Wow! Thank both of you so much! The links are fantastic ColinsMum - so much great information.
Frannieandjsmom: Thanks for the specifics on the reading MAP. My daughter's reading level is in a similar range - an H-ish G, I suppose. If she continues to progress, her Winter reading MAP scores may be above 95%.
Would you mind sharing what your son's math skills were at the time of the test? DD has good conceptual understanding (coins, logic, patterns, graph interpretation) but very few memorized math facts. Her single digit addition is strong and fast, but not automatic, and her subtraction and (very simple) multiplication abilities are limited to word problems only.
I guess what I mean is that she can "figure out" a subtraction problem or easy multiplication/division problems if she's given some context (e.g., 3 groups of 3 girls arrive at the playground; 8 hamsters are split into 4 groups, etc.), but she cannot look at a problem like 7-5= or 3x4= and just know the answer. She doesn't even "just know" the answers with addition, but adds quickly enough in her head that I haven't been concerned about it.
If those are the types of things that are on the MAP math test . . . I just don't know. I'm having a huge internal debate on whether to get flashcards for quick math memorization before the test. On one hand, I feel it may be detrimental because she learns so deeply when she learns contextually rather than by rote. On the other hand, I feel it may be detrimental for her to sit out from the gifted program for a year while she memorizes her math facts the slow way. Especially since math, conceptually, seems to be one of her strengths.
I'm going in circles, obviously. Terrified of making the wrong decision here.
