Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment MAP scores and the need for further testing

Hi,

I am a NJ mom to a 6 year old boy. He has always been a very bright child, and I feel that due to lack of school services and a spouse who kind of shrugs his shoulders and says, 'what else can we do?', I tend to just provide my son with enrichment activities at home and leave it at that.

However, every time there is testing at school, I start to panic about not providing him with the resources he needs. While I know MAP testing is just an indication of achievement as compared to peers, he scored 215 in Math and 206 for Reading in SP14. He is my older child, I have nothing to compare this to, but I was curious what the more experienced parents would say about this. Does this indicate I should have him tested for giftedness? Is this an exceptional score or just a very good one? And this is for his kindergarten year, he will turning 6 in a few weeks.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Alexis

Bump

Hi Zeecon, Welcome!

You can compare your son's MAP scores using the chart found at appendix B at this link: http://www.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea..../resources/NWEA_2011_RIT_Scale_Norms.pdf

You can see that a Spring Reading score of 206 falls into the 97th percentile for 1st graders (99th for kinders). 215 for spring math is 97th percentile for 2nd graders (99th for both kindy and first). I think it's definitely worth investigating with the school. You say there is a lack of services: does this mean there is not any gifted programming or any acceleration opportunities? I would start by asking the advice of the school staff. I would ask the school about the scores and whether there are any other kids in his grade with those scores. If no, I would ask where the majority of the kids with those scores are, and if your son could possibly join them for classes. If they do have a GT program, find out what the process is for testing, etc. You may find this on the district website. Ask if they do any in-class differentiation or grouping too. Good luck!

Thank you, I appreciate your response and suggestions. I plan on discussing options with the school in September, I do like the suggestion to ask if there are other students who scored similarly.

I recently learned that the official GT program has been dismantled in favor of the classroom teacher, during a 2x/week, 45 minute period, providing enrichment activities. Acceleration does not happen in this district, although I believe it is allowed. However, my DH is vehemently opposed to acceleration (I am too, to a lesser degree: my son is a July birthday, small for his age, and socially immature). When I spoke to his K teacher last year, I was told that yes, he does need additional resources, but beyond being pointed toward the Magic Tree House books and given some additional math problems for homework, I am not sure what those resources were.

I was reluctant this past year to push, since it was a half day program and his teacher seemed overwhelmed. I am going into 1st grade with more of a 'will fight' mentality. I am curious if having him IQ tested would be more ammo I could bring to the school to show he needs more than just the status quo.