We are thinking of having my DYSDS7 to take the PSAT next year, when he is in 3rd grade. So I went to the parent seminar at Northwestern CTD when they talked about their talent search program (NUMATS). The presenter said that the NUMATS is to identify kids who are above grade level, provide information on the strengths and weaknesses on academic areas, open the gate to get into CTD Honor programs and help parents/students to advocate in school.
Their focus is on academic achievement, not IQ. They want to see what they have achieved, not what they MAY BE ABLE to achieve. My question is, do kids need to have exposure to the higher grade materials in order to score well on these tests? For example, my DS7 can grasp a concept very quickly and learn fast. However, he has not worked on much of 4th grade math yet. When he takes the test next fall, he may be only at 3rd grade or lower 4th grade level if he's not exposed to higher grade material outside of school. How would the scores help us to understand his giftedness if we did not have him taken the WISC IQ test? What are the benefits of taking the PSAT besides he'll have more experience when taking the real deal tests (ACT or SAT) when he is in high school?
To be honest, I was a little surprised that the CTD presenter indicated that they are only looking for high achievers, not high IQ kids. High IQ doesn't tell them anything besides he/she may have the potential to be a high achiever. I understand working hard is very important even for highly gifted, but IMHO, I just think the current NUMATS program may leave out gifted kids who can't afford (financially or time wise) higher level materials.
