Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Let's do this once more ....

please ...

DD is going to be tested next Friday and I would appreciate any suggestion on how to prepare her.

I have told her that we will see a kind of a teacher who want to see how she think so she can give us good advice for the school next year. In particular, since DD wants to be with older kids I told her that she can see if she indeed thinks the same way as an older child and therefore is really a good idea to try to put her in the next group (grade).

She has been tested once and enjoyed the experience and she seems interested in this new one.

I know I have to tell her not to give silly answers and to try her best if the questions become difficult.

Anything else I could tell her?

Can you tell I am nervous ....

I really hope that this time her IQ reflects more what I think is her LOG.

Does your DD like checkups? My DS loves going to the doctor (I know some kids don't) and it worked really well to tell him he was going to a "brain checkup" when he was 4 1/2. He enjoyed it and has asked me when he will get to go to his next brain checkup

I'll be crossing my fingers for you on Friday. I'm sure it's nerve wracking!

Cathy

I liked the "some questions will be really easy and some will be too hard, and that's normal; just try your best on all of them" speech. It helps a perfectionist, I think, to know that they're not screwing up if they don't know all the answers.

Here's the thread from when I asked the board for the same advice, if that's any help. (It was to me!)

*** Link no longer working ***

I don't know whether the test she is doing is timed, but you might see if she understands not to take her time for those parts. Good night sleep, good breakfast, don't let her see that you're nervous (if she notices, tell her you're excited! because this will be fun!) How old is you daughter again?

There may be no basis for it, but I don't let my kids do TV or video before hand. Reading the night before, some fun games that get the brain working like counting by 19s (2s or 3s if she's little).

Good luck! Hope it goes well!

Goodluck!!!!!

Hi there!

Well, now that both DD and DS I can answer....

Cathy: She does not like check-ups I am afraid... Every time we go to the doctor I have to reasure her that she does not have any fatal desease...

Cym: She is 4 yr and 9 months. The test is not timed, so no worries there.


I fear that she thinks that the whole school story is her fault and this is to find out what is wrong with her. She has not told me anything like this, but sometimes I can read her mind....

My DS4 took the SB-V when he was 4.1. Since my son doesn't like doing things he's already done, I told him he should answer all the questions even if they seem silly or too easy, because you have to answer all the questions to get to the more fun and interesting questions.

My son was like your daughter - he had bad experiences with the doctor right before the test, so I had to reassure him there would be no needles whatsoever, and this was only a thinking test.

Since he was new to being alone with a stranger, we talked for a week or two ahead of time that he would be in a different room with the test administrator. I also showed him her picture.

Taking advice from others here, I also told him he could ask for breaks whenever he wanted. It turned out he loved the test and only took a very short version of the planned break.

I told him that the test was to find out how he thinks compared to other kids his age, and that it would help us to decide what kind of school he would go to.

Good luck!

When we went for the preschool IQ screening, I told DD it was a princess test. And she has 2 more after the summer. (that is the SBV for Hunter and OLSAT for city schools) And so it is very important for her to pay attention and do her best like a princess.

DD is, of course, obsessed with princesses -- Disney and others -- and since princesses tend to go through some sort of "test", especially Mulan, she gets the fact it is serious enough for her to try.

I am stressing this last part for the fall since when she did the flip book part she didn't want to do the easy ones and gave wrong answers. Midway she stopped, self corrected and then started doing them. Luckily the tester had already gone through several other tests and wanted to see what she would do and recognized her as able to answer the simple ones. Highlighting it is good to have a tester who works with preschoolers a lot.

Good luck.

Ren

Great advice!
Good luck Isa!
Of course it's normal for you to be nervous, so share that here - but - try and shield your nervousness from DD.

I found it useful to say - 'mommy is very excited because she remembers how exciting these tests were when she was little.' because it's not like we can totally sheild them from our feeling!

or 'mommy is very excited because learning about brains is so interesting.'

or whatever fits and is somewhat plausable and doesn't add pressure.

Good idea to brief for the 'easy questions' - you can explain that all the children bloom at their own speed - like flowers - and they have to ask questions that are too easy and questions that are too hard to see what speed your brain it at today. Letting her know that you love her no matter what her brain-speed is - you just want to know so you can help school fit better. Maybe even better to talk about how you will love little brother no matter what his brain-speed turns out to be, and won't she? But you wouldn't want to talk to him at the wrong brain-speed.

Hope that helps,
Grinity