We had D (now 15) tested at age 3. I'm sure some parents would disagree, but in some ways that testing caused more trouble than it was worth. I am, by the way, a person who likes a lot of data to make decisions, etc. But I did not find that testing very helpful. Here is why:
- Her test score was EXTREMELY high. However, later testing has shown that her actual IQ is about 30 points below those initial results.
- The report that came with the testing had some really pretty terrifying predictions about her academic progress... and it has been a struggle for us as parents when she has not lived up to those predictions. Turns out she is 2E, with a non-verbal learning disability. But in my opinion that early testing and that report "muddied the water" for us in terms of figuring that out.
- You can't really use results from a test at age 2 or 3 effectively for school placement. You are going to have to test again anyway when she reaches school age. Why pay twice, except for your own satifaction? Will it really change how you read to her, work with her on math, expose her to museums, try out a foreign language, etc.? My guess is that it will not.
D has performed very well on the Midwest Academic Talent Search, and is at Davidson's THINK this summer. I think she would have had those same results regardless of whether we had testing done at such an early age. I wish now that we had just skipped the early testing altogether.
