Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment KBIT / WISC IV Correlation? RIAS Results - Update

They use the RIAS here as well (I think the entire state does) and it ended up being an underestimate for my son. I believe thats because of training of the tester in the area of really gifted children and the fact that it's a super quick test with ceilings. The results from it did give us the extra push we needed to seek someone with more experience and knowledge on gifted children though! The school tester did not give much information other than that he qualified for the gifted program (what there is of one) and that he had really high scores.
I hope you are able to get some resolve with the two sets of scores and at least solve a piece of the mystery. Don't pace too much while waiting:)

ultramarina-that is very curious about the 4th subtest. I wonder if it was the discontinue threshold as "dude" mentioned above.

triplejmom-thanks for the feedback; sounds like trusting your instinct was right on in this case! Thankfully, I'm a little less stressed about the results as I just found out that my DS9 was accepted to the academic middle magnet school for next year. This is not a "gifted" school but there was an academic achievement requirement, followed by a lottery. This lessens my concern for him to be in the G&T pullout program as this will be a fairly rigorous school-I'm just hoping he can keep up the pace! Still waiting on the RIAS results but not as anxious now : ) Thanks again for your replies!

My son's RIAS scores were significantly higher than his WISC-IV scores, largely due to his WISC-IV scores being depressed by significant visual-motor disabilities and Asperger's syndrome. The RIAS did a much better job of capturing the level of "intellectual horsepower" and reasoning ability that we saw at home, due to the lack of motor output required, the clearer format of the visual items, and the lack of social comprehension questions, while the WISC did a better job of showing his areas of weakness and identifying what areas needed further assessment.

So I finally got word from the school psychologist that he does qualify for the gifted program, but she still hasn't given me the RIAS/test scores. He took the test nearly 3 weeks ago and after hearing nothing, I finally emailed her earlier this week to follow up-that's when I found out he qualified. He went to the pullout program for the first time this week, but I still haven't met with anyone to discuss any of his results, etc. This whole process has really been a constant tug of war it seems. I hate to badger them but it actually took 6 months just to have him tested! Wondering how long it will be before the IEP meeting will actually happen! I hope he enjoys the pullout program because this has really taken more effort than I had ever imagined and much more waiting than I had ever imagined! Has anyone else had this type of waiting/delay in testing and test results in the public school system? Wondering if this is typical lag time due to under-staffing and large student population.

Congratulations on getting your ds into the program!

FWIW you might have to request the scores to get them - our district doesn't give them to parents unless you ask.

polarbear

Thanks polarbear! The psych told me via email that I would get a copy of everything-but she also told me the the special ed teacher would coordinate a meeting, then when I contacted the special ed teacher she said the school psych would coordinate the meeting-kind of a "who's on first, what's on second" ordeal of sorts....so, I think I'll take your advice and go ahead and create a records request letter to be on the safe side. I'm just not sure if I need to submit to the school or the district office. Thanks again for the tip : )

So...here's the latest. I received an envelope from school today and was hoping it would be the RIAS scores, but it wasn't. It was an invitation to participate in the Duke TIP (Explore Test). I have heard of this test, but I thought it was given at the 8th grade level. My DS9 is in 4th grade. Does anyone have any experience with this test? Is it worth paying the $35 and however many hours of testing? After reading the pamphlet it kind of sounds to me like an undercover way for Duke to identify bright kids at a young age and track them so that they can recruit for college? Or is that just me? I did see one advantage: writing competitions. My DS9 has written a couple of short stories and this might be an advantage but other than that I'm confused as to what the benefits are (other than "recognition"). Can anyone speak to their own experiences with this particular test? I might start a new thread on this one. Thanks in advance!

You can use the search function to find previous info. on Explore. I absolutely thought it was well worth it for dd to take the Explore last year as a 4th grader--it made it clear that I had been underestimating her ability and was valuable information for me as a parent and for the school to have. I would hope it would be useful going forward as she transitions to public middle school in advocating for appropriate challenge--that remains to be seen--but I am glad she took it last year and she is scheduled to take it again in February. It won't be as useful this time in the English section, but I am interested in seeing her progress in the other areas of the test.

Slightly tangential: What kind of detail do you get back after Explore?

Would they tell you things like "great vocabulary, weakness in reading comprehension, makes computation errors but strong on math concepts" or do they just give scores for each of the four tests?

DeeDee

DeeDee,
Last year she did it through Belin Blank and got a multi-page (I think >5 pages) report on strengths, suggestions for the teacher, all kinds of info.--I can't really remember the details, but it was a lot. No idea what Duke does--she is taking it through Duke in Feb.