Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment New and Have some Questions on my 4 Year Old

My son is four and and will turn 5 in October. We had him take the Wecksler Preschool Primary test and the Woodcock Johnson test so that he could get early admission into Kindergarten since he missed the cutoff to get into kindergarden by 6 weeks. He scored a 135 in the WPP and a 178 in the Woodcock Johnson. He started reading at 3 years old and the psychologist said that he read better than any preschooler that she tested in her career.

To be honest, even though he is 4, I am interested in determining if he is a good candidate for the Davidson young Scholars Program. Thanks for your opinions.

So, the Wechsler test he took was the WPPSI, right? I believe that the DYS requirement on the WPPSI is 150 for the composite (full scale IQ) score, so his current scores won't do it. His WJ achievement scores should be in the 99.9th, though, so those will probably meet the achievement score part. Perhaps you can retest him on an IQ test in a year when he would be age eligible for DYS.

The score requirement on the older child version of the Wechsler scale (WISC-IV) is 145 rather than 150. I can't recall the youngest age at which he could be tested on the WISC, but it might be 6. The SB-5, which is another test they take, he could take even now.

That's a very large spread between IQ and achievement. It might help to have the subtest scores, or at least the various composites or indices.

Thanks for all of your feedback. We are going to move forward and send him to kindergarden early. I agree with a lot of your comments that I have a solidly gifted kid, but not yet a candidate for the young scholars program. We are going to see how it goes and if things continue to go well get him retested when he is older and the scores are more representative. The next decision that we are going to think about for next year is whether to keep him in public school or move him to an all gifted child charter school for 1st grade if we get in the lottery. (Metrolina Scholars Academy in Charlotte).

What is he reading, BTW? Dr. Suess? Harry Potter? College Textbooks? I've learned that there are levels of reading as well. (Not that most Young Scholars are reading College texts at age 4, or even age 10, but to give the idea of the possible range.)

Sounds like an early entrance is a good idea, since Iowa Acceleration Manual talks about early entrance being a good solution for all levels of giftedness.

You listed the full scale for WPPSI as 135, were any of the subscales much higher? My son qualified in Verbal, but not Full Scale.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

Are you in the CMS system? There are several other options in the area if you live in Meck. CO.
My daughter attends Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy if you have any questions.

We live in Union County. I will have to drive him if he goes to the Charlotte Metrolina Scholars Academy next year. We are going to go to the open house for MSA and check it out. We may look at Latin as well, but it will be a stretch to pay the tuition every year. What is your experience with the MSA program? Are you happy with the program? My concern is that MSA appears to be operating on a shoe string budget. Also, his main motivation to go to school was to ride the school bus with his friends so yanking him out to go to Latin or MSA may not make sense.

To answer the reading questions. He can read closed captions on the television. (We can turn off the sound and he can still tell what is going on in the show and gets mad when we take them off.) He can read the standard fare of kids books like Dr Seus and train picture books for 8 to 10 year olds. He REALLY likes trains. He wants me to take him to China to ride the Maglev train in Shanghai. Haven't tried Harry Potter because he is not in to it. Other Stuff. He is getting close to playing twinkle, twinkle little star on the violin, a white belt in karate, and learning to swim.

In other words, he is a smart, normal four old with pushy parents. Is he a child prodigy? Probably not.

Scholars Academy will have a bus next year but it is by a private company. My DD took the bus this year, in spite of the long ride, she loved it.
The school does operate on a much smaller budget than the private schools but the parents of the school have been very generous. My daughter gets much than she would at her public home school.
In general, we are happy at the school. My biggest concern is that my daughter does not have any neighborhood friends to play with. This has nothing to do with the school but it is a factor.
I can certainly understand how difficult your position is.
I hate to say this but by starting your son early it may be difficult to transfer him later. At Scholars Academy,This year there were 20+ applications and only 2 siblings got in.
I know nothing about Latin, except I have heard that they tend to put younger students into the TK program. Being very young may hurt his transfer chances. This is all internet rumors and I have no first hand knowledge of this school. Of course, it has an outstanding reputation. I would call the school if you are serious and get more information.
Having said all this, there is something to be said about the good quality schools in Union County.
I have learned from my daughter that there is no perfect fit. She has progressed this year, her K teacher was just fantastic. But, she I wish she had more school friends in the area.
I would put in the application for Scholars Academy next year. You can have him take the group test for free. It would be great to get a acore above 145 on the SB-V to ensure entry into the lottery. (130-144 goes to review.)
Good Luck, it seems that you have a very bright and engaging little boy.