Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment IQ tests for young children

Thanks for the link ColinsMom, that was an interesting read.

I do think in general, we place too much stock on IQ tests. This is not to write, that they can not be useful, they can be, but they are only a piece of the puzzle. More, I like consistent achievement tests plus just what is this kid like in real life factor?

I do think more of a problem is the cut offs for some gifted programs is an issue. We have a program near us that is using only the WISC, which they administer, to determine their cut off. Crazy! It is like the article that ColinsMom posted, something like only half of the top 3% on one test are likely to be in the same top 3% on another test. It is obvious they are going to miss some gifted students with this approach.

More in general, I wish, we had a lowering of gifted cutoffs for programs, with a shift of focus to more individualised learning instead of the current, in many schools cookie cutter approach to regular as well as gifted programs. If we could do that, we would be less interested in the IQ numbers and more focused on meeting the unique educational needs of each child.