Did anyone get EXPLORE score for Feb 18, 2012?

They told me it will be available first week of April.

DeeDee

My math says they should be in the NUMATS toolbox this coming Saturday. (Assuming identical processing time as the January sitting.)

I was wondering the same thing, as our daughter took it Feb 18 also - this is our first year with the test so I didn't know how timely the release is? Weirdly we have gotten a mailing from NUMATS with a sticker on the front stating something like - "your child's scores qualifies them for these programs" so it at least appears the scores are out there somewhere, just not in my hands! Or do they just send these flyers out to everyone for the gifted learning links programs?

We took it through Duke TIP, and somewhere in the literature it stated results would be sent out by mail March 28. I'm still watching the box though just in case they come early.

I think that the flyer is just commercial stuff.

If you have your logon info, you might try going online to the child's account. This was last year, but I'm pretty sure my memory is that my DD's scores were there before they came in the mail. But maybe not that far head (a few days, maybe a week?) Anyway it might be worth a try.

That happened to me, too: it's why I asked them directly what was up. Apparently they send the flyer to everyone. But yes, the sticker was disconcerting...

DeeDee

I was hoping the flyer wasn't just blasted out to everyone otherwise we may have gotten our daughter's hopes up about taking some of their courses; due to our inexperience we were already looking through picking out on-line courses with our daughter. Then later I read the initial materials from NUMATS in the 2012 student guide that said "Students who have the following minimum scores will also receive a copy of CTD's summer program and/or Gifted LearningLinks brochures, which contain information about applying for these programs: Explore English 20, Explore Reading 18, Explore Math 18, Explore Science 20."

So I didn't realize until then that you needed minimum scores to qualify for the programs. It would seem lame to me to send brochures with a sticker on it that says "your child's score qualifies!" when it doesn't? So hopefully it actually does .

I think you should be able to get NUMATS scores off their website. We were able to access Jan scores on the web two weeks before we received in the mail. Plus, the Jan scores have been updated about the award ceremony. So, I'd think the Feb scores would have been processed by now too.

Eligible to take EXPLORE through NUMATS = eligible for GLL Enrichment and Core Essentials (3rd-8th grade) classes. You only need EXPLORE scores for Honors & AP classes.

http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/gll/program/eligibility/

For NUMATS, you would be mistaken. "We don’t have scores yet for you from the testing agency. Check back with us in a while."

If it takes as long to process February as it did to process January, scores will be in the toolbox this coming Saturday 3/31.

Thanks for clarifying! The student guide didn't clearly state that. That's good that my daughter can take them no matter what the score.

I have checked the toolbox, but it is not there yet.

Keep checking the toolbox. We got our scores from Jan on a Saturday morning from the tool box. It probably took 6 weeks. It was a couple more weeks before we got them in the mail.

I actually called ACT today (and lol, they asked if I was in IL and said, "yeah, those are the parents that seem to call us," - ouch!). Anyway, they said that they are going out in the mail this week and early next week, as they process them. She made it sound like some were going in the mail today. So, I'm a little surprised that NUMATS doesn't have them. When I asked NUMATS, they said that they hoped to have them in the mailboxes early next week, but by that point, we may have the paper copies. And I also asked about the GLL sticker, which they agreed was misleading. Personally, I think that putting a "congratulations" sticker on their brochure is just trying to sucker in proud parents.

I plan to meet with my ds10's team this spring and they specifically wanted to see the EXPLORE scores. They seem more receptive to differentiating based on achievement scores. Ds11 took the SAT in Jan through his local school district and I've heard that those scores takes FOREVER (well, it was 1/21 and we don't have them, although I bet the school does). I hate waiting.

It seems that we have to be patient.

DS2 took the test in Jan & it took at least 6 weeks to obtain the scores from ACT. I called more than once & got the "It's almost in the mail!" answer each time. DS2 took the test thru Duke TIP & we haven't heard Boo from Duke. No idea if we will. His scores were pretty good (or so they seemed to me), but not sure what Duke even does, if anything, for those students who have high scores on the EXPLORE. DS1 never took the EXPLORE because we didn't even know it existed.

DS1 has taken both the ACT & SAT and his scores did not take as long as the EXPLORE scores.

MidwestDad, I'd be very interested to hear how you achieve differentiation for your DS based on his EXPLORE scores. I thought about sending copies of my DS's scores to school, but doubt anything would happen aside from his teachers saying, "Good job!" I'll probably send the scores for that purpose, but differentiation would not happen

Our kids' 4th grade teacher gave "you are bad parents" vibes when we even mentioned that we were considering having them take the Explore. Thus no, in our case there was no differentiation as a result of the test, despite amazingly high scores. We did sign them up for online courses through NUMATS, though, and that was a good thing.

In fact, it is my DD10 who took the explore exam. She took the exam last year, and missed the cutoff of NUMats ceremony by 4 points. She wanted took again to beat the cutoff. She does not really need the score to do anything, because she is already in the GT program in our school district.

We can't take EXPLORE b/c we are in California. My son took SCAT for JHU. He qualified for that and, frankly, nobody at his school cared. In fact, his teacher, who gave us the application to do it, stared blankly at me when I told her about his scores.
Well, he enjoyed doing it and I think it's a good experience to take a timed test on a computer!

MidwestDad, I'd be very interested to hear how you achieve differentiation for your DS based on his EXPLORE scores. I thought about sending copies of my DS's scores to school, but doubt anything would happen aside from his teachers saying, "Good job!" I'll probably send the scores for that purpose, but differentiation would not happen

I'm not "Midwest Dad," but I wanted to say that we successfully used the EXPLORE scores for my ds11 to advocate for differentiation when he was in 4th grade (now in 6th) and were pretty successful. He was already in gifted (as is our just-turned-10 ds), but we felt he still needed more.

Part of our success may be that our district uses the EXPLORE in 8th (as well as 6th/7th, but they don't send scores to parents in 6th/7th). So, I think it helped that we had a lot of data - how does he compare to the average 6th grader in the MS gifted, for example (although they don't send scores, the district provided them when asked).

For us, it has always worked best when we jump the ladder immediately, and so far, it hasn't upset anyone at the school. When we call the gifted coordinator, the curriculum coordinator, etc... at the district level, and say, "can we meet with you regarding this?" I've found that they usually have a rather utopian view of what can/should/is being done at the schools. They're much more likely to agree to differentiating (and/or assume it's already happening) because they don't actually have to implement it.
I always meet with my sons' teaching team in April or May to discuss the upcoming year, and specifically talk about what accommodations may be made. Sometimes it's little things: a different "extra" accelerated spelling list, alternate projects in social studies, or his own reading group. Sometimes it's bigger things - like 2-grade acceleration for math.

I've found that going higher up (and then requesting that that person attend a meeting with principal and teacher) and quoting back all the lovely idealistic things they say on their website and in their manuals (which generally tout a very individualized approach) help. Sometimes I feel bad because I'm sure that there are other kids who could do what my ds is doing, but my main concern is that he is growing academically. I try to pick specfic things in each subject that are relatively low-cost and easy to implement.
Most schools respond well to achievement testing, but they respond even better to specific comparisons with their own students. (Our district generally imagines all its students are super achieveers, which of course, isn't true). If you can show that your ds is doing work comparable to the best students in your district two or three grades ahead, I think they're a lot more likely to listen.
Good luck

Took it through Duke, still waiting. (but they have our old address so it also has to be forwarded here.)

Still waiting ...

My son got a WISC IV GAI of 143 (age 8). He recently took the Explore, age 9 (4th grade). He got several decent scores, some in the top 20%, others in the top 40%. He didn't finish any of the sections. There is absolutely no way he could have gotten 23's or 24's. I doubt there are more than a handful of 9 or 10 year old's who could. So, there is zero chance he'd be admitted to the DA at this point.

If the DA doesn't want kids younger than 12 or 13, they should just come out and say so. I realize now that this was shadow boxing, and that I put my child through the stressful testing experience for absolutely nothing.

I'm upset with myself for not reading between the lines, but also with the DA for playing a game of three-card Monte with young would-be applicants. They simply can't win the Explore game.

We had my dd11 take the Explore in 4th grade not to qualify for Davidson (which I didn't think was possible), but so that we could get a clearer picture of her achievement and know how to best advocate for her. We explained that it would help her teachers understand what to teach her. Regardless of the scores, I think it was a great experience for her. We did not tell her anything about DA Young Scholars and I don't intend to unless she is accepted into the program.

To the OP--still waiting on scores here.

Hi Adamhi:

I know that it is possible to join DA by taking Explore, because my DD met the score criteria last year (4th grade,9 year old at that time), even though she did not apply for DYS yet. But her score was not good enough to attend the NUMats ceremony, because there were other kids who got better score than my daughter's.


Update on March 31, 2012:

On Saturday morning, we got the Explore scores of my DD10 (5th grader). Her score makes her eligible for DA (25 for Math, 24 for Reading, and 23 for Composite). Obviously, we cannot send her to DA because we are living in Midwest.

That may be, but it clearly underscores (pun intended) a disconnect between what the WISC IV reports and Explore. Are there kids who are testing 150 who can't reach 23 or 24? 155? Are there kids who test 130 and get 23's and 24's? I'm not clear as to whether DA is looking for very bright kids who need an education or very bright ones who already have it.

Hi Dottie: You are right, DA needs much higher scores.

I'm not clear as to whether DA is looking for very bright kids who need an education or very bright ones who already have it.

I think that maybe a bit of both, depending on age. This is what their website says: "Any student who is performing at an advanced middle school grade level or above, meets the Qualification Criteria and is under the age of 18 can apply to The Davidson Academy. It is strongly recommended that applicants have, at minimum, 6th grade in progress at the time of application."
They teach three grade levels above "average" - although they don't group by grades. But, it sounds like they start with a challenging middle-school level curriculum. I may have read on their site (didn't look in depth) that the beginning curriculum is like an average 9th grade one. Anyway, so I think that a student *can* join at a young age, but only if that student has been exposed to enough material that they can join in at the appropriate level.
Our oldest is PG and there's no way she could have scored those 24s or 25s at age 8 (and she was starting 5th grade at that point). She simply hadn't been exposed to the material, had attended a small school with no gifted program, etc...
So, yeah, she would have been one of those kids with the IQ scores >150 and I'm guessing EXPLORE scores in the teens (especially in math, where you can't just absorb by reading).

We still found the EXPLORE helpful, and a low cost way to track our sons' progress, as well as advocate at school, even though we have no intention of moving to Reno if they qualify.

FWIW, the when you see the results in a talent search these top 5 or 10% of kids do spread out again on a whole new bell curve. I'm guessing their IQ's would also spread on another bell curve. I have 3 DC and although each is GT. They each have very different levels of personal drive and thirst for learning. My oldest DS doesn't care less about learning on his own. He is happy with status quo on everything. He is GT but never could have achieved the Explores scores. My younger Ds has been a self drive information hoarder since he was born. He has Explore scores to qualify for DYS before a major overhaul to his school placements. It's not what school has done for him that go him those scores it's what he has done for himself. The topics vary over time but when he indulges an interest it is a 24/7 thing for him. My DD is fairly young and seems hide her abilities and learnings things behind your back. I have know idea if she will be a good fit. I don't have a good yard stick to measure her with anyway. The IQ tells you a capacity of a child and Achievement tells you what the already know, but some GT kids don't have the exposure at school and don't independently crave non-stop info.

We didn't test him for specifically for DA or DYS at the time. He always hit the ceilings on his grade level Cogat, IBST, & State proficiency test. We tested to better understand him. He did hit the ceilings with Explore at age 11. I doubt his score would have been much lower 4 months earlier at 10. I guess however he would have scored I was only looking for a better understanding of him. I was shocked by his scores. So shocked I didn't apply for DYS. I waited and gave him an ACT this year at 12 to make sure it was "REAL". I'm only now submitting his application for DYS. He doesn't even realize what I'm doing at this point. I took him for his WISC-IV. I told him he couldn't know the score until he was an adult, but it would be useful for us as his parents and the school to guide his educational track. He whined a bit over not knowing the score, but understands my reasoning.

A 4th grader doesn't need a 23 or 24 to qualify for DYS. For DYS a 4th grader needs 2 scores plus the composite of the following English 19, Math 16, Reading 18, Science 18, and a composite of 17. They also need an IQ of 145+ in FSIQ, VCI, PRI, or GAI.

For DA they do state "Any student who is performing at an advanced middle school grade level or above, meets the Qualification Criteria and is under the age of 18 can apply to The Davidson Academy. It is strongly recommended that applicants have, at minimum, 6th grade in progress at the time of application. Qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the academic readiness assessment portion of the application process, which includes the students spending a day at the Academy to determine a final admission decision. Please note that our curriculum is accelerated by approximately three standard grade levels. "

They do need at least 3 scores at 24 with a composite of 23 and the qualifying IQ for younger applicants. Which would fall inline with a high achieving middle school level.

IMHO, Davidson is looking for high capacity and a certain level of drive or thirst for knowledge. I have a DS like that and another DS that just doesn't have the thirst and third DD that is a total mystery to me. There are kids that can score that high even at 9 or 10.

Jtooit

They appeared in the toolbox this morning.

DeeDee

I'm so happy - we are currently trying to work out math for our ds10 (4th grade) next year. He's been taking 5th grade accelerated, and next year will likely go to the MS, for either accelerated for a year with 6th graders (then gifted the following year with his own class) or gifted with the 6th graders (another skip).
I know they don't like skips, although he'd still be taking Algebra in 6th grade, nothing crazy or radical. Anyway, he scored a 25 on his EXPLORE math! That should definitely help our case, although we will also have to use the district's scores on the IAAT/DAT (we don't have those yet). However, I imagine a 25 on the math section will make them take notice. His other scores weren't as good - not sure if he'll make the awards ceremony (Reading and English 19, Science 22)but I'm not surprised. He's more sporty and outdoorsy than "sit and read" like his brother. I think reading really helps those other scores.
Anyway, happy to see them in our toolbox this morning!

OMG. DD8, whom I'd expected to do respectably but not remarkably, made the DYS cuts for grade in 2 subjects, and missed the composite by one point. Compared to 3rd graders (agemates), she made the cuts in 3 subjects + composite.

Not only that, but her lowest score by far was in English, which I'd anticipated would be one of the highest. However, now that I look at my test-day notes, I see that she left 30% of the items completely blank. D'oh!

How do the awards ceremonies work, and when do they notify qualifying children?

DS9's scores are far higher than I expected; I'm still processing my shock and awe.

This will only make the planning more difficult, and raises more questions than it answers, but it sure is interesting.

DeeDee

Which ceremony? Northwestern or your own state?

Which ceremony? Northwestern or your own state?

I didn't even know that there were other ceremonies besides NW. We live about an hour, maybe a bit more, from NW, so I would assume that one if he makes it. After I posted previously, I looked at the prior score cutoffs and it looks like he might make it. I had vaguely remembered that you needed "in the 20s" - which he didn't have in reading and english, but it seems that his high math score might offset the other scores. Either way, I won't say anything until we know for sure.

this is so exciting. I can hardly wait to get the scores. its our first time. SO - does that mean that if you score really high you would get a separate notification of just how high the scores were? as in, it does not comme to you WITH the results?

In addition to the NUMATS award ceremony sponsored by CTD, award ceremonies may be held for the highest scorers in some states. This information will be posted as it is made available. The table below shows state award ceremony information for 2011.

State Date
Illinois August 27, 2011
Indiana May 9, 2011
Michigan May 14, 2011
Minnesota May 7, 2011
Wisconsin May 7, 2011

this is so exciting. I can hardly wait to get the scores. its our first time. SO - does that mean that if you score really high you would get a separate notification of just how high the scores were? as in, it does not comme to you WITH the results?

This is our first time using the NUMATS toolbox (not sure if they had this last year; we didn't do it). The NUMATS toolbox had the scores compared to other 4th graders in NUMATS (for us, since ds is in 4th). The paper scores from ACT came today - they had his scores compared to the nationally-normed 8th graders. It's funny - when you open the toolbox, the actual scores/results are to the right. I was looking in the middle, where it has some fairly generic "long range academic plans." I knew that the scores were in the toolbox, because someone on the board mentioned it, but I was going through all this extraneous info trying to find the numbers!
As to your question about "if you score really high," I don't think that you get anything different except perhaps an invite to the awards ceremony later.

The website for our talent search indicates "by March 27, 2012," but we have yet to see the scores. It's amazing to me that it would take this long when there is no essay involved and therefore no personal grading requried.

My son's report arrived today. I live in northwest Colorado.

I got my 5th grader back today.We live in Alabama. He had a 14 composite score, 16 English (92% in Rhetorical section),12 Mathematics, 13 Reading, and 14 Science.

The fact that he is in the public school system in Alabama and they do not have a gifted program, makes me very happy he made these scores.

Bill

We recieved our 5th graders scores yesterday. He had a 14 composite, 16 English, 12 Math, 15 Reading, and 13 Science. He was in the 69 % in English and 92% in Rhetorical.

I know these are not the type of scores that blow people out of the water, but he is in the Alabama public school system! We dont really have a gifted program in the area. I plan on using the evaulation to help him improve. The fact he is a straight A student and was offered this oppurtunity makes me extremly proud.

Bill

We finally got our reports from ACT late last week. It's funny that the report was actually dated March 27, 2012.

we're still waiting for ours... anyone in NC get them yet?

In NC and scores came on 4/6.

Long wait . . . . . hopefully yours are coming soon.

argh--still waiting! I am just so curious to see how she did this year as compared to last year! Dd took it through Duke TIP, but it would be sent to FL before forwarded to GA b/c they have our old address. Hopefully soon!

It took forever to get DS2's EXPLORE scores from Jan 2012 test, so good luck getting your DD's scores!

DS2 took EXPLORE thru Duke TIP we but hadn't heard Boo from them (only from ACT w/EXPLORE results - after much waiting) so I called Duke last week to see if, by chance, DS2 would get any sort of award/recognition/whatever for his scores. I recalled that the year DS1 took the ACT in 7th, there was a state award at our flagship and a national award ceremony at Duke (which DS1 didn't make cut-off for). DS1 hadn't taken EXPORE (we'd never heard of it) so I had no frame-of-reference.

When I spoke w/Duke, the lady told me there was no national award ceremony - nor had there ever been, for EXPLORE OR Talent ID Program at 7th - but that DS2 would be invited to a state ceremony in early June. I could have sworn there was a national award ceremony, so there goes my memory I guess. The Duke TIP lady did say that TIP was still waiting on ACT scores from Feb so they could calcuate overall top EXPLORE performers & send them letters, but that DS2 would make the cut-off, so we should plan on a June ceremony at our flagship. My impression is that some of you who w/ kids taking EXPLORE thru other talent search programs get more info/have more info/have info sooner than thru Duke TIP

I got ours in the end of Feb from online toolbox. Then a couple of days later I got the mail from ACT.

The toolboxes actually have a message on the home screen if your child is an award winner. I found the message in my dd10 toolbox this morning.

Awesome! Us too!

I still haven't even gotten our scores yet!

I have not either--just sent an e-mail to Duke TIP because I actually need ours for some advocacy ASAP. I was beginning to think ours must be lost. I guess not! Hopefully soon!

I hear ya. We had a meeting where we needed the scores last Monday.

I called Duke TIP, but was referred to ACT Explore. I called ACT a couple of times. The last time, the rep said they had to wait until Monday (today) before they would reprint and send it again. She said that would be ten days. So based on that, ACT didn't even mail ours until April 6...

So ACT said they had already been sent? Argh...I guess I will call ACT today! Thanks for the info.

NUMATS 2011-2012 CTD Award Ceremony Qualifying Scores

EXPLORE test-takers must have the following minimum Sum of Scores(sum of English, math, reading and science scores) at their grade level:

EXPLORE Sum of Scores
3rd Graders >= 76
4th Graders >= 85
5th Graders >= 90
6th Graders >= 95

MidwestDad, thanks for the info about NUMATS qualifying scores - very helpful to have a frame-of-reference since our DS tested thru Duke TIP.

I posted this info on another thread, but I'll post it here by the NUMATS scores, as well. This is what Duke TIP told me over the phone re: this year's EXPLORE test: Approx 6,500 EXPLORE test-takers thru TIP in the 2011-12 year. Of those test-takers, 288 achieved a composite score of 23 or above and this qualifies those students for a state-level award. These students are not invited to the national ceremony (bummer, IMO).

This info was not included in the letter we received, so others here may find it useful. Our letter pertained to 7th grade search, which had nothing to do w/our DS.

A breakdown of last year's EXPLORE stats via TIP can be found on their web site - or so I was told but I haven't had a chance to look yet. Stats for this year will be up by early June.

yay finally got son's scores today...

WATG will be hosting the 2012 NUMATS Celebration in Madison on June 2, honoring those students who scored in the top 5% of test-takers in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Score criteria for 2012 NUMATS Celebration:

EXP 4 E+R+M+S >= 76
EXP 5 E+R+M+S >= 83
EXP 6 E+R+M+S >= 89

If you know your state criteria, please share with us.

Have fun.

If you know your state criteria, please share with us.

Because my ds10 wasn't going to be able to attend the NUMATS ceremony, I called IMSA (The Illinois Math and Science Academy, which hosts the IL state ceremony, and is conveniently very close to us) to try to find the details. Unfortunately, they are only inviting 7th and 8th graders (yes, prospective IMSA students - this is clearly a recruiting tool for them).
We did come to a happy resolution though. My son's godmother is going to take him. I'm thrilled - she's a prof at Notre Dame and she's making the trip from South Bend to Evanston, with a stop at our house - about 4 hours one way! Ds is the 4th child and the baby - you know how they love to be the center of attention, lol! He was THRILLED!! She gets a lifetime of good godmother points for this one!