However, it overall turned out to be a good thing for her. She was bogged down with some significant perfectionism at the time and that, combined with a grade skip the next year, helped her learn to deal better with things that weren't cake walks. She took the EXPLORE as part of a consideration of a grade skip.
I realized as I was reading these (excellent) replies that this was one of the reasons that I was considering Explore testing as a 3rd grader. I see this coming out in my son already. I think we've done a good job of heading it off, but he is so accustomed to everything being easy. I'm wondering if doing this now will help with some of that.
Perhaps that's the wrong reason to test him now, but it seems like a little struggle would be good experience. Generally, he's not one to lose control and melt into tears, so I'm thinking (hoping!) that he wouldn't be traumatized in any way by doing this. Though, he's never done a test like this with a group. My dh and I laughed about it, wondering if we would find him wandering around the halls at some point instead of sitting in the testing room.
One never knows with him!
He has improved dramatically in the past year in regard to timed tests and games, but he would still prefer not to be timed. I feel like he will trust us that it's "okay" not to answer all the questions, and that he'll be able to let it go, relax (somewhat), and do what he can for the test. That's just a gut feeling that I have and I really don't have anything to base that one except that he usually puts his trust in us if we reassure him about things like this.
If you're doing it for purely planning purposes and don't need an "official" score for anything like DYS, my recommendation would be for an out-of-level ITBS given at home. That's what I've decided to do this year rather than repeating the EXPLORE. The ITBS results are much more useful from a curriculum planning standpoint because they are broken down by topic.
Okay, I tried this last year thinking that it was out of level, but the test he received (as a 1st grader) was so simple that he found it hilarious, as if it had been for preschoolers. I opted not to do it at the end of the year because I assumed they wouldn't let me choose a higher level or grade. Can you educate me about how this works and how you intend to test yours? I would be willing to try this.
If time is a major issue for him, you also might want to consider an out of level SAT-10 b/c it is untimed whereas the ITBS is timed. There are suggested time limits on the SAT, but the child can exceed them with no penalty. They both test about the same thing.
Where can I find information on doing this?
DYS was another reason I was considering the Explore, not that we're guaranteed to make the cut, of course. He qualifies with his WISC scores, but he was one point off on achievement. This was because of his out-of-whack math scores --due to it being timed. I was hoping to take the easy route and avoid the portfolio.
Thank you, All!
) I'm basically wondering if anyone has had any problems with doing it with a 3rd grader and wishes they had waited until 4th grade or higher. 
