Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment On the right track with DD7?

My DD7 was identified as gifted in 1st grade by her public school. These are the score numbers we were given from that 1st grade testing:

SIT-R = 98%

WRAT-III:
Reading = 99+%
Spelling = 91%
Math = 82%

In 2nd grade thus far her Lexile scores have been 900 and 1052. I was told at her parent-teacher conference that 1052 was very high for 2nd grade, and that the 152-point gain already this school year was unusual too (in her teacher's experience anyway).

I am embararssed to admit I have very little idea what any of this means except that we know she's a really strong reader. As our first child she is normal to us so it's hard to know what if any special attention her gifts require or might benefit from. I'm playing catch up and reading about it but I am not yet beyond the, "Ok, so she's probably gifted; now what?" phase.

What helped wake me up recently was hearing DD tell me her current reading group, which consists of the five or six advanced students in her class, was "pretty easy" which, knowing her, probably means, "really easy."

I also want to better understand the cause for her exhibiting some worrying signs this school year, such as getting very bad stomach aches on Sunday nights and on school nights and losing sleep or being late to school, even though she is one of the most popular kids in her class. She has outstanding citizenship and is very outgoing, but when we take her to school in the mornings we are noticing insecurity and pulling back to us, almost as if she were not comfortable with her peers. It's like she's regressing socially. We are certain no bullying or peer conflicts are the cause, and home life remains stable and positive.

So I am thinking I need to seek out an educational psychologist to have her fully tested to see if we're on the right path.

Do you think seeing the educational psychologist is best logical next step?

Welcome Pru!
I'm not familiar with the tests you have there, but here's a link so you can get an idea of your DD's lexile level:

http://www.lexile.com/findabook/

You can punch in her number there, and then choose books based on her interests. The numbers you give are within the middle-school range, so yes, high for a 2nd grader. The 99%+ in Reading likely means it's high enough so it can't be calculated with any specificity beyond 99%.

Is your school doing anything to differentiate for her reading? I can tell you that my DS7, in a school for HG kids with a similar lexile level, is currently reading The Black Pearl in his reading group. If your school can put your DD in a group with other kids with similar levels, and give them material at their level, that would be great.

Have you talked with her about how things are going at school? I guess I'd be concerned with the routine stomach aches. Maybe you can try to find out what she likes most and least about school to try to ferret out the troubles? If she's doing basic 1st grade materials, that is probably quite inappropriate and could cause anxiety. Have you talked with her teacher to see if she has noticed anything?

Will the school psychologist do any testing for you if you ask? That's a less expensive first step. We got some private testing done before our DS entered school, and then the school did has done the rest of the testing since then.

Good luck. Hopefully others here will know more about the particular tests.

Thanks for the feedback!

In our California public school district the gifted program is running on fumes. Apparently it was recently threatened with even more cuts, which is hard to believe since there's not much left to it but a label.

So in DD's school, she and one other student are the only 2nd graders identified as gifted. They and 28 otherwise normal 2nd graders are placed with a teacher who has GATE-training. Among those 28 other students are four or five higher-level readers. Together they form the highest level reading group, which DD describes as pretty easy. DD also gets harder spelling lists.

I don't believe the school will pay for any more testing because they already did that in 1st grade, and once they identify your child "gifted and talented" in our district the label sticks at least until middle school. You never have to retest.

If you've ever been involved with a public school in a budget crisis, the first word that comes to mind is "pest" when you begin poking around for answers. I recall distinctly trying to get answers from the GATE office last year as to why there was no longer an actual special day class for the gifted students (although their website indicated there was) and the answer I got, not in so many words, was, "Look, our very best teachers just all got their pink slips. We don't even know who will have a job next year. We're having toilet paper shortages." Etc.

I think paying for independent testing will paint a clearer picture because a teacher friend of mine suggested the tests administered by the school are not all that accurate in 1st grade. I'm especially just looking forward to an educational psychologist's insights and interpretations.

I'm also not familiar with most of those tests, but the lexile scores you have are right about the same as what my dd12 had in 2nd grade at the same age. I believe that the 1050 range was the 99th percentile at that grade.

What would you be hoping to get out of a further eval? Do you want to consider subject acceleration, grade skipping, something else? I guess that having some idea of what you would want if she seems to need more than what the school is doing for her and also knowing if anything more is even possible in your school is a good place to start.

I guess I should have read your post more clearly! I agree with Cricket, that you probably don't need further testing unless you have a real reason for it. If you are planning to stay with your current school district, further testing may not have any effect on what they can/will offer. They already know she's reading at high levels.

You can try to use the scores they have already given you to advocate for something more - subject acceleration or additional differentiation. Remember that if her reading scores are so high, any classes with a heavy reading component will also likely be pretty easy for her (social studies, e.g.).

Of course, if you have spare money, it is always very interesting to get a further private evaluation. Psychologists who specialize in gifted kids can also help you determine what types of school situations might work best for your DD. And as you mentioned earlier, you are having some issues with your DD's anxiety.

Her current school is already providing their version of differentiation, which I suspect to be inadequate. I hope that by further evaluation by a qualified educational psychologist it will inform and equip me to approach her school about further differentiation. Or perhaps it will suggest that, if at all possible, I try to get her to a private school where she can really thrive and be cultivated. That's the sort of clarity I'm hoping to get, and it sounds like that initial battery of tests with zero feedback was simply not enough to go by.

I definitely want to avoid her just slipping under the radar and losing out on the opportunity to thrive and cultivate whatever gifts she has.