Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Need advice on middle school son...

Hi everyone,

I love reading this forum, it is so interesting to hear everyone's stories and read all the helpful responses. I get a ton of info off of this board (discovered it several months ago) but I was hoping that someone could give me some specific guidance on my son.

Some background: my eldest son is 10, with a Sept 17th birthday. It has always been very, very clear that he is an intelligent boy, though I didn't always realize it with him being my first. He taught himself to read at 3- could read Magic Schoolbus type books at 4, has been interested in politics since he was 4 (could talk about the differences between Democrats and Republicans). He didn't talk clearly until about 3, but once he started he spoke like an adult. He is very easy going, follows the 'rules' to a T and is a very socially competent boy who has a wide range of interests.

He has three younger siblings quite close together in age so I have to admit I don't get to focus all my attention on him. But we have a lot of talks about any and all subjects and I keep him supplied with more books than you can imagine : )

We used to live in VA where there are gifted schools after 3rd grade. You have to test into the school and there are a number of indicators including parent questionnaires, teachers suggestions, grades, Otis Lennon (99th percentile across the board), etc. etc.

Unfortunately after he qualified for the school, we had to move to Illinois due to my husband's job. For the last 2 years he has been bored at school, however he is not one to complain. Rather, every now and then he'll mention that he is bored and his eyes will well up with tears. He is quite happy reading a textbook by himself in his room. He also is an avid sports fan who has memorized way too many Football facts : )

This year I had him take the NUMATS and he did really well. English: 23, Math: 21, Reading: 22, Science: 25. We also decided to move to another school district that has 'the best' junior high school around. We figured it was cheaper than the 20,000/year 'gifted' school which is not affordable at all. This middle school has 3 tiers in every subject and prides itself on having very smart students (very competitive and wealthy people around).

I was thinking of getting him an IQ test, however, I wasn't sure if it was worth the money (about $600). What would be the purpose? I guess my goal is this: I want him to be challenged and mentally stimulated. I want him to be able to learn everything he wants. He especially LOVES science. I've never put him in anything- no enrichment classes (only Mathnasium when he was in 1st grade which he loved more than anything) and I wasn't aware of things like Davidson or EPGY until recently. I looked into the classes at Northwestern, and for about $500 a pop, they looked pretty 'easy'.

Please advise me on how to advocate at school. What should I have with me? Should I just let them do their MAP testing or are there ceilings on this? I want to have everything I need just in case and my husband and I think maybe the EXPLORE results and his straight A record will be enough? Basically, what will cause the school to sit up and take notice?

I did print out some ACT practice tests on the Science section and graded them and he only had 1 or 2 wrong on each sample. I didn't register him for the ACTs though- I didn't know if that was necessary.

I also want to point out that his social skills are very strong, he is extremely mature. He regularly hangs out with 7th-8th graders with no problem. He is a skinny little thing though so physically he looks small and he does love sports.

Are his EXPLORE scores high enough to warrant a grade skip? I read a lot about high school classes not being a good fit for gifted children. He does have classic Nutty Professor syndrome when it comes to being organized, etc. Strangely enough, the junior high has a class that is dedicated to Executive Function but the principal told me that was only for the kids who are behind in grades.

FWIW- the middle school only has 160 students in grades 6, 7, 8 and they do have gifted classes for every subject.

Would love to hear what you would do (if you had the patience to read this far!)

Thanks!

Your son was in 6th grade when he took the EXPLORE? You could read the thread "Need honesty...EXPLORE scores, how far to advance?" , in particular the message http://giftedissues.davidsongifted....d_honesty_EXPLORE_scores.html#Post102408 . According to the book "Developing Math Talent" your son in in the "C" group, for which grade skipping should be considered. Others wrote in that thread that they considered the book's recommendations to be aggressive.

I recommend having your son take the SAT. If he does well, high school courses may be appropriate. My eldest son, who entered KG at 4, has done very well on the EXPLORE as a 3rd grader. I think he could handle further acceleration intellectually, but we won't push for it because he is not especially mature. I want my son to get into the most selective colleges and want to give him plenty of time to become the academic "machine" he will need to be in grades 9-12 to acommplish that. I don't know if similar considerations apply in your case.

Is your son a rising 7th grader? Will this be his first year in junior high? WIll this be his first year in a new school? Have they already done class placement for next year? Sorry for the questions, I"m just trying to get the full picture.

My first thought is, absolutely, I'd register him for the SAT or ACT for the fall. It sounds like he is not only super-smart but also a good standardized test taker. If your son can pull off super high scores for SAT or ACT, you might also look at SET. Have you thought about DYS? You might be able to bypass the IQ testing if you can pull together a portfolio...

I have struggled with the "what difference would having the IQ number make" question. I guess I would say that If you know what you want (e.g., grade skip) supporting scores are huge. I had no idea how much would be decided by my dd's scores. It was if we were finally "talking the same language" as the educators.

You and I have both "arrived at this party" a little late. Most posters here have IQ tested and grade skipped during elementary... I think it gets a lot more murky once they get to jr. high.

Thank you so much for your replies!!

He took the EXPLORE in 5th grade (this past year). He should technically be in 4th grade because of the different cut off here in Illinois vs Virginia. He will be entering 6th grade this year. I totally agree that I would like to give him time to mature and grow and become the 'academic machine' that he'll need to be : ) But when I read Articles like "What Kids Don't Learn" I get really nervous because that is HIM to a tee! No studying, no responsibilities...he does his HW quickly and without making a fuss but it doesn't take him that long.

His area of difficulty is writing. He can talk your ear off about anything but has trouble putting it on paper and in general doesn't like to write due to weak motor skills.
Because of this, difficult to make a portfolio that fully reflects him- but it's worth a try. I will look at that thread as well.

One question- is it a good idea to take in materials such as "Developing Math Talent" in to the school? Show them Group A, B and C? This is a school that PRIDES itself in being the best and they might consider my submissions to be 'amateur-hour' LOL!

I brought in print outs of information from the state department of education on the guidelines for gifted identification and even the above grade-level testing
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templ...961&ContentID=1821&Content=89304
I found a page with traits of gifted children for the states gifted children organization and brought that as well. Just in case they wanted to question my DS quirkiness:)

I did not ask for a skip, we are very happy with his peer group. I did get acceleration in his core classes.

Good Luck

One argument for the IQ test is to get your son into Davidson. Honestly, my family consultant has been a gold mine for questions like this.

Lacking that, I would suggest a conference with the principal or gifted coordinator. Talk to them about your concerns. Often the school will pay for gifted IQ testing. The Explore scores are high enough to warrant that.

Good luck

nkh , I sent you a message

I didn't get a message from you...?