Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment IQ test administration - did parents observe?

This. And the child might test differently, too. Better or worse. My DD knows I hate it when she punts and says "I don't know," so she might have been less likely to do that with me there. OTOH, on a day when she was irked with me, she might have been MORE likely.

DS will be tested by the school, as DD was. Though it is a different school and may be a different test (interestingly, this is not consistent across schools in our district), if past experience is any guide, we will never meet or speak to the tester.

I think your advice is good, though. He probably should have a little practice with learning to think before he blurts. I think this is associated with being underchallenged. I have been telling him to use his "chess brain," as he is NOT impulsive when playing chess.

I have never been present at an IQ test adminstration although I have probably lost count of the number of tests, both by schools and by medical centers/hospitals over the last decade. None of the psychologists with whom I am familiar allows parents to be present. This was true even during the one test where DS was fairly fresh from the rehab hospital and accidentally banged his head halfway through testing. I think the tester might have been ready to make an exception but DS was much better after they found him a room to nap.