A friend of mine has recently had her 5.5 year old boy tested. Here are the scores:

WPPSI

verbal                    139
performance                142
processing speed        131
full                        146



WJ III (age based)

broad math                161
broad reading            136
broad written language    152        




WJ III (out of level scores-2 yrs)

broad math                126
broad reading            115
broad written language    122        

Do you think that it is worth applying to DYS with these?? I do.... I think that on the WISC when he turns 6 it would be a no brainer, but that they could probably save the money?

Thoughts????

Thanks!!

It can't hurt, and the application is free and fairly fast to put together, even with a portfolio. I'd go ahead and get the portfolio together and submit. The WPPSI score is close, and some of the achievement scores are likely higher than those of a great many admittees.

They will probably not accept the WPPSI score since 150 is required. They will probably ask for retest on WISC IV.

Cathy A, since the achievement scores meet qualification criteria, she can submit with a portfolio.

'Like' - it isn't a sure thing, but 'worth' doing.
a) the child might get in on achievement and portfolio
b) going through the application itself can be helpful in getting over 'gifted denial.'

We haven't applied, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I'd suspect that he may be a watch and see kid: probably HG but maybe or maybe not DYS PG level. I suspect that DYS looks for that 150 IQ point for the younger kids for two reasons: 1) IQ scores are less stable at that young age and 2) very high achievement scores are easier to get when one is very young.

In regard to my second guess, a young child who is reading at all will test very highly on the reading part of a test like the WJ or WIAT, whereas a 10 or 11 y/o, for instance, would need not only to be reading above grade level, but be hugely above grade level to get the same 99.9th or similarly high scores on the same test.

I guess that, in your friend's case, I'd ask myself what I need out of a program like DYS and how much I need it. If s/he is having a terribly hard time finding social peers, is feeling overwhelmed with trying to advocate for the child's needs and needs guidance there, etc., it might be worth applying, but if I were just going to guess, I'd suspect that they might ask for more testing.

As lucounu mentioned, she can apply with a portfolio.

I'll also second everything Cricket2 said.

Good luck!

polarbear