Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment KBIT-2 and Kindergarten in the fall

Hello! I'm new to this forum and am the mother of DS5 and DD5 who will enter K in the fall. DS5 asks very complex questions, talks constantly, and needs little sleep. Pretty much on its own, his reading advanced startlingly quickly last spring (in contrast to his twin who is just now reading as one might expect an advanced preschool child). They underwent testing in December (right before turning 5) and his scores were:

KBIT-2 = 133 (composite)
KTEA Brief form II
Math = 128
Reading = 160
Kaufman test of educational achievement Comprehensive form
Reading = 130
Nonsense words = 120

His reading comprehension now in comparison to December seems grade levels better and sometimes he will wake up in the middle of the night, turn on his light, and read. He can hardly dress himself or do basic tasks without getting distracted by books in his room (particularly nonfiction). He is like a 5 year old absentminded professor. To say the least, he has not been challenged in preschool and seems very different from his peers.

In my research it seems that although the KBIT does correlate generally with other assessments of intelligence, it meant to be a screen and may not reveal the true story. The tester wants to test them with WISC-IV at 6. She did not feel he had any signs of ADHD/ASD.

My biggest concern is how to provide a challenge in K for him (in particular) while balancing social/emotional development. We have them enrolled in a small private school and met with them in January about our tester's recommendation to have him go to third grade for reading and they were pretty hesitant about doing this.

Any advice on what this all means and/or how to satisfy this very "thirsty" child would be great! Nice problem to have, I guess.

Cheers,
Dee

Hi Dee - Welcome! Sorry I missed your post - thanks for introducing us to your children.

I can understand that the school would balk at sending your son to reading with 3rd graders, but that may (or may not) be where he needs to be. Have they tested him so that they can compare his reading skills to the 3rd graders at their school? I would insist that they test him in some way and place him where he can have academic peers during reading instruction.

Folks get a little worried about treating twins differently. I say that if you encourage your family to be a mutually supportive environment, then it's fine to have a family value of: As a family, we support each child getting the learning environment that they need. We believe that a person is not to be judged on their inborn talents, they are to be judged on the character they show in developing those talents.

Good Luck!
Grinity

Grinty,

Thank you so much for your advice! Our school does not have plans to test our twins, but we agreed to meet with the administrators after the first few weeks of school once they have had a chance to assess them in the classroom. Per your recommendation, I can ask to have them tested at the school. Consideration of the functioning of students in other grades is a good point, since students at the school do function above grade level on average.

The recommendation for 3rd grade placement in reading came from their tester, an experienced PhD in early childhood education, who felt both twins were gifted. She felt DS had hyperlexia type I since he is "neurotypical" (although, who is, really? )

http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_articles/hyperlexia

Does anyone have experience with what happens to hyperlexic type I children later in school? He likes math and numbers too, just not to the same extent.

DD was more erratic with her testing but scored similarly on some tests and below her brother on others. The twin thing is so very tricky especially with respect to education. We very much share your philosophy about individual needs but it is not easy. Does anyone else has experience with twins who are somewhat discordant? I could definitely foresee a grade skip in the future for DS were it not for his twin.

Have a great weekend,
Dee

Dee, we were just discussing some twin issues on another thread. You may have seen it, but I thought I'd post a link to it here just in case you didn't.
http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/topics/104148.html#Post104148

I strongly recommend your tester call the school and explain the situation. Ask your tester if the school's plan to wait for a few weeks is acceptable. Ask your tester to contact the school and start building a relationship. It's much less ego-threatening for the school to hear it from an expert than from a parent.

One problem to be aware of is that - without guidance from an outranking party - the school is set up to test up to grade level, or perhaps a level above grade level and then they will stop. Challenging all children isn't part of the mentality and expectation for all schools, and though many will accommodate after you help them see just how unusual the child in question is. Which they can't do if they don't look for it - so that is the role of the parent or parent-proxy.

So I would see what the tester says and try to secure agreement to get the ball rolling now, if possible.

I would also - if it looks like you'll just have to wait, be very very specific that the tester said 3rd grade and you want the child tested with 3rd grade reading tests. If the tester won't do it, then you do - in writing as a formal request. It's too easy to put off a parent over the phone or email.

Now is also a good time to read up on the district's policy on acceleration, gifted, scope and sequence to see what is expected of each grade. See if there is a 'school motto' that you can use to couch your requests. Read, "Getting to Yes"

Smiles,
Grinity