Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Upcoming IQ test: question

I guess the right thing to do is to approach the school administration with IQ test and achievement test score. That will force them to do something about your child without them laughing at your face.

I believe most people on this board have experienced what you went through. You are not the only one.

Good luck!

Someone correct me if I am wrong ... but approaching the school administration for an IQ test and achievement test does not guarantee they will do anything. This falls under state laws doesn't it? Or is it district level?

I think it varies widely by state and school district.

O.k. Reeeeaaaally bad news.

I have begun afterschooling DS6 and I am distressed at what I'm seeing. His english is fine. I've always done lit and poetry but now I'm going over reading comp and things are fine. I'm made sight word flashcards from the jan brett sight and he has 60 now. He's not as interesting in reading as he used to be, though. I don't get it. It's clear that I'm no where near his limits though. So, we have a lot of work to do.

The bad news is this: he has totally forgotten math. Like I said, last year he was up to multiplication but at his new school, they are still learning 0-5 very very well. Gulp. When I went through the workbooks, he can barely do sequencing any more, and got quiet when I asked him to do subtraction. What is going on?

Here's the crush: He told me that he feels like the stupidest kid in class. He said that he has trouble listening. I am so upset that I can't think straight. How could this be happening? The smartest kid in class to the slowest? I'm so confused.

I am going through some old work from montessori and it is beautiful. Beautiful writing, beautiful drawings, correct answers on his math problems. Where did my little boy go?

he's there I'm sure, but it does sound like you have work to do. Maybe approach math from a more play-based angle for now to tempt him back into it. Math fact sheets had my ds8 thinking he was not good at math- now that we have been de-emphasizing that stuff he is all over geometry, etc.
Don't ignore the trouble listening though. This could be boredom, or another learning issue which will need to be followed up on.

I agree that the trouble listening could be boredom if it's too far beneath where he is. I also agree about playing more games (War w/ multi/div cards, add/sub cards, Chutes and ladders but no counting aloud, only adding). We also play Chutes and Ladders where you use two dice and can subtract or add them to put yourself in a better position. We even use negative numbers to go backwards if that puts you in a better position. My son enjoys the game w/ the two 12-sided dice and 3 6-sided dice. You multiple the two 12-sided dice and must use the 6-sided dice to get as close as you can to the target number using add/sub/multi/div/squares/cubes/roots etc.

My son regressed greatly in math in K. I just had to make sure to play games with him regularly. Now he's back to figuring out multi and div facts on his own.

Have you done the IQ test yet? IQ test does not have math, so I think you can safely test it first.

Is it a school psychologist or is it a private psychologist? Can you delay the achievement appointment to give him a chance to catch up with his math? If you want, you might want to delay both IQ and achievement test appointments if confidence is an issue.

Calm down! I think he can do it but you might need more time than just a few weeks. He has lost his confidence. That will take some time to build it back up.

Yes, thank you all. I have slept on it and I don't feel as panicked. The best thing to come out of this is that DH is no longer in denial about how bad public ed is. He was truly shocked by the fact that DS6 can no longer remember how to count coins, add or subtract. He said, "I knew public ed would stagnate him but I had no idea he would actually unlearn things!" So, I finally have his total support. He's going to teach math and I'll keep teaching everything else. He's also going to help me find a gifted friendly school for next year. He is completely on the bandwagon, so that's a victory for me.

At this point, we're mostly trying to figure out how to remedy the situation. His test is going to be done by a private psychologist who specializes in diffrentiating ADHD from boredeom and Dubrowski's from SPD and I love her attitude. Luckily, the achievement test is on a later date so I do have more time but yes, I may need to push it back even further. We have a parent appointment with her tomorrow and I'll show her samples of his montessori work and where he's at right now and see what she says.

I'm happy to hear that the WISC doesn't have math! What will it include? Will it assess his abilities accurately despite this setback?

Look up WISC in wikipedia.com. It has a very nice description of WISC. DS7 just got the IQ test and my psycologist did not test the supplemental part, just everything else.

According to wikipedia, there is a computation portion, but it's supplemental. I asked my son if he tested it, he said no.

Sorry, Giftedticcyhyper! Dottie is the master in this area. She is always right.