Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Requirements for acceleration

I had to laugh when I looked at this list that my son's school district uses:



Especially the "does not put forth maximum effort" clause. How could my son possibly be putting forth his "maximum effort" in a setting that is at least 2 grade levels below his readiness level?

Cathy

Ohh - That is scary. At least they put their ideas out in a clear form. These are exactly the 'reasons' my DS was denied appropriate placement in the public school. I do feel your pain here!

It's like a 'through the looking glass view of giftedness.'

((shrug))
Grinity

I think it's just designed so they won't have to do anything: If the kid is performing well, socially well-adjusted, participating in everything, then there's no problem--why would the school want to change anything? If the kid is blowing off schoolwork, misbehaving, missing school, etc., then he doesn't "deserve" to be accelerated. Once again, we are status-quo. It's just easier for the school that way...

Cathy

Agreed. And ugh!

Eeek ... that kind of spells it out for you! You have my sympathy.

Well, I think we're ok. I think the principal is on DS's side and thinks that accelerating him is a reasonable thing to do (even though she personally wouldn't "do that" to her child). I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Apparently, this is a lengthy process involving a Student Study Team and we may have to wait for standardized test results in April to know for sure. I'm just trying to be patient.

Cathy

Bureaucrats!

There is a girl that the principal of the middle school keeps talking about (though she's graduated) as the most "gifted" student. While I really like the young lady, she did not score into "gifted" (130) on IQ test but is an extremely hard worker, pleasant, well-behaved. She progressed through Alg 2 in middle school (I think it was helped by mom being the math teacher and the girl spent 2 hrs after school every day doing additional math).

In my mind, it worries me that an educator/administrator is so confused about the profile of a real "gifted" kid. My kids WON'T work 2 extra hrs a day on math (or anything). They're hard workers but on their on terms (only if the project is engaging to them). They can be naughty or slightly disruptive (nothing serious), and usually they want to skip school if there is it's boring boring boring. Don't these contradict those school's skipping requirements?

I think all of this has a lot to do with wanting to reward the kids teachers like--and those are the bright but not bored kids. (Or if they're bored, their personality is such that they don't act out to show their boredom.)

I can say this because I WAS that kid, and I was rewarded for my teacher's pet behavior time and time again. But I was probably MG, I think, certainly NOT PG. And the boredom just turned me into a perfectionist, so even with the rewards, it wasn't good for me.

It's a darn shame educators and administrators don't understand GTness better! Rules like these are ridiculous.

OK, I just got my Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual book in the mail yesterday, and I'm sick with a fever & sore throat so I may have misunderstood what I briefly read, but I thought these items were listed in the Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual, as you have them written. Of course, they are only a part of what's to be considered.
A number of people here recommended the Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual, does it list these things?

Yes, it does list these things, but with more or less weight for each one. There are a total of 80 points possible, with 22 of those coming directly from test scores.

Attendence is worth a max of 3 points.
Completing homework is worth a max of 3 points.
Social maturity -- well, there's a whole section on this, worth a max of 16 points with choices of 0, 1, 2, 3 and sometimes 4 on five questions.
Paticipating fully in differentiated instruction: Does that mean that they're enrolled in all differentiation options, or that they are trying their hardest and getting all As in their advanced classes? Not sure what this means.

Parental involvement is worth a max of 3 points. Interestingly, "School attitude and support" is also worth 3 points. That's not on the list ... wonder why? Ha!

So yes, those factors are listed, but it's not quite that black and white. There are a lot of other factors that are weighted just as heavily, like the child's size (max of 3 points for being bigger than age) and participation in extracurriculars (max of 3 points). Putting those 5 items on a list and calling it a day doesn't seem very in-depth to me.

Was this article posted on this site or another one? I think it's fascinating and very telling:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/ALESSI1.html

It's about special needs kids, and it absolutely applies to gifted children.

Iowa is weighted, and things like these receive little weight compared to academic readiness. So with Iowa, a child who doesn't do extra work is not necessarily penalized. Here, in list form, it seems like whether the parents had to work and couldn't attend the parent-teacher conference is at least as important--and maybe more important!--than if the child is bored silly in school!

Oh, and on Iowa, I believe that having "pushy" parents is weighted as bad as (or maybe worse than?) having parents who don't show up for conferences. That's not at all reflected on the school's list.

Sorry, Mia, our posts crossed! So, yeah, what she said!

LOL! Too funny, Kriston! You were much more succinct than I.

That is a great article! I love that website! The Wrights provide the desperately needed glimmer of sanity and logic that so many parents depend on to navigate the ridiculous scenarios presented by the schools to try to preserve there own best interests at any cost.

So, if Cathy showed up at the school and said, "yes, those things can be considered, but here's the rest of the story", do you think the school will listen?

I'd pretty much ignore their list altogether and ask for the school to fill out the Iowa for the child. It's the gold standard. Advocating for a grade skip without the Iowa is going to be a lot more difficult, I'd think.

Hmm, I think that depends! They might, but it would be far more likely to work if the school had used the IAS before. If they had, I'd ask them to use it with the child, to look at those factors in a broader context.

If they hadn't used it before, it might take convincing them to get the IAS or at least to recognise it as valid. Trouble is, they might not be interested in doing that! It's hard to get schools to change. Still, it might be worth a shot -- or at least pointing out that there are other factors that should be considered.

LOL, Kriston -- we're on the same wavelength today!

Great minds think alike!

For completeness, here is the rest of the form:


I like the idea of pointing out that these (and other) factors are considered on the IAS. Right now, I'm sort of waiting to see if the teacher goes along with it. I don't think she's pro-acceleration and it looks like it's all up to her... Hopefully, she'll agree to it if she thinks the principal wants her to.

Cathy

Things that irk me:

1. The teacher's opinion is gospel.

2. If modifications to the student's program have not been attempted, then acceleration is not recommended. So all they have to do is refuse to provide modifications and then they don't have to accelerate, either!

Cathy:
I don't know if you are looking for acceleration options for your child, did not read this thread very carefully.
But if yes , shop around. If you can afford (time and transportation) to have your child in a different school, in a different district - shop around. With so many charter schools poping around this days, there are other options. Shop around for teachers as well. A teacher I have met recently told me that gifted and talented money could come from the same pool as special ed.!!! Imagine that! She is looking into a program now that she can use for my DD and pilot it for other "above average" kids at the school.

Cathy - you are so right. That teacher's opinion business is absolutely ridiculous. I'd say that is fine as long as the teacher has had thorough training in GT identification and education.

Ania, I think using SPED money for GT depends on what state you are in. Unfortunately, I have shopped around. There are only two charter schools in my area and they are not suitable. The private schools all have waiting lists and are not inclined to do anything special for anyone. I think we need to move to a different state