I am now feeling like I set up my DD9 (January) for failure by accelerating her and having her take the EXPLORE test. She was really slow and only answered 2/3 of the questions in each section averagely with maybe 3/4 on the science.

As a 3rd grader she would have shone brightly but as a 4th grader she is middle of the pack (slightly below in Maths) which does not reflect her abilities at all ( except that she needs to work on her exam technique). She is already a DYS so it isn't as though she needs the scores for anything. BUT the EXPLORE being taken away does mean that she will never get the chance to do better on this and what we were looking for was really something with which to measure progress over over time.

Several here seem way more tuned in/connected than I so I am wondering what the consensus here is on the future of out of level testing for gifted kids. How does the MAP or the SCAT compare, for instance?

I am really concerned that my DD is not learning anything at school despite the skip and the after schooling is cutting into what is potentially developmentally critical (no pun intended) unstructured play time. A good out of level test would help us to better quantify where she is currently and will allow us to monitor this over time.

I cannot be the only one on this board having these concerns so posting here so that we can discuss and chew on the viable alternatives...

Since Duke TIP has been using Explore, maybe write them and find out their plan and follow that?

Middle of the pack for 8th graders as a 4th grader -- or middle of the Talent Search pack-- is nothing like middle of the pack for grade-level testing.

There will be other opportunities going forward. I'd look for topic-based enrichment opportunities, and collect a portfolio of evidence for use in advocating.

No one has heard of the SCAT, and mentioning it to teachers and principals is likely to result in incomprehension. Where I live, SAT scores are comprehended and then ignored .

Agreed! I think you should be very proud, especially since she is managing to do this well as a very young fourth grader!

Also, your DD is getting fourth grade instruction, every day. She is learning more advanced material than the typical third grader, every day. Yes, our DDs will perhaps suffer a tad when grade-normed, but when using an age-normed assessment, your DD will shine.

Perhaps a Woodcock-Johnson Ach. test periodically would give you a better assessment? I believe those are age-normed.

We have experience with NWEA MAP testing. Again, these are grade-normed. The good thing about MAP, though, is your DD will obtain a RIT score. You can utilize the RIT score within various grades (using MAP charts) and get an idea of what percentile they would fall into in those grades.

Still, even with MAP, talent searches tout above-level tests as a superior measure. I will be curious to hear what the talent searches plan next. I imagine they have a strong interest in seeing some similar testing continue.

What do you mean EXPLORE is gone?

http://www.act.org/products/k-12-act-explore/

previous discussion thread here

Well. I just called Duke TIP. They do not have any plan yet.

My DD took SCAT as a 2nd grader. Yes, not a lot of teachers know what the SCAT is. Not a lot of teachers know what Explore is either. EVen one of the gifted teacher at the school :-(

My DD took Explore at 4th grade and is planning to take it again next year in 6th grade. It seems like she may have to take SAT in 6th.

For younger kids, SCAT which is available starting at 2nd grade is good for out of level testing but not an approved test for DYS qualification.

Since people do not know what SCAT was, I had to educate the school administrators and along the way, I learned how to advocate.

I am not getting the sense that talent searches are a very high priority these days for the institutions that nominally run them. There are way less grants to help the bright compared to the public funds available to help failing students, you see.

Gone as in:-
nana-ner-ner, nana-ner-ner, hay-hay-ay goyud bye!

Don't beat yourself over the head. The grade skip stands on its own and if it was a good choice overall, then it is still a good choice.

Some students, particularly at certain ages, are simply slower or may have trouble detaching and moving on even if they aren't terribly slow.

If it makes you feel any better, my DD, who has not been grade-skipped, took the Explore two years ago (3rd grade, age 8) as well as one year ago (4th grade, age 9), and actually had her reading score dropped from 15 and her science score stayed the same at 17. Now she knew that she messed up those two sections particularly immediately after the test because she got stuck and left so many questions blank, so I was able to reassure her immmediately that the scores didn't matter.

This school year, at age 10, her speed has improved overall and her teacher even complimented her on her great use of time during tests and other writing assignments. While DS (her twin) rushes through each assigment and invariably finishes first and gets an A, DD uses any left over time to edit and refine her answers to get that A+. It would have been interesting to see how she would have handled the Explore this year but I didn't feel like traveling two hours for just DD (DS already hit the ceiling last year) and she had to test almost every week-end in January for admission to middle schools.

Anyhow, the point that I wanted to make was that the Explore, particularly for a slower kid, may actually not be the best tool to assess how much they are learning in school. For example, I know that DD learned a ton of science between the 2nd half of 3rd grade and the 1st half of 4th grade, yet her science score stayed at 17 in 4th grade. Similarly, I know that her reading comprehension did not dropped during that period but her Explore score dropped from the 15 that she received in 3rd grade. MAP, which is untimed, may actually be more accurate in assessing math and reading.

Since she is already in 4th grade, perhaps consider skip testing for just 1 year and she can use the SAT or the ACT in 6th grade?

I have heard back from Duke TIP with regard to Explore testing in future years. I was told that they have contracted with ACT to offer the Explore through 2015. After that, they will be transitioning to the Aspire test.

Interesting news. Thank you very much for sharing this here.

FWIW, I was told the exact same thing by another Talent Search today - they'll be giving Explore through 2015.

good news! 2015 may not even be set in stone...