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    aamo Offline OP
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    I am new and looking for some help with intrepreting MAP scores.

    My son (now 7th grade) has always been truly excellerated in math and science. I kind of avoided the whole "gifted" label thing in elementary school as he was getting extra work and was happy. To be honest, the competitive, pushy parents (many of whom had pretty average kids) were really pushing for "giftd" labels and kind of turned me off to the whole thing.

    Anyway, fast forward to Middle school... they moved him to Pre-algebra in 6th grade after scoring very well on placement tests. Again, I never saw the need to seek a "Gifted" label. He's thrived and gotten A's on everything this year in Algebra. Considering a special knack for geometry, he would like to take honors geometry next year in 8th grade, which is not available at the Middle school. When asking if he could simply take the class at the High School next door, I've learned that since he is not labeled GT, certain services are not available to him, including an ALP (advanced learning plan) and counceling to be sure he's getting what he needs academically. Now I'm kind of kicking myself for not doing the GT thing when he was young. His math MAP test scores were 268 (range of 265-271) in the fall of 7th grade at age 12. The percentiles ranges were all in the 99%. Does this seem high enough to ask for the formal "GT" label now so he can receive services that I think he needs?

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    Aamo, you'll need to find out what the rules are in your district and/or state for identifying gifted kids. Some of them identify only in certain grades. Some identify using only certain tests. It's incredibly variable and idiosyncratic. Know the rules of your local game, and you'll know what has to happen next.

    DeeDee

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    It seems high enough to me, and you probably have the support and encouragement of the Algebra teacher, right? So call the gifted coordinator, or the Algebra teacher and keep asking reasonable logical questions.

    You might also want to look into having your son take the SAT or ACT in the Spring to get a 'data point' that says to the world, 'here's a kid who needs something more than the general educational plan.'

    Remember that 'gifted' is always in relation to the neighboring kids. It is possible - although unlikely- that 10 % of his classmates would have scored 268 as ll year olds, and in that setting it would be harder to make the case that he needs to be identified as gifted. But what else did they plan to do with him next year for Math? Repeating 7th grade math doesn't sound like a good plan!

    Love and More Love,
    Grinity


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    aamo Offline OP
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    Thanks so much for the advise. I love the idea of the SAT/ACT. He is already set to take 10th Grade geometry next year in 8th grade. (What he wanted was to take Honors Geometry at the High School.) Luckily our district has a large group of high fliers and they do offer math classes up to 2 years excelerated.

    The math MAP norm for our district was 233, and he was 268. His algrbra teacher said he had the highest of all the 7th graders in 9th grade Algebra. So, I know he's at the top. Apparently just about all his math classmates are "id"ed GT. I'm currently awaiting a call back from the GT coordinator.

    @DeeDee... only classifing kids at particular, pre-picked ages makes absolutely no sense to me! Do you happen to know what some schools would do that? I'm in Colorado and I don't actually know of that's the case here or not. But it sounds like a bizare strategy.

    Last edited by aamo; 01/20/11 11:41 AM.
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    I just have a second, but I am in Colorado as well. The state is pushing to have more standardized identification criterion from district to district so I can tell you generally what you're looking at needing.

    He didn't need to be ided in 3rd grade although a lot of districts give all of the kids the CogAT in 3rd and use that as the "ability" piece. He'll need both an achievement score in the 95the percentile or above in math (his MAPS will work for that) and an ability score in a quantitative area in the 95th+ or some other thing such as a behavioral scale (SIGS or similar) or there may be other options. Basically, you need indicators in two different areas, so two achievement tests won't work.

    Our local districts won't use composite ability scores (only the subtests) and while they did use the Perceptual reasoning subtest of the WISC for my oldest as the quantitative ability score, they won't use that anymore. My youngest had a perceptual reasoning index on the WISC in the 99th percentile and achievement scores in the 98th for math as well as a composite score on the WISC in the 99th+ range and they would only use the Verbal index for a reading ID combined with achievement data.

    The CogAT may be your simplest and cheapest way to get the ability score but it doesn't work well for all gifted kids.

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    Originally Posted by aamo
    When asking if he could simply take the class at the High School next door, I've learned that since he is not labeled GT, certain services are not available to him...
    Who, exactly, did you ask? Sometimes I've found that if you ask one person and get a response you don't like, you can simple ask someone else and see if they give a better response. It certianly looks like your son is documented to be a good candidate for Honors Geometry. Hopefully this will work out, one way or the other.

    I'm also trying to figure out what the 'non-honors' class of geometry at the middle school would look like - accelerated but non-gifted 8th graders taking a 10th grade class?

    Best Wishes,
    Grinity



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    Originally Posted by aamo
    I'm currently awaiting a call back from the GT coordinator.
    Hopefully you'll get great news from this phone call and everything will be sorted out quickly!
    Grinity


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    aamo Offline OP
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    The 10th grade Geometry class for 8th graders is all almost all classified GT kids and just a couple high achievers.

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    Originally Posted by aamo
    The 10th grade Geometry class for 8th graders is all almost all classified GT kids and just a couple high achievers.
    But it sounds like you are thinking that the 10 grade Geometry class given in the Middle school is a poorer fit for your son than the 10 grade honors Geometry class given at the High School. I'll bet you wish you could compare MAP scores for each class!

    Best Wishes,
    Grinity


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    aamo Offline OP
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    We got the call from the GT Coordinator. After looking through all his past test scores: MAP from 6th and 7th, CSAP (CO standardized tests), report cards, teacher recommendations, and some other index I didn't recognize, she said she couldn't imagine why he wasn't already classified. So, apparently she sent some paperwork into the district and it should be a done deal. We're to receive a letter confirming everything soon. The part I'm excited about is he will receive counseling meetings a couple times per year to make sure his classes are meeting his needs, talk about over-achiever syndrome, and help with selection of classes for the upcoming year/semester. I guess if no parent speaks up, they decide (maybe for budget reasons?) to leave deserving kids out of the process. Hmmm... I thought the schools were supposed to be kid-advocates for that type of thing.

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