Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Newly tested son, need help

Hi there,

I recently had my seven year old son tested because his school is boring him silly. The psychologist who tested my son says that, based on his test results, the public school really needs to step it up if they are ever going to meet his needs. The school is now talking about rapid acceleration in some or all grades (to 6th or 7th from 2nd).

What I'm hoping is that someone who knows a lot more about test scores than I do can give me some more insight.

His scores are...

Wisc iv:

GAI 155 (FSIQ not tabulated)

Verbal comp 144
Similarities 18
Vocabulary 18
Comprehension 16
Perceptual Reasoning 145
Block Design 16
Matrix Reasoning 18
Picture Concepts 18
Processing Speed
Coding 18
Symbol Search 12
Working Memory
Digit span 13
Letter # sequence 16

Woodcock-Johnson III

Broad Reading 142
Broad Math 154
Broad Written 142

Sorry about the long post (and the presumption of asking for help) but I am really not sure right now what the best thing is for my son.

Thank you! Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Jeni

Hey, this is the place to presume to get help! Welcome!

It sounds like the school is on board, so what concerns do you have specifically? What exactly are your options here? Are you choosing from between a couple different forms of acceleration?

He sounds like a smart cookie who definitely needs something to keep him tuned in.

Thanks for responding!

I guess what I am wondering is whether his scores are as big of a deal as the psychologist is making them out to be. She made it seem like it is going to be very difficult to meet his needs. She recommends a gifted school or, perhaps, homeschooling.

I have not officially met with the school yet. His teacher just told me what ideas they are kicking around for him (like going over to the junior high). To be honest though, they don't have a great track record. They have been talking about differentiation for two years and my son still hasn't learned anything from them that he didn't already know in kindergarten - with the possible exception of how to properly use an apostrophe.

So I guess my most basic question is whether you think these scores jive with the psychologist recommendations. I have always known he was smart, but is he really "Holy-crap smart" as she seems to think? (Can you tell he is my oldest?)

Yes, he's that smart. Those are really high scores. You might look into the Davidson Young Scholars Program if you haven't already. Those scores would qualify, and it sounds like your child fits the bill: http://www.davidsongifted.org/youngscholars/ . It's a nonprofit, and many of our kids are YSers.

There are plenty of people who are making it work for their kids within a public school. Much depends upon the school--even the specific teachers the child gets within the school--and the child. There is no one right answer for all HG+ kids; it's all a case-by-case basis.

We looked at all 3 options you mention: public, private GT and homeschooling. In our case, with a resistant school system, a very small GT school with few kids, and a very active and diverse homeschooling community in our area, homeschooling was the clear winner...for now. Ask me again in 6 months and my story might change though. It's a reality that pretty much all of us with HG+ kids have to re-examine our options about that often because the ideal situation becomes not nearly so ideal after just a short time.

If you think the school is serious and will work with you, then it's fine to give that a try. If your gut is telling you that they're feeding you a line, then it's never a bad idea to explore other options. You can even do both at the same time.

Homeschooling often scares people who know nothing about it. There are lots of myths out there that just aren't accurate. So if you have questions, there are a number of us here who are homeschooling and are happy to give you more info if you want to ask about it. We've all been in your shoes and we're happy to help.

Oh, and you don't have to pick one path and stick to it. I have a friend with HG+ kids, and they switch fluidly between homeschooling, public school, and private school. It's not necessarily a situation that requires you to pick a philosophy and go with it.

I always say "This isn't theory; it's practice." In practice, you go with what your child needs when he needs it. Period. One day at a time...

Thanks again!

I think I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around this whole thing. I'm going back and forth between "Everyone thinks their kids are smart. It can't be that big of a deal" and "Yikes, he is really smart. How do I get him what he needs?"

I have already figured out that there are very few people I can talk to about this. I am so glad this board is here.

I also think I was used to hearing about the scores from different IQ tests. When I heard 155, I thought, "Oh, Ok, that is not a bad score. It wasn't until I got home and started reading about the wisc iv that I really started to understand what the results might mean. I think I am still in a bit of denial though.

Hi Dottie,

I did get sub scores.

For reading, they were:
Word decoding 130
Passage comprehension 130
Reading fluency 136

For math:
Calculation 151
Applied problems 144
Math fluency 134

For writing:
Written samples 132
Spelling 132
Writing fluency 134

I would love to know what all of those mean. LOL!

Virtually all of us go through the denial thing--around here we just call it GT denial and laugh when it rears its ridiculous head again. As it will, because to us, they're just our kids. We live with them and we see them do dumb things or act goofy or whatever. So your GT denial is a perfectly, completely normal feeling.

But that doesn't mean he's not that smart. He is THAT smart.

I will hopefully start meetings with his school next week. I feel a little nervous about it as I am usually someone who tries not to make waves. That is kind of why I decided to have him tested: I was hoping the tests would speak for me, at least a little.

So far, his teacher has told me both that they want to do some acceleration and that wherever he is placed will likely still move too slowly for him - especially in math. So it is hard to know what to do. It is good to know that your son is doing OK so far.

The thing I worry about most with him is that he will never develop any sort of work ethic because he never has to work hard. Has acceleration helped with that?

Being able to give DS7 challenging work has helped us somewhat with homeschooling. His mantra has become "hard is good," so I think we're on the right track at least. he doesn't always live that, but he is doing a lot better than he was before we started challenging him. Every little bit helps.

If it helps, we all worry about the work ethic issue, I think. It's a very common concern here.