different ways you could qualify as Gifted. You could also go to a psychologist for an evaluation, or test very high on the standard state testing. My son tested very high on the OLSAT in 3rd grade.

Do get testing by a pscyologist, look for someone who is good with gifted kids. Perhaps your school district will have a list of psychologists as a place to start.

Appleton, the NNAT is considered an IQ test at my school, as it was given to determine whether or not a child is HG.