Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Requirements for acceleration

I had to laugh when I looked at this list that my son's school district uses:



Especially the "does not put forth maximum effort" clause. How could my son possibly be putting forth his "maximum effort" in a setting that is at least 2 grade levels below his readiness level?

Cathy

Ohh - That is scary. At least they put their ideas out in a clear form. These are exactly the 'reasons' my DS was denied appropriate placement in the public school. I do feel your pain here!

It's like a 'through the looking glass view of giftedness.'

((shrug))
Grinity

I think it's just designed so they won't have to do anything: If the kid is performing well, socially well-adjusted, participating in everything, then there's no problem--why would the school want to change anything? If the kid is blowing off schoolwork, misbehaving, missing school, etc., then he doesn't "deserve" to be accelerated. Once again, we are status-quo. It's just easier for the school that way...

Cathy

Agreed. And ugh!

Eeek ... that kind of spells it out for you! You have my sympathy.

Well, I think we're ok. I think the principal is on DS's side and thinks that accelerating him is a reasonable thing to do (even though she personally wouldn't "do that" to her child). I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Apparently, this is a lengthy process involving a Student Study Team and we may have to wait for standardized test results in April to know for sure. I'm just trying to be patient.

Cathy

Bureaucrats!

There is a girl that the principal of the middle school keeps talking about (though she's graduated) as the most "gifted" student. While I really like the young lady, she did not score into "gifted" (130) on IQ test but is an extremely hard worker, pleasant, well-behaved. She progressed through Alg 2 in middle school (I think it was helped by mom being the math teacher and the girl spent 2 hrs after school every day doing additional math).

In my mind, it worries me that an educator/administrator is so confused about the profile of a real "gifted" kid. My kids WON'T work 2 extra hrs a day on math (or anything). They're hard workers but on their on terms (only if the project is engaging to them). They can be naughty or slightly disruptive (nothing serious), and usually they want to skip school if there is it's boring boring boring. Don't these contradict those school's skipping requirements?

I think all of this has a lot to do with wanting to reward the kids teachers like--and those are the bright but not bored kids. (Or if they're bored, their personality is such that they don't act out to show their boredom.)

I can say this because I WAS that kid, and I was rewarded for my teacher's pet behavior time and time again. But I was probably MG, I think, certainly NOT PG. And the boredom just turned me into a perfectionist, so even with the rewards, it wasn't good for me.

It's a darn shame educators and administrators don't understand GTness better! Rules like these are ridiculous.

OK, I just got my Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual book in the mail yesterday, and I'm sick with a fever & sore throat so I may have misunderstood what I briefly read, but I thought these items were listed in the Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual, as you have them written. Of course, they are only a part of what's to be considered.
A number of people here recommended the Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual, does it list these things?

Yes, it does list these things, but with more or less weight for each one. There are a total of 80 points possible, with 22 of those coming directly from test scores.

Attendence is worth a max of 3 points.
Completing homework is worth a max of 3 points.
Social maturity -- well, there's a whole section on this, worth a max of 16 points with choices of 0, 1, 2, 3 and sometimes 4 on five questions.
Paticipating fully in differentiated instruction: Does that mean that they're enrolled in all differentiation options, or that they are trying their hardest and getting all As in their advanced classes? Not sure what this means.

Parental involvement is worth a max of 3 points. Interestingly, "School attitude and support" is also worth 3 points. That's not on the list ... wonder why? Ha!

So yes, those factors are listed, but it's not quite that black and white. There are a lot of other factors that are weighted just as heavily, like the child's size (max of 3 points for being bigger than age) and participation in extracurriculars (max of 3 points). Putting those 5 items on a list and calling it a day doesn't seem very in-depth to me.

Was this article posted on this site or another one? I think it's fascinating and very telling:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/ALESSI1.html

It's about special needs kids, and it absolutely applies to gifted children.