Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Need honesty...EXPLORE scores, how far to advance?

Hello friends! Me again, needing your wonderful advice! I am bound and determined for next year (6th grade) to get my DS11 the placement he desperately needs and wants! I believe Mr. Principal and g/t coordinator will support whatever we choose, so I want to go for it. Okay, so got the EXPLORE scores back with an 18 on both reading and science (his passions)I don't have the exact percentages in front of me, but his scores (I think) in those areas, are above 80/90% of U.S. Fall 8th graders...I picked up the Middle School science textbooks and DS knows the material inside and out. Actually cried (real tears) of joy when I mentioned there might be a possibility of taking high school science classes (for an audit) My question, with these EXPLORE scores (also shown plenty gifted with SB5 & school's WISC) would you go for the high school classes or first try a middle school science class to "test out the waters"... I picked up the high school course list. It looks like he can take biology, geology, environmental science, and astronomy/meteorology without any prerquisites. I know he can handle the material, but his executive functioning skills are the pits. What to do, what to do....Thoughts???

I would suggest looking through the high school textbooks and talking to the teachers to find one high school science class for him to try. Without good executive functioning skills, I think more than that could be overwhelming.

My dd also took the Explore test this past year. In learning about it here on the forum it was explained to me that the Science section is much more a critical reasoning test than a Science knowledge test.
Depending on how well the principal, etc, know the Explore, this might not be enough ammunition to get him accelerated in Science. Is there a way to "prove" that he knows the concepts in the textbooks? For example, in math, you can test out of classes...

If you go with the high school curriculum, I would talk to the high school about whether they would recognize classes taken in middle school. High schools in our area often won't honor classes taken in middle school. So, if the high school requires Intro Physical Sciences as a prereq for taking Chemistry, they have made kids take IPS again once they get to high school to meet that requirement. Talk about a demoralizing year of boredom for gifted kids. . .

Thanks MidwestMom and herenow for replying so quickly! Great idea to get my hands on the high school textbooks....Duh, why didn't I think of that? (Lol) I'm sort of at a loss here, because I just don't know what the next "best" step for him should be. The kid clearly needs and wants more. I just don't have the knowledge base or lab (haha) to keep it going at home (I'm partial homeschooling him now) He has devoured all the Khan Academy and Hippocampus science videos, subscribes to about every science magazine possible and reads them like a sponge etc...etc...I found an old microbiology college textbook that he read and found absolutely fascinating, thrives on science museum outings etc...etc...He's taking a dissection class for gifted kids this summer, but it's only for a week. What's the poor kid going to do when the fall comes around? I honesly don't know what to do. I'm sick aout it. It would kill me to see a loss in his curiosity and enthusiasm. Ugh..................................

Thank you for your thoughtful response, Dottie. He's good at math but not great. He's in 5th grade and currently scores like an average (in our district) end of the year 6th grader. He doesn't love math. Thank you also, Knute974. You bought up a good point! More to think about.... A big problem with my DS is when he knows the material, he becomes a huge behavior "issue" for the teacher and class. Will this distruptive behavior ever stop when he's older but subjected to material he already knows? How often do these kids end up maturing, recognizing limits, and just "adjusting" .... Do they ever?....

I suggest reading the book "Developing Math Talent" for a discussion of educational options appropriate for children in various EXPLORE score ranges, in particular the page

http://books.google.com/books?id=L5...e%20EXPLORE%20score%20ranges&f=false

and following.

Great! Thanks Bostonian!

It is wrong to go on to high school science textbooks. Those thick and heavy bricks are the sure weapons to kill his interests.

Go to amazon.com to find some light science reading materials with typical kitchen table science experiments. Many good recommendations exist in the resources forum here. One of the things come to mind is the electronics sets they sell at Amazon, my children enjoyed those very much.

Try to keep pushing his reading comprehension. Only in such a way will he be able to start his own journey in science.

I'm not sure about that, but alternatives are the Manga science books http://nostarch.com/catalog/manga , the Larry Gonick "Cartoon Guide" series, and the Dummies series (Physics for Dummies etc.).