Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment IQ test administration - did parents observe?

This is a new thread from discussion which sprung up here. This new thread is being created to prevent ongoing hijacking of that thread to discuss IQ test administration, especially parent observation of IQ testing.

Good idea, Indigo.

DS12 was tested by his school last year. I wasn't present.

DS was tested at 6.5 and I was in the room for all of the testing (WISC-IV, WIAT-III, WRAML?, Conners, and maybe some more that I've forgot). I was there to ease his anxiety and to help with getting him to refocus when needed. He spent almost one whole session under the desk answering questions from there as an example of the fun the tester got to deal with. It was frustrating to watch knowing we were paying a LOT of money but at the same time it was exactly the type of behavior that led us to testing in the first place.

While I can see why they wouldn't want parents knowing the questions to avoid test prep, I'm exceptionally grateful that I had the chance to see the testing. My DS had results ranging from 2%tile to 99.6%tile and it was useful to have an idea of what was going on in the room during each one to add additional context to the results. The one that he scored 2%tile was particularly interesting since he was completely sidetracked about a particular part of it and never really answered the questions (I'd say more but don't want to risk revealing part of the test). The tester didn't really pick up on what he was rambling about and chalked it up to his 2e-ness which I'm not sure of but we'll have to wait and see. There were questions and answers that the tester even wrote up in the final report because his answers were "so gifted" (in this case I mean hilariously odd especially for someone his age).

We will end up retesting him again at some point to have an update on his 2e issues. We'll likely also test his younger sister at some point as well. I have no intention of ever trying to prep either of them since I want to know what the actual results are to aid in making the best decisions I can for them. DS easily qualifies for the school programs, I suspect DD will as well but if she doesn't that is fine. If I've learned anything over the past 7 years with DS it is that there are some kids that NEED gifted programming and shoehorning kids that don't meet the criteria is a disservice to both groups.

Yes, from an adjacent room via a 2-way Mirror and 'piped' audio - WISC IV.

I had a 'side on' view so I could not see the actual questions but I could hear the questions/answers and observe my DDs reactions which is why I now regret not providing a drink and a snack because she was flagging towards the end, the test having more than spanned her normal lunchtime.

Between 2 kids there have been 5 IQ tests, I was in the room for the first two, listening from the next room for the next two and not present at the last one (which incidentally was the worst result for that child). The tests were I was listening from the next room I didn't pick much up, but that round of testing was the most positive experience for both my children (both in terms of scores and coming out positively buzzing with happiness)...

I think one of my kids in particular behaved better with me not directly in the room BUT for the other test of that same child, where I was in the room, there were issues with her performance that the tester either would never have discussed with me OR which she grossly misinterpreted my DDs behaviour and what it might mean about the resulting scores. For example in the coding subtest DD did exactly two of each type of question (100% accuracy) and then, having proved mastery (in her own mind at least) she put down the pencil and watched the timer for the remaining half of the available time. Now she could have been 1) in pain, as we now know she has a handwriting disability 2) bored witless, it's a mind numbing test 3) completely unable to comprehend at 4 yrs old why more than 2 correct samples of each one should be necessary to prove mastery, there are various other possibilities too, but "Too anxious to continue" or "Did not know what to do" (the tester's suggestions) are so wrong it's funny.

We also would have missed out on hearing the tester mutter "Never seen that before..." as the same DD completed one of the subtests, it certainly didn't make it to the report. And thus we would not have known that her 17 on that subtest was actually a hard ceiling for her age - she completed the whole test perfectly in the available time but could not score more than 17 because of her age. And we would not have know that this tester could not be that experienced with HG kids if she had truly never seen that before, because my DD is NOT that far out there.

Oh and we would also have missed the tester telling DD "That doesn't usually work" and stopping her from continuing a method of problem solving before her time was up. Maybe it wouldn't have worked, but still she deserved the opportunity to use the time she had and after that she stopped trying so hard in the rest of the items for that section.

So, two edged sword having the parent there...

No. I could hear a little if I strained but not see anything.

I was not present for any of the testing, but I did see a number of the questions and answers at our meeting with the neuropsych after testing.

Elizabeth's post reminds me that the tester where I was listening from another room seemed to have far better notes on my daughters' actual replies, much of which made it into her report. The tester where we sat in the room seemed to be pretty much ticking boxes not writing down quotes of what DD had said, so we would not have known much of what happened without being there... Interesting difference in practice.

Three tests, all with different testers. They were all in a room with a closed door. Results did not include any idea of what was in the test.

I should clarify that I didn't necessarily see the answers designated as correct - I saw what my DD wrote for some questions.