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Not that I disagree with Dottie much , but I did want to mention that my dd12 is not a DYS level kid but we have still not found her to be ideally gifted. She was tested on the WISC-IV at 7 yrs 4 months and was a very erratic little person who didn't cooperate well but came out at the 99th percentile point if we give her the extra points from the extended norms. She is likely a tad higher than that testing showed due to a number of factors, but still not likely 99.9.

I don't know if it is just our area where the GT programming is filled with kids who got a 95th percentile score on any one part of a group ability test after a lot of hothousing or what, but she's stood out like a sore thumb and has needed a lot of accommodations beyond what the schools typically offer. Right now she fits well and doesn't stand out as being ridiculously misplaced but that is primarily due to her being btwn 1-2.5 yrs younger than her grade mates (bd made her one of the youngest in her grade and she skipped a grade).

Point being -- I wouldn't necessarily assume that you don't need to work a bit out of the box for a 99th percentile kid.

Yeah, and that's definitely not my kiddo. She had a couple 8s, a couple 17s, a 19+, etc. In hindsight, I'd say that the 8 on one of the processing speed tests was probably pretty accurate (she's deep, not fast), but the 8 in block design was likely due to her refusal to complete the test and the tester continually pressing her to work faster which caused further shutting down/lack of cooperation.

Thanks All.
Grin - he is skipping K and heading straight for 1st... at a private school for "bright and gifted"... Hope he can hang!!
He does a lot of "extra"... always adding stuff to his own assignments.. hope this continues!
Looking forward to seeing all the subtest scores - should be around 2 weeks from now.

Hi grinity ,
i joined the forum recently , have been reading your posts with interest. My DD4 will be testing this year ( probably in winter ) for applications to kindergarten for 2012. i am just finding out about testing , gifted issues etc. and was wondering if you could give some insight on what would be the best time to test her for wppsi and SB , if she is 4 now.

also , is their anything we can do to help boost her scores , like games / puzzles etc

also , what should i look for when i look for a tester
thanks

Hi Amon,
Welcome! So glad you found us. As for doing anything at all to boost her scores, I strongly recommend that you stay away from that idea. As I posted above:

Take a look at this post re: WPPSI vs SBV
http://giftedissues.davidsongifted....test_for_4_years_10_month.html#Post98096

Of course it's natural to want to prepare our children for the experience of being tested. I love this article:
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/test_prep.htm

You might also want to get a copy of this book:
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10359.aspx
for the review. The name has recently changed to '5 levels of giftednes' - so either edition is good for a read.

Some say that the best time to test is when you have a question that needs to be answered. I guess the question in your post is: "Is my child a good fit for school x,y, or z." In that case, try and use a tester that the schools regard highly.

I would also encourage you to do a 'tushie test' for each school before you use that to decide to set up a tester appointment. I developed the 'tushie test' and what it means is that you physically sit in the classroom for 20 minutes, very quietly and observe the teacher and the students and the feel of the classroom. Try to observe a few different grades and teachers, and mentally compare what the kids are doing to what you child is doing academically, and socially. Look at the book on the Library Shelf. Is there a nice range of challenging book that your child would enjoy? Are they all 'baby books?' Are any of the children clearly bored? Do any children have their 'own special work' that is a different level than the other kids. Are the teacher more interested in teaching the children to sit still and listen and wait politely or in sparking the love of learning - or can they do both at the same time?

As far as testers - it would be nice if they can also provide needed parenting guidance, in addition to spitting out a rareness score. Remember the IQ test doesn't tell 'how smart' a child is, it only measures how unusual a child's smartness level is.

I hope that's not TMI all at once - Welcome!
Since you are new, I'll remind you that we are 'experts' rather than professional experts - just moms and dads who have been around the block a few time.
Grinity

thanks grinity

I thought 99.9th percentile only meant in the top thousandth. That's not that incredible, is it? Am I missing something? I never realized until this moment how many people must be able to qualify for DYS. (And happy because it gives me a lot of hope.)

Yes, it is 1 in 1,000. I could be wrong, but due to the need to have both ability and achievement scores in that range, I suspect the # who qualify might be somewhat less than 1 in 1,000. I have a kiddo who qualified on IQ but has never had achievement scores quite that high and who is 2e. I'd have to guess that there are others in a similar situation.

Very Good point. I've always focused on the other half. Since a child only needs to have over 145 in either Verbal or Performance or GAI there are a lot of kids (like mine) who have a Full Scale much less than 145 (1 in 1000) but still qualify on the IQ portion. So I don't see my son as 'exactly' 1 in 1000 for the population, and guess that he's closer to 1 in 500. I may have to 'up' my estimate now though- seeing Cricket's good point.

I find it heartbreaking when it comes time to actually draw a line. Do I think Cricket's child is 'less gifted' than mine? Of course not. I think that all programs targeted to gifted kids should have 'steps' to cover the various 'rareness bands.' I've worked hard to create a place (right here) where parents of 'near Davidson' kids can get the best of what DYS offers. I hope it's working for parents of 'near DYS' kids and will continue to work.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

I wish I could see the look on your face Iucounu. You are absolutely correct! Anyone mathy want to calculate the number of people in the U.S. that potentially could have qualified for DYS if it had existed in when they were children? It sure isn't the same as number of Nobel prize winners - it's a big giant number!

Still rare enough to confuse excellent school-related people, but really, not that rare at all!

Grins,
Grinity