Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Why does my dd now have to take the MAP test??

Hi, My daughter just took the WISC-IV IQ and when we presented the district with the results (we had testing done independently), they said that she definitely "made the cutoff for the gifted program." However, we were contacted today to set up further "subtests" in Math and Reading. MAP assessment I guess? Does this now mean she's NOT definitely in the program or does it mean she's in but they want to establish a baseline? I'm a nervous wreck now. Anyone out there know what this is all about? Thank you!

Hi Whoopsie -
Glad to hear that the school accepted the GAI. That's a good first step.
Sorry to hear that you are a nervous wreck. Try to learn as much about the situation, the particular program and your child as possible. It may be that the program is a great match for your child, but then again, maybe not. The goal is to get her accomidated, not labeled. The label should help get her what she needs, but it isn't primary.

The only way to know what the school means is to call and ask. You have a right to know. Try and go in with a calm and curious attitude, instead of on the attack or fearing the worst.

If you are like I was, your thoughts run like this.
This is far from the truth. My best guess is that you are different from most other parents (perhaps even the other parents in the gifted program) and way scares you scares you. The school folks are competent and experienced with regular parents, but you are different enough that you have to be in charge of letting them know when they are scaring or confusing you. They probably don't mean to be causing this result. They probably don't know that they are doing it. It's ok that you aren't 'usual.' This isn't easy, but it's a great skill to gain.

If I ran a school, I would want a MAP testing in addition to an IQ test because the IQ test tells a lot about a child's potential, while the MAP test tells a lot about exactly what a child is 'ready to learn' right now. In the ideal world, no one would care about IQ scores, they would just pretest all kinds of material, and put each child at their 'readiness-to-learn' level.

Especially with the discrepancy in the working memory part of your daughter's IQ testing, it is important to see if that has given her 'less than expected' academic achievement. Maybe it has, maybe it hasn't.

Go to your school's website and look up as much as you can about the local gifted program and what they are aiming to do.

Learn about the MAP test (It's done on the computer, and every time a child gets a few questions right, it give harder questions. Every time a child gets a few questions wrong, it gives easier questions.) Make sure your child understands that the longer the computer takes to make up it's mind about 'what her level is' the higher she is likely to score. Encourage her to 'just keep plugging.'

Sometimes gifted kids confuse the AI, because they can 'guess right' about things that they never learned, but don't know certain vocabulary that would have been taught along with the lesson if they had actually been taught.So they get a very high level question right on intuition, but miss the next few based on the lack of exposure to special vocabulary. I would give the out that if it's been 3 hours, and the AI is still handing her questions, then it's ok to quit by intentionally saying 'I don't know' a few times in a row. But that's rare.

More about MAP here -
http://www.nwea.org/products-services/assessments/help-all-kids-learn

MAP is terrific for advocacy. It's great to ask if the children are group according to the information that results from the testing.

I also like learning about the history of IQ test controversy -
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10206.aspx



Hope that helps,
Grinity

IQ scores and even the sorts of achievement test scores that can be used for admission to DYS (WJ-III Ach, WIAT, etc.) are worthless to school admins and teachers in deciding where a child falls with respect to mastery of a particular school's scope and sequence in each subject. The MAP is designed to be mapped to state standards and give exactly that sort of useful input.

Thus it probably means that the school or gifted program needs to establish a baseline for the level of work she's ready for. I had similar initial concerns about the MAP, fearing that the sudden request for testing by the school meant they were trying to find justifications to avoid accommodating my son, but was talked down by several helpful members here. It's more likely to be a sign that they are trying to do what's necessary, and may even be a precursor to their suggesting a grade skip. And, as Grinity points out, it yields data points that can be useful in advocacy.

Grinity and Locounu, thank you both so much for your responses. This is a whole new world and your input has really helped. I have another child who is in Special Ed and I know how to be her advocate and by this point am a pro at all things Special Ed. This gifted stuff is all new to me but just as important. OK, I will go in strong but inquisitive. I will also approach things from the standpoint of meeting my child's needs rather than a label. I just don't understand what the "gifted" program is? Some kids get pull-out and others just get enriched curriculum in the reg ed class. Our district is moving towards inclusion model so perhaps the "gifted" teacher might be in the reg ed classroom co-teaching. The school is very nice and I don't think they're trying to be evasive but I am a worry wort and need to keep it together ;-) Thanks again!