Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments out of level achvmt. test through a talent search

Forgive my ignorance please! Several people here recommended our DD9 take an "out of level achievement test through a talent search" as we go about choosing a new school for DD. From what I understand, a test like this will make it clear at what grade level a child is in math, language arts, etc. Yes?
I have Googled out of level testing and gone to Hoagies and come up with Explore and some others. What test is the most practical? We have Cogat, Iowa, Lexile, Woodcock, WISC scores already if that makes any difference. Duke is nearby so we can use them if regular psychologists don't do tests like this.

Just my opinion, but given that you already have Cogat, Iowa, Lexile, Woodcock, WISC scores it isn't clear to me an EXPLORE or SAT would add much, particularly if the Woodcock Johnson is fairly recent (within the last year or so).

Well, actually, out of level achievement of the EXPLORE or ACT variety would add some information, as the WJ, like all of these age-normed standardized tests, does not give genuine grade-level-equivalent information. As I've mentioned elsewhere, grade- and age-equivalents do not represent the actual instructional level of an individual. They are derived from the number of items correct that the median member of the norm group referenced obtained. That is, a grade-equivalent of 6.3 does not mean that your child's instructional level is the third month of grade six. It means that they obtained the same number of correct items on this particular task as the median member of the grade 6.3 norm group did in the standardization sample. How they got to that number correct does not figure into it. (E.g., repeatedly missed three or four items in a row, but then one correct one, and so ended with a very high most-difficult-item, but with tons of holes in skills on the way up.) Also, many grade 6.3 students would not be able to demonstrate mastery of grade 6.3 skills (half of them, actually, if based on a grade-equivalent). Because these kinds of tests are intended to sample overall performance, not demonstrate mastery of a skill area, there are very few items of each type.

Norm-referenced tests of the WJ variety are designed to order individuals in the normative group, not determine their actual "level".

The Lexile may be useful for schools, as most of them understand the language of that scale. Also, it's not an age norm-referenced test.

And EXPLORE, etc. are group/computer-administered tests, which don't need a psychologist (think SAT-type format).

DS did EXPLORE in 4th, very useful for him as he also needed to do ACT very early (6th grade) for advocacy reasons, and EXPLORE is formatted like the ACT. (I don't know if they're still offering it, there's been some waffling on that score, I believe.)

DS really enjoyed the experience of challenge he got from the test. It was also very useful to have a specific science score on him going forward-- so the school could see his needs more clearly. (We were hoping to get a useful math level too, but he hit the ceiling.) It was not useful right away, but a year later we needed that score and we were happy to have it in our pocket.

DS is a person who truly loves taking standardized tests. EXPLORE tested his stamina: it's four segments of about half an hour each. If he really didn't like testing, I probably wouldn't have gone this route.

IQ can be used to identify a student as gifted here, but grade and/or subject acceleration require above grade level achievement tests. Also, our local university requires a minimum ACT or SAT score for students in K-12 to take classes there; IQ scores aren't considered at all.

I'd think about what you may need to advocate for in the near future. Check both your state and district policies, especially concerning acceleration.

Hoagies has a talent search section:
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/talent_search.htm

Explore and CTY seem to be the most commonly taken tests in my area.

Wherever possible, parents may wish to trace information to its source for the most accurate and current facts. Here is a link to ACT's current webpage on the Explore test: http://www.act.org/products/k-12-act-explore/. The website shares that pre-existing contracts for Explore testing are being honored. Apsire, a longitudinal test for students in grade 3 through early high school, replaces both Explore and Plan.

Greenlotus, are you in NC? The 3rd grade beginning of grade testing provides information that can be used to establish grade equivalency, and I think the end of grade results in 3rd, 4th etc will continue to do the same.

We just got ds's reading results and the Lexile is clearly indicated, so I was able to figure out his approximate grade level.

When we tested through CTY, we took the test through a local test center. We didn't have to go to any special event or person to do it. It was cheap and easy to arrange. The CTY gives the SCAT, and I think the alloted time was 1.5-2 hours, but DD was literally done in half the time she had available, even including the time for a break between test sections.

I have to say, although we also had the WISC, WIAT, CoGAT and IOWA scores at hand, the SCAT results through CTY were much more comprehensible in some ways to the classroom teacher and others who don't regularly deal with IQ tests, BECAUSE of the comparison to an older student group.