Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment IQ scores...please explain.

Hi, I am new to this and very confused about the different IQ scores that are out there. My DS4 (will be 4 next week)is currently in PreK. He got accelerated after they did the PreK readiness test on him. He didn't meet the cutoff agewise.
He is extremely advanced. Reads at a 4th grade level and does math at a 1-2nd grade level. PreK obviously isn't doing anything for him academically but at least his classmates are a bit closer to his level when it comes to maturity.

We are now looking into what to do with him for next year and I am going to go speak with the person in charge of the gifted public school program next week. I know from reading that the gifted program tailors to ANY gifted child that qualifies and the cutoff here is 120 IQ. I also know that just because there is a gifted program doesn't mean it will be enough for my DS. From the reading I have done, our pediatricians observation, a gifted student teachers evaluation we all seem to agree that he is probably in the exceptionally gifted range.

So, to my question...what is the deal with IQ tests?? I have been reading about scores being in the 170's for the exceptionally gifted but then I will read that it is a score of 140?? 120 IQ doesn't sound like it is very high and should be considered "gifted". At least not when you compare to some information when they talk about 140 being the beginning of the gifted range. Is this because of the new and old tests and that the results vary? What do the schools go by? I am very confused and would like this cleared up before I go in and meet with this lady next week.

Thank you in advance for any help solving this "mystery"...:-)

Annie

I'm sure many of the other parents on here can give a more intellectual answer, but here is my two cents. From what I've read most experts seem to state gifted as starting at an IQ of 130. Acceptance into national and internationally recognized programs for the gifted usually require a MINIMUM IQ of 130. There are charts out there that explain the different levels of giftedness, from Gifted, moderately gifted, highly gifted, and profoundly gifted.

The materials listing IQs of 170+ for exceptionally gifted are almost certainly referencing older ratio or modified ratio IQ tests, such as the SB-LM. These tests calculated "Mental Age" over "Chronological Age" to yield an "Intelligence Quotient", or "IQ". More modern intelligence tests use a normal distribution curve with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of either 15 (most common) or 16, but still retain the "IQ" terminology, even though there is no longer any "quotient" calculated.

An IQ of 120 on a modern IQ test with a standard deviation of 15 corresponds to 1.3 SD above the mean, or around the 91st percentile, a somewhat generous definition of giftedness. An IQ of 130 on the same test would be 2 SD out from the mean, or near the 98th percentile, and a score of 145 (the cutoff that the Davidson Young Scholars program uses to define "profoundly gifted") would be 3 SD above the mean, or around the 99.9th percentile. So 140, which is 2 and 2/3 SD above the mean, would be about the 99.6th percentile, and would seem to be a reasonable place to put "exceptionally gifted" - understanding that people are much more than their scores on a single IQ test, and that these tests do a relatively poor job of differentiating in the higher ranges, above 2 SD outside the mean. So you might not see a lot of difference between a child with an IQ of 140 and one at, say, 145, or your might see huge differences. Out-of-level achievement testing on a test with lots of "headroom" in combination with IQ scores is often a more helpful measure of what exactly your child might need at a given time.

A lot of what you will read in books and older articles refers to ratio IQ scores, the old-style scores that you would see on the Stanford Binet L-M.

The newer tests use a different scoring system (deviation scores) which top out around 160. A few tests have extended scoring available for kids that reach the test ceiling.

It's pretty hard to distinguish the higher levels of giftedness using IQ tests because there just aren't enough people at that level in the norming samples. I would call anything above 145 HG+ (highly gifted and up), but people use various labels. Schools use various tests and various cutoffs for their programs. There is no hard and fast definition of gifted.

If you do have your little guy tested, the label will probably be the least useful part of the info you get out of it. Good testing will give you insight into strengths and weaknesses and how your kid thinks and learns. Those are the things that will help you tailor his educational experience.

Here is an excellent article (fairly long, but worth going through) that talks about the the differences between old-style IQ scores and new ones, gives score range equivalencies, and, most importantly for school advocacy, I think, gives recommended instructional strategies for children at various levels of giftedness.

http://www.assess.nelson.com/pdf/sb5-asb3.pdf

Thank you for the info. VERY interesting article and well worth the time to read!

I guess I am just trying to figure a way to let this woman know what level he is actually at. That he is gifted for sure and not just borderline. I don't know how to make her understand that in a gentle way. But unless she is on the same page the discussion will not really help me IYKWIM. I hate bringing up accomplishments since I have pretty much learned that is a NO NO unless I am talking to a few near relatives. But since he has not been tested I don't have much to state.

He tested into KUMON on 1-2nd grade math and 3-4th grade reading.
Also his Preschool (elementary school educated) teacher said he is reading on a 4th grade level. Would it make sense to bring this up to the lady in charge of the gifted program. Or do you have any other iseas how to get this through to her? Everybody knows that when the description of the child's abilities come from the parents they are always taken with a grain of salt...

Annie

JMO, but I would just approach this first meeting as a parent who has reason to suspect her child is gifted, and focus on asking for information about what services your school district offers to gifted children. One of the things you'll want to ask is whether or not (and at what age) the district will screen a child for gifted services and (if you want to) ask that your ds be screened.

The person you're talking with may ask questions about your ds and she may also minimize what you say simply because you're a parent (or she might not), but the only way (in my experience) that you'll be able to get your child into a school district gifted program is to have him tested (either through the school district or privately).

In our school district (and I think this is true elsewhere), a parent can request the gifted program screening. The district doesn't publicize this but all you have to do is put the request in writing and they'll do it.

One other note - it sounds like your ds is exceptionally gifted and he's clearly ahead academically at this point. I wouldn't necessarily put that forward to the person you talk to as "proof" of his IQ being exceptional, just let the person know this is where he's at re achievement at this point in time. You might think of some of the ideas your ds has had or some of the things he's done outside of academics that point to giftedness to mention.

Good luck with your meeting!

polarbear

I agree. It's probably best to be very concrete and keep things focused on your child and his educational needs. IOW, don't argue about how exceptional or otherwise he is; just make clear what he's doing now, and ask about how the school can ensure that he is challenged enough and keeps learning. I'd take a couple of the books he's reading for pleasure, something he's written, a page of sums that he's done for fun, or whatever seems appropriate, and use them in the meeting.