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Posted By: OhioIssues Stanford Achievement Test for gifted ID? - 09/12/17 05:33 PM
Hi all,

I'm new to the board (stumbled across it on Google) and I was hoping you'd have some insight...

The State of Ohio only recognizes certain standardized tests for gifted identification, including Cogat, MAP, and the Stanford Achievement Test. In order to qualify as "gifted" per the state of Ohio, the child must score in the 95th percentile (or above) on one of the approved tests. My 9 year old scored in the 94th percentile on the MAP test (with a SEM that went up to the 97th percentile, but that's a statistics topic for another thread, involving how even the testing company states that any placement of a child into a program based on the MAP test should take the SEM into consideration...). Anyway, I digress. Our school district will not accept children into the 4th or 5th grade STEM program unless they are "gifted" per the state of Ohio, so the child must score in the 95th percentile. Since she was only 1 point (not just 1 percentage point...1 point) from the 95th percentile, they recommended that she take one of the other approved tests for gifted ID, and they are going to give her the Stanford Achievement Test. I was going to just let her take the MAP or another test during the year this year with the rest of her grade (per their testing schedule) and maybe she would qualify for next year, but I found out that this year, the 4th grade is only going to take state standardized tests, which ironically, the State of Ohio does not recognize for gifted ID (my daughter had a perfect score on those). So if she wants to even have a chance to qualify for STEM for next year, she has to take the extra test. Don't even get me started on my opinions about only using standardized tests for qualification into a STEM program (I know a number of children who would benefit greatly from the program and are likely twice exceptional, but do not score well on the standardized tests they have been administered...I suspect they need the chance to take different tests).

Anyway, in the meantime, my 6 year old (she's in 1st grade) reads well ahead of her peers, is super inquisitive, and I suspect she may be gifted. She has also been referred for testing and they are also recommending the Stanford Achievement Test for her (the kindergarten/1st grade version).

My question is: Has anyone on here had a child who qualified as gifted based on the Stanford Achievement Test? I've done exhaustive Google searches, but haven't turned up much, other than the fact that Ohio recognizes it as an approved test for gifted ID. I'm worried that it's the type of test where my 6 year old will go in there and get a perfect score, but then they'll say she's still only at the 80th percentile.

I'm not a huge fan of having my kids take extra tests, so I want to know as much as possible about the scoring before we go into it.

Thanks!
Posted By: indigo Re: Stanford Achievement Test for gifted ID? - 09/12/17 06:47 PM
Welcome! smile

What is your source for the list of tests which Ohio accepts?

I ask because I clicked on the Davidson resource, "How gifted-friendly is your state?" in the left-hand margin of this forum.
For Ohio, I found this: Ohio
- I clicked on the embedded legislation link and found this: Ohio gifted legislation
- - I clicked on the Revised Code link and found this: Ohio Revised Code 3324.03
- I clicked on the Ohio Dept. of Education link and found this: Rules, Regulations, and Policies for Gifted Education
- - I clicked on District Gifted Identification Plan and noticed that the Gifted Identification Plan is to include "Assurances that districts will accept qualifying scores from approved assessments obtained from outside of the district."

Again, this is new for 2017-2018. Possibly there are more identification options for your child than what you may have been made aware of?

MAP and Stanford Achievement Test are both achievement tests; There are typically also intelligence tests (IQ tests) which are also accepted. There may be many reasons why a child may not achieve at the level predicted by their intelligence... this could include having an "off" day, having a learning difference or learning disability along with being gifted (twice-exceptional or 2e), or being an underachiever due to having given up on school (usually after experiencing lack of appropriately challenging curriculum or other school policies which result in stagnation).
Yes, it's the SAT 10. The district hasn't actually tested anyone in first grade apparently and had to order the test, so I wasn't feeling the most confident in the choice...
Yes, those are the correct links. My 9 year old also took the Cogat last spring and scored a 126 I think (128 is qualifying). They recommended the Stanford, as some students who do not do well on the other tests do very well on the paper-based, untimed Stanford. I feel good about giving it to her, but I'm not sure about the 6 year old. The district has never administered it to a first grader before and I'm concerned that she could "top out" as far as the score goes and still not hit the percentile we are looking for as far as gifted services go. So I'm not sure if it's even worth it.
Posted By: aeh Re: Stanford Achievement Test for gifted ID? - 09/12/17 08:13 PM
These are the actual standards for ID'ing GT students in Ohio:


Guidance document on implementing the above standards:


Note that there are multiple options listed for "superior cognitive ability", including +2 SD on a cognitive instrument (group or individual), making allowances for 1 SEM; 95th %ile on an achievement instrument (no SEM mentioned); or attained an "approved score" on an above-grade-level test (This appears to be a reference to the ACT as used in various talent searches).

This lists all the tests the state of Ohio has approved for GT identification. Note that districts cannot restrict students from any test that is on the list. It also includes some alternative composite scorings that may be used for GT ID:


I replied to some of these posts earlier today, but I don't see the replies showing up? Am I doing something wrong?

It is the SAT 10 and those are the sources of the approved gifted tests in Ohio (I was simplifying things to list the most popular ones for this age range).

I'm not too concerned with my 4th grader taking the Stanford, but I'm worried we'll put my 1st grader through it and she'll "top out" and score well, but her percentile will still be low. I've read in other threads about kids getting perfect scores, but due to the number of kids who do well, the percentile is still only the 80th or so. So I'm not sure if it's even worth it for her.

With only certain testing options, I'm trying to figure out which would be the best for us and if the Stanford will suffice. Thanks all!
Posted By: indigo Re: Stanford Achievement Test for gifted ID? - 09/12/17 11:00 PM
Originally Posted by OhioIssues
I replied to some of these posts earlier today, but I don't see the replies showing up? Am I doing something wrong?
You're doing nothing wrong... I believe the first 5 posts are subject to moderation.. to avoid spam-bots.
Posted By: aeh Re: Stanford Achievement Test for gifted ID? - 09/13/17 01:50 AM
Your older child should have qualified already, as intelligence tests are supposed to use one SEM, which would make the true qualifying score 124 (128 cut score, but with an SEM of 4.0). The district is not supposed to require additional tests if there is already one qualifying score.

If you have concerns about ceiling effects for the younger child, then an individually-administered cognitive assessment (IQ test) is probably the best way to go for this age group.
We had a similar problem with our DD13 when she was in 1st grade. The school seemed to go out of their way to ignore several tests and pick the one where she scored below the qualifying threshold. We ended up have her privately tested with the SB IQ test, where she easily met the criteria and they had to accept hee. Be persistent. She's now in SET and DYS, so I'm pretty sure she was qualified.

At the same time, from an educator/program perspective a score is a score . There has to be an objective criteria somewhere. Admitting when "just one point" away, would mean the cutoff has changed, then two points away is "just one point". Etc.
My DD14 (currently in 10th grade) took the Explore test in 5th grade, and we requested subject acceleration in math based on her results. (Unfortunately, it looks like Ohio no longer accepts NUMATS cutoffs for students in lower grades who now take the PSAT 8/9). The county and district required her to take the OLSAT to confirm superior cognitive ability, even though she exceeded the cut off based on her Explore results. She also had to take the 8th grade math, reading, and science Stanford Achievement Tests. In your case, its sounds like they want your 9 year old to take the complete battery of the grade-level Stanford Achievement Test. Doing so could lead to the superior cognitive ability identification (which our district required before they would even look at subject areas) as well identification of academic ability in specific subject areas. If they meet the cutoff scores, this identification could help both your kids, and it's a less expensive and time-consuming option than going it on your own to get IQ assessments for them.
The actual score required is 128. So it's 2 standard deviations (16) above the mean (100) minus the SEM (4).
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