Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Taking end-of-year tests for the next grade up

DD will be taking an end-of-year test for 3rd grade math to see where her skills are (she is in 2nd). This is not being done for a skip or anything--just for information, I think. I don't know what the test is, either, though I think it some kind of test based on her specific curriculum/math book, not a standardized one. But in any case, when children take tests like this, what kinds of scores are considered noteworthy? In other words, what sort of score would suggest I might want to push harder for more advanced math? I know this is overly general and a bit hard to answer. For whatever it's worth, I seem to recall her teacher saying she scored about 70% on the end-of-year 2nd grade test at the start of the year, but she has now (I think) completed the 2nd grade curriculum, always getting 100s on everything. I saw that test and most of the things she got wrong were about weights, lengths, and measures, which she had never studied and therefore just skipped (thanks, former school).

So that was on a first-grade-level test, right?

I suppose I find it surprising that 70% mastery equates to that being the appropriate level. Interesting.

(Not that I think DD should have been skipped directly to third grade math--she would have had holes for sure. An accelerated curriculum was appropriate. I guess this points to the inadequacy of these measures...)

I think the general line you'll find in "Developing Math Talent" is that 85% for an end of year test is about the right measure for skipping the year. You then take the concepts that weren't mastered (anticipated holes), and patch them over with targeted instruction.

You might consider getting a test for the grade ahead and then reviewing it with your child to make sure everything is covered.

I'm not sure what I want for DD, to be clear. I'm pleased that she's going to get 3rd-grade math instruction, but am wondering if I should be asking for more. I can't say we enrich much in terms of math. It's somewhat unclear to me what she'd be capable of if given more rope.

But with more information, you will hopefully be able to work with the school to come up with a good solution.

If you find yourself in a 70-90%ile range again, you might want to find a copy of the Math Talent book and see what you can tease out as an appropriate path.

The book strongly advocates for subject accelerations, but does give the recommended criteria for when differentiation, ability grouping, etc, are the appropriate solutions.

I do want to pick up a copy of that book--thanks for reminding me about it. She seems to pick up math concepts effortlessly, but doesn't appear to be sitting around thinking about math, if that makes sense. Nonetheless, she lists as it her second favorite subject and says she is interested.

In our state, kids wanting to skip are tested against the end-of-skip-year standards, and you need a 90% to be approved for the skip. DD scored in the low 90s on the end-of-2nd test for both math and reading.

Two weeks later, they did an end-of-3rd test (pretest against end of year standards), and she scored in the mid-60s. Class average was mid-30s (random chance = 25).

Test her on Aleks. They align with you state.