Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Would DYS accept an application without IQ scores?

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Regarding the cost of testing, our insurance covered a lot of it for our daughter. Her school suggested we have it done at a local Children's hospital in their kids psych area, and they did a complete testing working, including IQ and ADHD testing, and some other stuff I can't remember now because it has been several years. Of course, not every insurance plan would cover this, but it is worth checking. You might need a referral from your pediatrician, too, even if it is covered.

Regarding the reluctance to test, remember that you can just go for testing. There does not need to be any active "psychology" type work done with your kid (of course they need to work with them to test them, but they really don't make any effort to change/modify their behavior in this process). My kid didn't seem to mind it at all, it was sort of like games and puzzles to her. And... you do not need to share test results with your child or anyone else if you don't want to.

From my experience, the test results are quite useful. We just figured out (and by just, I mean YESTERDAY) that something the WISC IQ results show (a gap between verbal and nonverbal scores) explains a lot about some organizational issues D has, and guided us to an online group that may be able to help with some tips and support to overcome those. Without the test results, we never would have figured this out on our own.

Good luck!

Maybe you could check local tutoring places to see if they could administer one of the achievement tests on the list for a reasonable price. DD10 had the WJ administered by a tutoring center for around $190. I still think that's kind of pricey, but better than the 1k and up I've heard talked about for IQ and achievement testing together.

Neato

We homeschool too. The main helps for us have been: 1. access to parent email lists where people really understand asynchronous development and can suggest resources appropriate for PG kids. There are other lists of course like this one and TAGMAX, but the DYS lists have been more helpful to us. 2. access to parent and student seminars - it is nice to be able to talk with experts. 3. Social opportunities to meet other families, many of them homeschooling as it is quite common among DYS families. 4. Financial support to improve access to tutors, classes, etc. We find the older PG kids get the more expensive they are. At five a kid might be happy for any chemistry book from a yard sale, but by ten your child may be looking for much more specific and expensive resources.


My understanding is even if you submit a portfolio eventually you will need scores.

As far as testing I will say it was a 100% stress free and positive experience for our child. His only complaint was that it ended and he didn't get to keep going back for more games and puzzles. The feedback we got from testing was helpful in homeschool planning and in better understand asynchronous development. I didn't go into testing with enthusiasm but in retrospect the hesitations I had were silly. As another poster mentioned our insurance paid for it. If money is really tight you could also look at universities in your area and see if they have any grad student testers.

I would encourage you to call Davidson and ask specific questions about testing. I think you'll find them helpful.


I could have said the same thing here. Asynchrony is NORMAL for PG kids. I think it is totally find to leave it alone but if you/he want a resource you might want to look at the predrafting curriculum call Complete-A-Sketch. We found it quite helpful. http://www.rainbowresource.com/search.php?sid=1267372239-1377547

Yes, I think one score is necessary, but a portfolio is an option available for just this sort of situation--where full testing would be a true hardship.

There is financial help available from DYS once you have been in the group for 6 months, I think it is. So the testing might be something of an investment in future help. My understanding is that the program rarely pays completely for anything, but that poverty is not necessary to get some help from them for things like school, camp, computers, books, etc.

We're homeschooling, and it has been very helpful to have the social connections--probably even more for me than for DS8! Being able to discuss our situation openly and completely, and to ask for ideas about resources without having someone say "your child is too young for that!" has been helpful.

If nothing else, I think of DYS as insurance for the future. Who knows what will be appropriate for DS8 in future years? Even if we homeschool all the way through, at some point I suspect I'll have to advocate to get him into college classes earlier than at 18yo, and having more than my say-so that he's HG+ might be useful for getting his needs met. He may want to attend a more traditional school when he hits puberty, and I would probably need some advocacy help then. Who knows?

Also, there are the online seminars for kids and parents with experts in an amazing variety of fields. That's a pretty neat benefit!

DYS membership has been worth it for us. Actually, even without DYS, the testing was very useful to us for homeschooling. In our case, it helped me to realize that DS8's speed issues were real and more than just his dawdling. It changed the way I approach teaching him and helped me to meet his needs in a way that I was not doing before testing. I'm also a lot calmer and more realistic about how long things should take him. That's made homeschooling so much more pleasant!

HTH!

Oh, and if you submit an app without sufficient info, they won't reject it outright. They'll ask for more info.

Even if they say no, you can always submit new test scores or new materials. They are looking to include kids, not to exclude them if they eventually meet the requirements.

It's not a one-off chance.

Under the Application Process Section it states:

Please submit at least two of the following three options as evidence of intellectual precocity. At least one of the tests submitted must have been administered no more than two years prior to the application date. As we strive to serve the extreme of the gifted population, the Score Guidelines are considered to be the minimum criteria for the Davidson Young Scholars program on both IQ and achievement testing. Test reports are reviewed in the context of a full application to determine eligibility for this program. Upon review of the application, additional testing or information may be requested in order to determine the applicant�s eligibility. If you cannot access testing due to financial constraints, you may submit a portfolio of work samples in place of testing.

Please also include copies of all Individual Education Plans, if provided by the school.

OPTIONS

IQ Testing*: A full written report for an individually administered IQ (intelligence) test from the Qualifying Tests and Score Guidelines. A full written report often includes the tester�s observations, tests administered, test scores, summary and explanation of findings, and recommendations.

AND/OR

Achievement Testing*: A score report for a talent/search college placement test from the Qualifying Tests and Score Guidelines OR a full written report for an individually administered achievement test from the Qualifying Tests and Score Guidelines. A full written report often includes the tester�s observations, tests administered, test scores, summary and explanation of findings, and recommendations.

AND/OR

Work Samples: A portfolio of at least three pieces of the applicant�s work that best demonstrate his/her advanced abilities in academic areas. Independent work that is completed without the assistance of teachers or parents and is 2 to 3 grade levels above age peers is preferred. Some of the most informative samples have included intellectual activities the applicant has completed just for fun and completely on their own, such as math �doodles,� creative writing, or autonomous projects. DVD/CD recordings demonstrating your child�s academic abilities may also be included. In order for the portfolio items to be viewed in the context in which they were completed, please briefly describe each item, including the applicant�s age and grade level at the time of completion, as well as the circumstances of the work (i.e. if it was completed independently or as part of a school project, how many times the work was revised, how and why the applicant completed this particular piece of work, etc.).

*Additional tests not listed on the Qualifying Tests and Score Guidelines, such as the Stanford-Binet Form L-M, may be submitted in addition to, but not in place of, the tests listed on that page.


So, from my understanding, any 2 of the 3 options are acceptable. I think (and I hope) that one set of test scores and a portfolio would be okay, since that is all we submitted this past month.

FWIW - That's how I read it.

Clearly those are awesome scores, Solaris! Congratulations.

Do keep in mind, however, that the grade equivalents are basically meaningless, particularly when you are talking about a grade level achievement test. What that 11th grade score means, is that your child scored as well as an 11th grade would if the 11th grader took that same 8th grade test, covering 8th grade material. This is not at all the same as saying that your child is actually at an 11th grade level of achievement.

Also remember that for all of these tests, you are comparing your child to an AVERAGE child of that grade, and that's a pretty low bar. That's why the talent search tests can be particularly valuable. With those, you also get percentiles to see how your child compares to other smart kids of the same age/grade level.

Even with all of those caveats, your DS is obviously "wicked smart," as many people here like to say.

Ditto what NJMom said and I also wanted to mention that you might get a better idea of where he falls when you look at his percentiles as compared to 8th graders rather than the grade equivalents. For instance, DYS qualifying criteria for a 3rd grader, when looking at the EXPLORE test, require scores between 14-16 on the various tests. Based upon my rough estimation of what little I know about the EXPLORE, that would mean that they are wanting a 3rd grader's achievement on an 8th grade test to fall roughly around the 55th-65th percentile as compared to 8th graders.

I would, therefore, assume that, if his percentiles on the 8th grade test he took were slightly above average, which it sounds like they easily should be, he might be a really good DYS candidate. I still think that you'd have a stronger portfolio application if the achievement test piece you were using for the application was one of the ones on their accepted list.