Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Talent search for 4th grade EXPLORE?

DD8 has said she'd like to do EXPLORE this year. I'm looking for a talent search to do it through. "Our" talent search is Duke TIP, which accepts 4th graders, but only tests 5th graders.

I think our options for programs that let 4th graders do EXPLORE are BESTS, C-MITES, NUMATS, and CBK. Does anyone have experience with one or the other that would lead them to recommend that program particularly?

DD also wants to do SCAT this year, to be eligible for the CTY online classes, so if EXPLORE scores made her eligible for another program's online classes, that would be a plus. (She's not emotionally ready for a residential camp, and from what I've seen of the academic day camps, living out of a hotel for a week while she was in camp wouldn't be the ideal environment for camp success. We aren't geographically close to any of the programs.) She did an online class last summer through GLL (related to NUMATS); I think EXPLORE through them wouldn't make her eligible for additional distance learning opportunities.

If you have done GLL and liked it, then I why not go with NUMATS? There are many GLL classes that she could take. Have you checked all their offerings?

DD already qualifies for GLL, so there's no additional course-related benefit to doing NUMATS, though. (At least, I couldn't find any classes that required EXPLORE specifically.)

Explore, ACT and SAT scores are being used starting with 6th grade classes. If your child takes one of the other tests, there is no need for Explore then.

Ah, that makes sense - I hadn't looked any farther forward than 4th grade classes, because I anticipate she'll do EXPLORE as a 5th grader through TIP regardless.

We are in an area that makes Duke TIP "our" talent search as well. DD12, took the Explore through C-MITES in the 4th grade at a local testing location. Based on her scores she qualified for and took a summer immunology class offered by C-MITES in Pittsburgh. During the school year she participated in TIP's online book club.

She really enjoyed the C-MITES class and we had a great time exploring PIttsburgh. We spent time on the CMU campus as well as the Pitt. campus. We went to the children's museum, the PIttsburgh Zoo, and a Pirate's game. For us it was time well spent.

This year she qualified (by scoring in the 99% of our state's testing) to take the SAT as a 7th grader through TIP. She is hoping to qualify for one of their summer programs. She is definitely older than the OP's DD and feels that she is ready for residential camp this summer.

In our experience, the EXPLORE scores are interchangeable between programs. Duke TIP accepted, without issue, the CMU C-MITES Explore scores to qualify for their programs.

DS8 (3rd grade) is taking Explore in November through CMITES. We live in the Duke TIP region also, and they refused to let him take the test before their normal time, as you mentioned. Even though we live nowhere near PA, CMITES let us register through them, and take the test near our home. It was very easy.

Thank you, that's good to know!

I'm leaning towards CBK, because Denver is arguably on the way to my sister's house, so if we did any sort of summer programs, we're more likely to combine it with a Denver vacation than a Pittsburgh / Iowa / Chicagoland vacation.