Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Kindergarten redshirting on 60 minutes tonight

I don't understand the perspective that if a child is born for example August 15th is held back for a September 1 cutoff that people think they should not qualify for GT programs. Many of GT kids have asynchronistic development and may need to mature emotionally before entering K, especially if they are 2E. The difference between an Aug 15th birthday and a Sept 2 birthday that has to wait a year in maturity is huge. Why should a child be punished based on an arbitrary date- Sept, Oct, Nov birthdays get the advantage over June, July and Aug- what is "fair" about that? I know of private schools that won't let you enroll a boy born after June-even though there is a Sept 1 cutoff- they go to a TK program. Saying a redshirted child does not belong in GT program would be like PG parents saying that HG and MG kids should not be in the same gifted class as their kid because they are more gifted- irrational right?? That would tick off the MG and HG parents who know their kid is deserving of the pullout curriculum.

Our GT program is based on COGATS and NNAT( I think that is the acronym) when they do the test it is AGE based. You either score over 132 and make it or you don't. Now if you have MAP scores in the 95% of the district( not national average because our district is higher than the national average) exceptions can be made but exceptions are based on teacher observations and recommendations too- not just MAP's.
If your child qualifies they get in- there is not a limit to the amount of kids in it. It also does not give accelerated subject work at 3rd grade- he does critical thinking and a deeper study of topics taught in regular class. Honors don't start until Middle school and non-gifted good bright students get into those too. I think that is appropriate. There are a number of Children in the local Asian community that take classes to boost their COGAT before taking the test- I say if they are that desperate- let them do it and let their kid into the GT class- it's not hurting our kids because the curriculum is what it is and all of our kids are so different with different strengths and weaknesses no program could be a fit all program. The real gifted kids are not being harmed by their presence( my son wonders why a couple kids are in his GT class- saying "Joe" just does not really seem like a PACE(GTprogram) kid- but does not see it as a bad thing). I know my son really needs to get his academic acceleration outside of a traditional public school- because they normally are not capable of accommodating the acceleration needs.