Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Achievement Tests

Update:

I emailed dd's school and asked if they had done any achievement tests on dd. I was told that she has not had any done and that they do formal achievement testing in 3rd grade, which is next year, although I didn't ask which specific tests they use.

Anyway, the question now is do I go ahead and pay for achievement testing to be done at this time or wait until the school does them next year? Is there a benefit to waiting until next year to have them done? She will have a year of GT under her belt as well as another year of school. That alone may improve any scores she'd receive. Someone also had mentioned the tests not being as good for younger kids. Dd is 7...is she at a good age for those tests? Currently we have no need for any advocacy assistance, however being a YSP would allow us that if we needed it. Obviously I would prefer she be accepted in the YSP but since dd is being well accommodated in school at this time its not something that is imperative. Anyway, if you'd like to offer some advice I'll gladly listen!

Thanks, ladies

Oh ok, thanks Dottie. I'll make sure to ask!

The first blanket GT testing in our school district is in 3rd grade, and I think it's the WJ, so it is possible that "real" achievement testing is indeed what they mean. But definitely ask! Different districts are different.

The rest of this post assumes that the school will give a YSP-approved test. If not, then I'd recommend paying for it now on your own.

But if the school's achievement test is okay to submit to YSP, then I'd say that I think testing can be useful at any age, given the right test, the right tester and the right questions that you want the test to answer. It depends on what you're looking for. Given that you want to get YSP-level scores, I'd actually think earlier would be better than later.

Aside from possibly getting the test for free, paid for by the school (as we did), I don't really see a reason to wait based on what you've told us. I don't think either choice is a bad one though. Are you patient enough to wait?

Oh, and I'd check to be sure the older test scores that you've already submitted won't expire. You don't want to wait, only to find that now you have to get the IQ testing done again!

Thanks Kriston. The WISC IV was given to her in November of this year so that one is valid for a while. I think I'll ask the school which test she'll be given and if its not one required by the YSP then we may just go ahead and have it done privately. If for some reason she doesn't meet the YSP score requirements with that test then we'll just see how she does next year with the school test. (hopefully its an accepted one.)

Now...on to research achievement tests!

Most likely the school testing is the state-mandated testing for NCLB. I don't believe that will work for YSP. Our state testing is designed to test against benchmarks for the grade your child is in. The achievement testing for YSP (Woodcock Johnson, for example) can assess your daughter's achievement compared to many grades above her current grade. In my state, kids are rated "proficient", "advanced" or "nearing proficiency" and something else lower. <2% score in the advanced range - compared to the other kids in that grade. What about comparing their achievement to kids 5 grades higher?

Tammy-

I just checked the YS site and it looks like they are very specific about which tests they will accept. So I'd suggest that you specifically ask the school if they will administer the KTEA, WIAT, or W-J achievement. Unless your contact at DITD said that any achievement test will be fine, you need to be sure to get the "right" test. These are all common enough, but the school may not be cool with your wanting the numbers for admission to DITD. I'd recommend that you put your request in writing and be specific about why you feel you need the information. If you say, "I want to better understand his various levels of functioning as he seems to be somewhat asynchronous" or (this is a hot button!) "I suspect a learning disability" you will probably be fine. As I understand it, if a disability is suspected and you make a request in writing, the school has X number of days to take action.

good luck!

Thanks for the advice! I'm waiting to hear back as to what testing they use at dd's school. I'll keep you posted!

I know all the staff personally at dd's school and they know dd as well. Citing a LD reason for specific testing would not be something I would do because 1) its not true and 2) the school already knows its not true with dd. They'd probably look at me cross-eyed if even suggested it. lol.

If the school does not use one of the accepted tests, and if we felt we needed to pursue further testing, we would just pay to have it done.

Tammy,

Again, check with insurance, I just confirmed today that DD7's achievement test will be covered. The tester's office bills any test under the same testing code and they don't give the insurance co. details about what the test is. Everything falls under the generic term of psychological testing.
That's just how it works, I don't think it's shady.

I did call around and found a local tutoring group, that also offers test prep classes, like SAT/ACT.
They would administer the WJ for $350.

Hope this helps, hope you can find the test for a reasonable price.
Incog

Thanks incog,thats good to know.

Just make sure they know why you want the WJ, wherever you go. If they look for LDs instead of GT, the scores might not be high enough even though they could have been!