Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Anyone here with kids in Davidson Academy?

We're starting to look at the possibility of applying to the Davidson Academy in Reno, and I just wondered if anyone here is already there?

We're going to try out the ACT and SAT in the fall and see where he comes in with that. I haven't the slightest idea where he might score on either one, being only 10. He can't take the Explore test for it, because he will be a 7th grader in the fall.

I was thinking ACT originally, but when I started looking at it, I found the difference between the two -- I took the ACT but not the SAT in high school, so I never really knew the difference. ACT being more curriculum-based, more about what you know, and SAT being more reasoning-based, I would think he might actually do better on the SAT at this age, but that could bite him in the tail as well, for his off-beat reasoning on some things. So I think we'll just try both and see what happens.

Thoughts? Advice?

Last year they changed how they assessed kids during the first half of the school year, so you maybe in better shape than you thought. If you get the application in before December he will be assessed as if he is a 6th grader so maybe you could use the Explore test. It maybe worth it to ask.
We did not use either test for DD10's application because we had an IQ and achievement test score. Would it be possible to get those results instead? There maybe someone at his school that is able to administer them. Or, if there is a university around with a college of education, you could check there to see if someone there would give those tests.
We did have DD take the Explore test as a just in case, but as it turns out she didn't do well on the math section (she gets too anxious during times math tests) as Davidson requires.
We are not there yet, but are in the process of moving there as I write.

Oh, yes, I saw that about the December thing -- very handy! But the nice lady that I emailed to ask about Explore said that he would be counted as a 7th grader as far as which tests to take. My question for her was regarding his unorthodox grade skipping, because he will be a 7th grader next year but was not a 6th grader this year, officially -- he was technically a 5th grader but took mostly 6th and 7th grade classes. I was hoping that might squeak us into the Explore (not that I know anything about it, but it's closer to his age range anyway).

Unfortunately, his IQ scores are rather idiosyncratic and don't make it up to what is needed -- he did gain 20 points from the first time to the second time, so if it turns out that his ACT/SAT don't make it this year, I may consider seeing if the school can test him again and see if he's gained any more ground.

What achievement scores did you use for that? He could make it on NWEA or WJIII (we used that for DYS) but I didn't see that anywhere on the site.

That's too bad about the Explore. We would have faced a similar issue had we needed to use the Explore test results as you have with grade versus what classes they are actually taking.
Our DD did 4-6th grade in school last year and then this year straddled 7th and 8th grade. When we applied we just submitted stuff and let them figure out what grade she should be in at the academy. We know our current school district isn't very high level, so we knew elsewhere she wouldn't have needed such a radical grade skip as she did here.
We used the WJ111 for the achievement test.
Is he a DYS? We used the same test results for DYS as for the academy. We were pretty much told that since she was already a DYS they knew she was smart enough, they wanted to see if she was academically ready for the school. They determined this on her teacher recommendations and during her assessment day.
Good luck!