Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment New here and need help!

Hello!

We are in the Dallas area and interested in having our daughter tested for the DYS program. Daughter scored 146 (scored in the top 1%) composite on COGAT (scored 150/150 in quantative section) in 1st grad last year. My daughther has not had an actual IQ test performed so I am interested to see how she does on it compared to the COGAT....anyone with experience with their child taking COGAT and an IQ? Did your child do better on the IQ test since the ceilings are higher and harder to hit. My daugther hit the ceiling on the quantitative section and might have hit the ceiling in another area. Daughter was accepted into GT program and just tested into the 2nd grade accelerated math cluster group. We had no clue that our daughter would test into gifted. She is very bright and very artistic but was not the child complaining about being bored at school, doesn't ace every spelling pre-test, is not in the highest reading group or acts out at school. Our daughter LOVES school and is very social. I don't think our daughter knows how bright she is and is very good at hiding it (AKA underachieving to fit in). She is a rule follower and does exactly what the teacher asks her to do.....nothing more and doesn't try to show her true colors. Does anyone else have a child like this?

Can anyone recommend a psychologist or testing center in TX for IQ testing? Also, how much does the testing and report write up cost? I have only seen one reference and it mentioned $1,000-2,500. If that's the case it will be nearly be impossible to convince my husband to test my daugther. I know Davidson has financial aide but I know we would not qualify due to spouse's income. My daughter also qualifies for MENSA...does anyone have any thoughts/concerns? From researching sounds like DYS is the way to go if my daughter qualifies. But if she doesn't should we spend the money on MENSA or is it basically just paying an annual membership for someone to say my daugther's IQ is in the top 1-2%?

Any helpful advice....good or bad would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

NatK

Hello Natk. Welcome!

If your daughter is in a good school situation right now, you may not really need to test her further now. (I think it's great that she loves school!) Does your daughter (DD=dear daughter) seem to have intellectual peers in her class? Does the school seem able to teach her at her level? Parents usually pursue further testing when there is a particular need, e.g., to help find appropriate educational options or if necessary for admission to a particular GT program or early entrance. But if your DD has other kids like her in class and is appropriately challenged, you may not have to spend money on further testing at this point.

Your DD did very well on the COGAT, though it is not a very good predictor of how a child would do on an IQ test; it is a quick and easy tool that schools can use to help identify GT kids. Some kids who have tested very high on IQ tests have tested poorly on COGaT, and vise versa, at least from the informal polls on this board. (You can search for COGAT here and find some more info.)

As for joining MENSA, it really depends on your area whether there are any good programs for children. There are pockets of active MENSA childrens' groups around the US; I'm not sure if Dallas is one of those areas, but hopefully someone local will chime in. DYS is a great program for profoundly gifted kids, and if your DD does qualify, then of course sign up. It's free. Will your DD's school do any testing for your DD if you ask? If they might, check the list of qualifying tests here to see if the school is willing to administer any of these. From the info you have given so far, it does not appear that your DD has taken a qualifying IQ or achievement test.

I have a rule follower like yours, who will do just what the teacher asks and no more. He will try to get away with the bare minimum too. (The characters in all his stories have 3-letter names so he won't have to bother writing more letters!) The trouble with the rule followers is that I think the parents have to really watch to make sure they are being challenged. The teacher will see a great student, who appears happy. For us, we saw that our DS was doing work he had known how to do for years, and we had to advocate hard to get him more challenging work since he appeared to be perfectly happy at school.

St. Pauli Girl,

Thanks for the response...as you can tell I am not a blogger and don't know all the lingo. The only reason why I was thinking about testing my DD further is for the DYS. DD has only taken the COGAT and ITBS...neither qualify for DYS. I am going to talk to GT teacher and school counselor to see if they offer any other test or can refer me to a testing center or psychologist for further info. It was my understanding that schools could not administer an IQ test.....only psychologist and testing centers. Do you know how much testing cost?

We love our DD's GT teacher. He has a Master's in GT education from SMU and is very supportive with students and parents. I think if we push my daughter with too much busy work or grade acceleration she will stop loving school and see it as too much work. If we (or the school) keep engaging her with interesting learning experiences she will show her true colors. For instance, we just got back from a 9 day trip to Boston. We took Ella to the Boston Museum of Science on a rainy day. We were there for five hours and didn't get thru all the exhibitions and DD wasn't ready to go when museum was closing. When we were leaving DD came up to me (unprovoked) and gave me the BIGGEST hug and said thank you for bringing her to the museum. She was giddy like we had just taken her to Disney World. Ella never wants to miss out on learning experience and doesn't understand why she can't stay after school with her friends who go to after school daycare. She is always making inventions and uses found objects in her inventions or art work. In a 1st grade art competition everyone was impressed that she was able to draw herself looking into a mirror.....it was the perfect reflection of herself....there is no way I could draw a reflection of myself in the mirror like she did.

Any who, I think DD is where she needs to be for the time being. Even though I don't feel a once a week GT pull out and accelerated math cluster group is engaging or challanging enough. If she starts to get bored at school and not being challenged then we will need to regroup. DD does have peers in her class that are GT and scored in the 140s on the COGAT but hangs out with more of the run of the mill kids.

Thanks,

NatK

Natk, PM sent.

A number of public schools in the DFW area have misused the testing results. Its very important to have private testing done and only share the results if they further your cause.