Hi all,

I'm new here and completely perplexed. I'm hoping you can help shed some light or give me ideas! Last year, my daughter was tested in 2nd grade. She was experiencing anxiety in math, but we thought she was capable so we decided to have her evaluated. She scored well (I think) on her WISC-IV. Also worth noting is that the psychologist reported that she might have sensitivities to sound, texture and visual cues.

VCI 136 (99th percentile)
PRI 135 (99th)
WMI 144 (99.8th)
PSI 121 (98th)
Full Scale 143 (99.8th)

She recently had a CogAT test, given at the end of 3rd grade for "Highly Capable" programming that begins in 4th grade. She did not perform as well, and received the following score: (This is all that was given to me.)

quantitative: 97% percentile
verbal (reading): 67% percentile

The cut off for HC (our G&T) is 98%. They looked at her MAPS scores as backup, which were:

Math 214 (96th percentile, Fall 2012)
Reading 219 (97th percentile, Fall 2012)
(Interesting to note that her Winter 2012 Reading score was lower at 218, yet higher percentile - 99th.)

So they decided to deny entrance to the HC program. I contacted the director of the services to ask what happened and to tell him about her WISC-IV scores. He stated the following "I am familiar with the WISC-IV as it is widely used in school districts for assessing students with disabilities. The WISC is a good assessment tool and your daughter's scores reflect that she is an exceptional child. Results will vary from one test instrument to another so having the WISC and Cogat scores show different results should be expected. The district multidisciplinary team is obligate to follow the board procedures. Those procedures do not include the consideration of testing not done by the district or using measurements or data sources not stated in that procedure. "

Sounds like they are not willing to consider her WISC-IV results. I don't know what to do next! Should I ask to have her retested? What if she again tests low? Should I ask for a different testing environment due to her history of anxiety and possible sensory sensitivities? I'm having trouble just accepting their decision. I know she needs to be challenged more than what she currently gets in the classroom. We already supplement with EPGY and CTY... this is all enough to make me want to home school!!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and tips you may have.