Test Results and Confusion - Gifted Issues Discussion Forum

She took the Terra Nova last year.

Hi Mom2Two:

You should ask for the break down of scores on the subtests, as Dottie suggested. Some of the IQ tests include working memory and processing speed, which tend not to correlate to giftedness and bring down scores of kids who are fast and advanced learners. There is something called the Gifted Ability Index, where you just look at the verbal and perceptual reasoning sections to determine giftedness.

Also, look at http://www.educationaloptions.com/levels_giftedness.htm
scroll to bottom
where Deborah Ruf correlates giftedness with overlapping ranges of IQs.

poj

Dottie and poj,

Thank you so much for your replies.

Originally Posted by Mom2Two

Dottie,

You are so knowledgeable. Thanks for your help!

My daughter is 7. I had her tested at 6 in 1st grade. I don't remember the WJ exact scores. I could go look them up.

Go get those scores, and "private message" them to Dottie. I'll bet she can help you understand them.

Originally Posted by Mom2Two

The tester didn't feel that was remarkable. She indicated that my daughter seemed lazy with her ability to "think." She said it was obvious that she wasn't use to being challenged.

This tells me that there is a problem worth your concern. You are not crazy. Follow your gut. Get ahold of 'losing our minds, gifted children left behind' and the 'Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual' and fill out your observations. I think that once you turn your observation into numbers, you will trust them more, plus you won't have to feel that you are so alone. Sounds like your daughter was already suffering the effects of "enforced underachievement."

Originally Posted by Mom2Two

When I brought that news back to the the school, they weren't happy. In the year since testing, not one thing has changed.

So - use the resources above, figure out what kind of plan you want, and ask for it in writing. Don't wait for the school to move.

Originally Posted by Mom2Two

I feel like I just don't have a clear picture of what she should be doing. If her IQ had come back higher or lower I think it would have been clearer to me.

Retesting with one of the 'top 10 for gifted' may help, but in the long run, the proof of the pudding in this situation, is her ability to do the work. Will she afterschool with you for now, so that you can 'parent her through' learning to challenge herself? That helped us, up to a point.

Love and More Love,
Trinity