Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment PG, MG, EG etc - how do you classify?

I only knew the term "gifted" when I started on the advocacy journey with my child. I have come across MG, PG, EG etc on my way. Now, I am curious to know what they mean. How does one go about finding the correct acronym that fits their child? Is it based on FSIQ or is it based on a sub-test of the IQ test or does the categorization vary with the type of test taken (for e.g. Stanford Binet, WPPSI etc)? And what about asynchrony and 2e issues - does a child with these issues have a different scale to measure the level of giftedness?
I am trying to learn and if this post sounds dumb, I am sorry for that.

Not a dumb question. I don't know either, and it doesn't really matter, but I am also curious to know. DD's processing speed is 94 and her GAI is 150 (or 155 depending on whether extended scores are calculated). So is there a label for that other than "2e"?

This is a great resource: http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/parents.htm

Here is another relevant link from Hoagies Gifted Education Page - This provides rather standardized or commonly accepted definitions - http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/highly_profoundly.htm

Notice that the IQ scores may vary by test.

There are lots of definitions.

A commonly used cutoff for "gifted" is an IQ of 130 on a test where the average is 100 and there is a 15 point standard deviation (so, roughly the 98th percentile). This presumably means that a score of 130 in a subtest means giftedness in that area, as well. This score presumably translates to moderately gifted/MG.

The Davidson Institute defines "profoundly gifted" as an IQ of 145 or more (roughly the 99.9th percentile).

Personally, I think of HG (highly gifted) as starting around an IQ of 140. This is roughly the 99.6th percentile and is therefore only ~20% of the gifted population. My understanding is that a 10-point IQ difference is a moderate (i.e. reasonably sized) difference in ability, such as being able to easily learn things that kids/others with IQs around 130 would have to work harder on.

Some people may use a cutoff of 120 (~90th-91st percentile) as "mildly gifted."

Really, it's all on a sliding scale and there isn't much difference between, say, the math ability of someone with a math subtest score of 137 and 140. Though these small differences do seem to have meaning on a population scale.

There are not standardized definitions. What's important is that IQ scores 40, 55, 70, 85, 100, 115, 130, 145, 160, 175 are equally spaced and not at all the same.

Regarding 2e, the IQ test is the same, but understanding the sub-tests is critical. Actually, I think it's important for everyone, but especially 2e. The overall score can be depressed by the disability, and the giftedness can mask the degree of disability. Evaluating the sub-tests illuminates the degree of asynchrony, strength and weaknesses thus helping you with parenting strategies and effective advocacy for your child at school.

As to the labels, the more asynchronous your child, the more specialized and individualized help you will need. I've found them very helpful for understanding my child's needs.

It is complicated by the fact that the older tests scored higher and people are used to thinking of an IQ of 180+ being PG (a lot of the papers available use results from wisc111, wppsiR etc. You know 158, well it's not 180 is it though. Well no but the test doesn't go that high and it is >99.9 percentile by a fair amount. I have been having problems accepting it myself.

I think in terms of percentiles rather than scores. But that is annoying too because after about 146 everything is above the 99.9 percentile and they don't get more specific than that.
Everyone and their brother seems to score 130 or 140 on bogus internet IQ tests so most people are completely unimpressed by REAL IQ scores in that range.

Thanks for all the replies. It really helps me in understanding IQ level classification. From what you all say, the evaluation needs to be done by a neuropsych who has expertise in interpreting the scores in order to know what exactly going on.

I never even considered that >99.9 percentiles could mean such a huge range.