Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Did anyone get EXPLORE score for Feb 18, 2012?

We can't take EXPLORE b/c we are in California. My son took SCAT for JHU. He qualified for that and, frankly, nobody at his school cared. In fact, his teacher, who gave us the application to do it, stared blankly at me when I told her about his scores.
Well, he enjoyed doing it and I think it's a good experience to take a timed test on a computer!

MidwestDad, I'd be very interested to hear how you achieve differentiation for your DS based on his EXPLORE scores. I thought about sending copies of my DS's scores to school, but doubt anything would happen aside from his teachers saying, "Good job!" I'll probably send the scores for that purpose, but differentiation would not happen

I'm not "Midwest Dad," but I wanted to say that we successfully used the EXPLORE scores for my ds11 to advocate for differentiation when he was in 4th grade (now in 6th) and were pretty successful. He was already in gifted (as is our just-turned-10 ds), but we felt he still needed more.

Part of our success may be that our district uses the EXPLORE in 8th (as well as 6th/7th, but they don't send scores to parents in 6th/7th). So, I think it helped that we had a lot of data - how does he compare to the average 6th grader in the MS gifted, for example (although they don't send scores, the district provided them when asked).

For us, it has always worked best when we jump the ladder immediately, and so far, it hasn't upset anyone at the school. When we call the gifted coordinator, the curriculum coordinator, etc... at the district level, and say, "can we meet with you regarding this?" I've found that they usually have a rather utopian view of what can/should/is being done at the schools. They're much more likely to agree to differentiating (and/or assume it's already happening) because they don't actually have to implement it.
I always meet with my sons' teaching team in April or May to discuss the upcoming year, and specifically talk about what accommodations may be made. Sometimes it's little things: a different "extra" accelerated spelling list, alternate projects in social studies, or his own reading group. Sometimes it's bigger things - like 2-grade acceleration for math.

I've found that going higher up (and then requesting that that person attend a meeting with principal and teacher) and quoting back all the lovely idealistic things they say on their website and in their manuals (which generally tout a very individualized approach) help. Sometimes I feel bad because I'm sure that there are other kids who could do what my ds is doing, but my main concern is that he is growing academically. I try to pick specfic things in each subject that are relatively low-cost and easy to implement.
Most schools respond well to achievement testing, but they respond even better to specific comparisons with their own students. (Our district generally imagines all its students are super achieveers, which of course, isn't true). If you can show that your ds is doing work comparable to the best students in your district two or three grades ahead, I think they're a lot more likely to listen.
Good luck

Took it through Duke, still waiting. (but they have our old address so it also has to be forwarded here.)

Still waiting ...

My son got a WISC IV GAI of 143 (age 8). He recently took the Explore, age 9 (4th grade). He got several decent scores, some in the top 20%, others in the top 40%. He didn't finish any of the sections. There is absolutely no way he could have gotten 23's or 24's. I doubt there are more than a handful of 9 or 10 year old's who could. So, there is zero chance he'd be admitted to the DA at this point.

If the DA doesn't want kids younger than 12 or 13, they should just come out and say so. I realize now that this was shadow boxing, and that I put my child through the stressful testing experience for absolutely nothing.

I'm upset with myself for not reading between the lines, but also with the DA for playing a game of three-card Monte with young would-be applicants. They simply can't win the Explore game.

We had my dd11 take the Explore in 4th grade not to qualify for Davidson (which I didn't think was possible), but so that we could get a clearer picture of her achievement and know how to best advocate for her. We explained that it would help her teachers understand what to teach her. Regardless of the scores, I think it was a great experience for her. We did not tell her anything about DA Young Scholars and I don't intend to unless she is accepted into the program.

To the OP--still waiting on scores here.

Hi Adamhi:

I know that it is possible to join DA by taking Explore, because my DD met the score criteria last year (4th grade,9 year old at that time), even though she did not apply for DYS yet. But her score was not good enough to attend the NUMats ceremony, because there were other kids who got better score than my daughter's.


Update on March 31, 2012:

On Saturday morning, we got the Explore scores of my DD10 (5th grader). Her score makes her eligible for DA (25 for Math, 24 for Reading, and 23 for Composite). Obviously, we cannot send her to DA because we are living in Midwest.

That may be, but it clearly underscores (pun intended) a disconnect between what the WISC IV reports and Explore. Are there kids who are testing 150 who can't reach 23 or 24? 155? Are there kids who test 130 and get 23's and 24's? I'm not clear as to whether DA is looking for very bright kids who need an education or very bright ones who already have it.

Hi Dottie: You are right, DA needs much higher scores.

I'm not clear as to whether DA is looking for very bright kids who need an education or very bright ones who already have it.

I think that maybe a bit of both, depending on age. This is what their website says: "Any student who is performing at an advanced middle school grade level or above, meets the Qualification Criteria and is under the age of 18 can apply to The Davidson Academy. It is strongly recommended that applicants have, at minimum, 6th grade in progress at the time of application."
They teach three grade levels above "average" - although they don't group by grades. But, it sounds like they start with a challenging middle-school level curriculum. I may have read on their site (didn't look in depth) that the beginning curriculum is like an average 9th grade one. Anyway, so I think that a student *can* join at a young age, but only if that student has been exposed to enough material that they can join in at the appropriate level.
Our oldest is PG and there's no way she could have scored those 24s or 25s at age 8 (and she was starting 5th grade at that point). She simply hadn't been exposed to the material, had attended a small school with no gifted program, etc...
So, yeah, she would have been one of those kids with the IQ scores >150 and I'm guessing EXPLORE scores in the teens (especially in math, where you can't just absorb by reading).

We still found the EXPLORE helpful, and a low cost way to track our sons' progress, as well as advocate at school, even though we have no intention of moving to Reno if they qualify.