Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment EXPLORE and 3rd Grader and other EXPLORE questions

I just can't seem to run out of testing questions.

I read somewhere (maybe in the Developing Math Talent book) that 3rd graders generally should not take EXPLORE because it is so challenging, yet some of the talent searches have 3rd graders take the test (Some only do 4-6 grades from what I can tell).

Does anyone have experience having their 3rd grader take EXPLORE. My DS took SCAT right after turning 8 and did very well, without too much anxiety, etc. (he got very nervous because the prometric center was so formal - sign here, show us your pockets, etc., but once he started the test he was fine and afterwards he said it was fun). But he was also able to do a good hunk of the questions and at least had some idea what the vast majority of them were about.

So, my question is, what would you consider when deciding whether to have your child do EXPLORE. What talent searches will test 3rd graders? Is that a talent search that has testing locations nationwide (aren't some limited in their areas)? And do all of the talent searches just have the January and Feb. test dates (which unfortunately means my son, with a Jan. b-day) will always have to take it "young."

I may have him continue with SCAT, as it is easy enough to do and not particularly expensive, and it might be a nice baseline to see improvement - but EXPLORE seems like the logical next step.

I'd appreciate your thoughts. Cat

Thanks Dottie, this is really helpful. What would make you select Explore over SCAT? Or would you do both?

If we can test with C-Mites even though we are not in PA, then that is great, as we are quite close to PA (although maybe there is a local testing site also).

Cat

My son tested this year in 3rd. I kept it very low stress, and even with his AS, he went in and did amazingly well behavior and nerves-wise. My personal idea is that he has trouble with experiences he isn't used to, and so many of these talent searches ask for similar tests, that I want him to get used to the experience of it. Imagine my surprise when he was fine with it!

I have no idea how well he did, but I am very happy with the experience overall.:)

DS tested in 3rd after a grade skip, so he was 7 1/2. It wasn't a big deal... If it had been anxiety-provoking we wouldn't have done it, but it didn't bother him at all. He knew he wouldn't finish and that it was meant to be hard, and although he was definitely tired afterwards he wasn't shellshocked or anything.

We did Explore rather than the SCAT because at that age two a year might have been more than he wanted... and because the Explore was acceptable as an annual test for homeschoolers. (NC requires annual testing.) We did it again at 8 1/2 and at 9 1/2 (that was last year) and then switched to the ACT.

I agree with Dottie's list - in our case #1 was the biggie just because he was extra-young. And last year with the ACT it was the biggie again (ACT is more like 5 hours). I think also the parent should be prepared for low scores -- DS's first Explore scores were much lower than subsequent ones, and his first ACT was slightly lower than I expected... with a definite down-trend as he got tired.

Sounds like it makes sense to plan on taking it next year. I hate overloading him on testing, and we will have to do WJ soon I am afraid, in order to get the school to move on him and some acceleration. I am going to push them, however, to use something that is better for pinpointing his actual levels of mastery right now (like the tests suggested in "Developing Math Talent" as opposed to WJ or WIAT), we will see.

At least so far he seems to think these tests are fun, the little sweetheart, so that is a good thing Man, I love my kids.

Cat

Another early tester here -- ds10 took the EXPLORE as a 7-year-old third-grader. As I remember, he came out saying he didn't finish some of it, but despite perfectionist tendencies he always seems unfazed by standardized testing, so it didn't traumatize him. (I had explained to him beforehand at some length that taking a difficult, out-of-level test was necessary because of his abilities, so he was able to view the experience as a good thing, I think).

The value of above-level testing for us is seeing improvement from year to year (it helps me know we picked the right learning environment for him). Third grade was his first at a new school, so it was good to establish a 'baseline' that year, so to speak.

And there has been improvement, by leaps and bounds in some areas. I don't know how else we'd get an objective measure of his learning, since grades aren't objective and the only other standardized testing the school uses is grade-level ITBS.

Hope this helps!