Thank you for such a quick reply. You�re right about curiosity being a powerful thing, and in retrospect I have asked myself, �What difference does it make if he scores higher or lower on a retest? The day after receiving his new scores, we�ll all continue to go about our lives just as we did the day before taking the test.� Very little, if anything, will be done differently based on the score.

I guess it�s the discrepancy between the WISC IV and the CSAT that bothers me. One test indicates he�s highly talented in verbal qualities and not quantitative and the other test indicates the exact opposite. I have considered maybe my son was just �playing around� with the test and/or the tester. He has that kind of personality.

I will consider your suggestion for an individual achievement test. I hadn�t thought of it until you mentioned it. My next step is finding someone to administer the test. I�m indecisive whether we�ll take both kids for this testing or just my daughter. I�m located in Colorado and the Gifted Child Development Center in Denver is within driving distance. They come highly recommended however a full evaluation costs well over $1000.

You mentioned your son is working with an occupational therapist. I�ve known occupational therapy to help people who are suffering from health problems. The therapy assist in regaining or building new skills in order for people to achieve independence and well-being. How do occupational therapists apply their talents towards assisting gifted children? Or, is the occupational therapist only involved if your son is found to have hearing problems?

I�ll have to learn more about compacting and then ask the school about the possibility. My son is completing a distance learning math course through Johns Hopkins. He completed the third grade coursework in three months and is now on the fourth grade coursework. The school won�t recognize his scores from Johns Hopkins University because the University�s curriculum doesn�t match perfectly with the Colorado State Standards for math. In my opinion the Johns Hopkins program greatly surpasses the Colorado State Standards.

I agree that some gifted problems only mean more work. I hope our local school implements something that is actually meaningful. I asked for more information about their plans today.

Take care,

Jonette