Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment curious...how well did scores match your estimate

I had a hard time estimating, although thinking back I know I was probably in denial. DS was incredibly advanced, reciting "The Jungle Book" dialogue by typing it all on the computer with near to perfect spelling/punctuation at age 3.10. I just didn't know if he were just a high achiever with a somewhat high IQ or actually way out there IQ wise. I can't say I was surprised when I found out he was well into the PG range.

Higher.

Back when he was a baby and toddler and preschoolers, I thought all the milestone books were written for the very, very lowest performing child since he was years ahead by the time he was two. I thought the ages listed on toys, especially games and legos were disregarded by everyone because they were so off. There wasn't a time when my son couldn't put together lego sets (although he probably didn't get his first one until he was about 3). He's been the computer expert in the house since he was about 6.

Still we were shocked when he scored 99s on his gifted entrance exams (CoGat). But it wasn't until 4th grade that we started to really wonder, when he did so well on the EXPLORE. That's when we had the IQ test. By the time, I had no doubt he would have DYS scores, but even so, I was shocked at how high they were.

See I always thought there were three parts to the age range. Part one...are the pieces choking/swallowing hazards and are my kids especially prone to putting stuff in their mouth? Part two...can they physically manipulate the parts/pieces or get it spatially? Part three can they understand the game/toy intellectually? (and then on the other end of the spectrum have they outgrown it or is it too juvenile for their taste no matter what the age range says).

I found I started with the age guideline and then either threw it out or found it right on depending on the toy and the child.

No idea as not tested - but I will add that up until a year ago and the finding of this site, I simply thought that DS was ahead and smart, but really had no idea what IQ numbers meant, and never thought of him in terms of that. And as far as ages on toys - I too thought that meant, hey this is just a choking hazard, so for liability we have to mark it for a much older child. Or, wow, they are really off on their estimates of what a child will like/read/use. But there is no way I would have been even close to a guess had I not started reading heavily on this forum, and many gifted children books. Now I feel like a have a fairly good feel for it, and if we choose to test him, I am curious to see how close I will come to the number too.

Funny you mentioning that, I remember thinking variants of the same thought like - it must be a marketing ploy and they put those ridiculous ages on everything to make everyone think their kids are advanced LOL

I had no idea of what to expect with DD - I was never tested and neither was DW - in fact I actually believed all of the 'anti-Bell Curve / Jay Gould' pseudo science that insisted that IQ testing is a sham. We only tested as a recommended means of trying to understand why our happy and outgoing DD was encountering peer rejection.

I always wondered why jigsaw puzzles were so wildly incorrectly labelled. And the. Why I got weird looks for the jigsaw puzzles I gave for 2nd/3rd birthday gifts.

DS in response to the listed age on a game: "I'm age defying."

Way over.
I know my number and some of my family members; I figured I had a feel for where she fit in that range - 145-155 by the S-B we were tested with in the 80s. This was supported by all the baby milestones, toy age ranges, etc. We have a close-knit group of friends that provide peers for us, and their kids are good peers for mine.

She was individually tested at school at the end of third grade - a truly awful year. By all accounts she loved the testing and had a great time. And scored a solid, even, remarkably well-rounded 130. Respectable, but not what I thought.

I'm still scratching my head. At activities for gifted kids, she consistently wows the group leaders with the depth and complexity of her ideas. I would not expect this reaction from the adults if she barely made the cutoff for the group! But are my expectations just those of a mama who likes her smart kid, or was the test (DAS-II) off? And does it matter, really? I guess I just hoped the number would tell me something true and useful, and I'm not sure this one did.

Ljoy, the test could well be off, it dounds like it might be, but keep in mind that 145 now is around 170-180 on the SB testing if the 80s...

LOL, I remember telling someone very sincerely that jigsaw puzzles were rated for choking risk and picture interest. And I was quite surprised to find that lego ratings are more accurate (comes down to persistence for my kids).

I gave some apparently inappropriate puzzles to friends kids, too.