Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Too many kids in GT programs?

We live in PA, in an affluent, well-educated neighborhood. Our local elementary school's 5th grade class has about 25-30% of its students in the gifted program.... However, the state minimum IQ is 130, meaning top 2%. I realize that IQ scores would tend to be higher overall in such a neighborhood, but how could there be such a big discrepancy??? My 5th grader was admitted to the program in 1st grade (she scored FSIQ 138 and GAI 142), and having gone through the process I do know that the admittance criteria are quite lax... they use a matrix system which in in the end allows for IQ levels considerably less than 130 to be routinely admitted.

It is quite frustrating, because my daughter who really needs enrichment and acceleration, again gets lost in another group of kids, which really do not extra enrichment and would probably be just fine in the regular classroom. In other words the GT program is being diluted and just used as a status symbol for those being accepted.

Is anyone else experiencing similar issues?

In my school district (we live in an affluent and highly educated neighborhood with the highest scoring school district in Cal) there were lawsuits galore from parents who thought their kids needed to be in the gifted program. So, the school district moved the gifted programs to special schools and the admission to them is now lottery based because there were too many lawsuits challenging the IQ testing methodology etc. So, now, anyone whose child is lucky enough in the lottery can get into the gifted schools in the PS. And there is no gifted program in the regular PS.

I am wondering how do you know this? Is it listed somewhere on the internet or something? I'd be curious as to what our school's number is...

That just makes me want to scream.

I know approximately how many kids are in the grade, and how many are in the GT class... did my own calculations!

Oh! LOL... got it...

We have similar issues - too many kids who are redshirted who really are not gifted in the class and far less gifted education because of it. It is frustrating.

Sometimes it's as easy to figure out as asking your kid: "How many kids are in your class?"

Our state is a race to the top state, and as a result we now have more data published on each school and district, including the number of children identified as gifted and the number of children receiving gifted services. The state defines gifted as 95th percentile in reading OR math OR cognitive, and once gifted, always gifted. My district has 44% of kids with this categorization. 6% receive services because the district can control by changing ORs to ANDs.

These data are now available on the state board of ed website.

OP, I can see both sides of it. We have a large number of kids bleeding from the eyeballs with boredom because they hit two of the three bars. We also have kids bored stiff in their gifted intervention classes because the pace and depth still isn't enough.

Huh, ours is only 7% (it is on the internet), which makes sense because I definitely got the distinct feeling that although my son's school has a "matrix," it is still very hard to get in to the program (it really just boils down to WISC scores although they do accept outside testing). Anyway, we are in PA too.

ashley, that is just so ludicrous that I'd want to chuckle it away yet knowing that children are being hurt in the process makes it not so funny.