I was such a clueless parent. I had no idea that GT testing in CA schools was a multiple choice test and that the kids were scored relative to other kids in the same grade, and not their age peers. When I was a kid, CA sent a psychologist to my house to administer the SBLM; my score was divided by my age. It never occurred to me that the state had switched to something much cheaper, and unfair in a different way.
I blogged about it ad nauseum in
Implications of Academic Redshirting Implications of Academic Redshirting. The comments I received are very interesting.
http://badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/2009/07/red-shirt-kindergarten.htmlThe multiple choice tests to identify "gifted" kids compare a kid's score relative to a nationwide sample of kids in the same grade. A borderline kid with an extra year of schooling under their belt has a relative advantage. Those older kids are more likely to be males and from upper-middle class backgrounds.
You can buy your way to a gifted kid. That is sooooo unfair.
