Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Questions About EXPLORE results

We received the results of DD10 EXPLORE test today (4th grade), and I'm in need of some help understanding what the results mean. The comparisons were to 8th grade students rather than other 4th graders, so I don't understand how she might fall with other gifted kiddos. Are these typical for a gifted 4th grader? While it is obvious from the scores LA and Science are much stronger for her than Math, I'm trying to decide if these scores are strong enough to help advocate for her to be in the gifted math class. Currently she is only in gifted LA as her COGAT score from 2nd grade didn't qualify her for the gifted math. Thoughts and advice? Is it worth taking them to her school?

Composite: --
English: --
Math: --
Reading: --
Science: --

Those scores could be used to qualify for Davidson. That ought to tell you something. The only one that is not high enough is math and it is very close. Sometimes the Math is lower simply due to what the kid has been exposed to in Math. I know that was the case for my daughter. So, I started progressing her more in Math at home after taking the test. She had everything right that she had seen before. There was just too much that she hadnt seen.

http://www.davidsongifted.org/young...holars___Qualification_Criteria_384.aspx

Yes, even the math score is a gifted score.

http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Ot...tion-of-Gifted-Students-Using-Above-Grad

Blessedmommy, those are really, really good scores. They tell you a lot about your dd's potential and just how high above her grade's ceiling she's capable of going.
I would go to the school with them.

When our ds11 took the Explore test, we took his test to the school and they offered to do more testing to see if he qualified for DYS. He did. They also offered to do an Iowa Assessment test which analyzes the whole child to see if grade acceleration would be a good idea.

We were very lucky that our school, in particular, our school's AIG teacher, understood the significance of the Explore test. The principal at the middle school ds would be entering understood as well. DS12 is since a DYS and has successfully skipped the 6th grade.

I hope your school is as responsive and helpful. Please let us know how it goes.

We got our DD9's Explore test scores yesterday too. I also have been trying to understand what they mean. I'm hoping that I will hear something from the regional talent search office that will help put it into context. I was happy to see, however, that the summer camp options are available to her now based on her scores.

I didn't even realize that Davidson took the Explore test results as part of the application. That was good to learn!

We have our parent teacher conference tomorrow, so the timing is fortuitous. I don't know if it will change anything at all, but I suppose it would be good for her teacher to know. She's already skipped a grade, and doing well with it; I'd be hesitant to do any more.

Since this is one of the very few places I can share info like this, her results were:

Composite 21 (96% compared to 8th graders)
English 23 (97% compared to 8th graders)
Math 15 (64% compared to 8th graders)
Reading 18 (84% compared to 8th graders)
Science 25 (100% compared to 8th graders)

I'm new to this board and have come here because I don't know what I'm doing!
We also got Explore test results, and I'm not sure what they mean. My daughter did extremely well on the test. What are the implications of doing very well - top 1 or 2 percentiles? Does this open up other programs to her, either within or outside of Duke TIP? Will the school know about this test, and would it change their learning plan for her? I have a meeting with the G&T coordinator later today, but I feel like I may be going in blind, other than to know the test scores without an action context.

Talent Search results for out-of-level tests typically include an analysis of the scores and specific tips for the learning environment, such as a consideration of acceleration.

When signing a child up for out-of-level testing through an academic talent search, parents typically receive a description of the score reports they will receive.

If signed up through your school, it is possible that the reports may have been delivered directly to the school.

I would check any records you may have received when signing your child up, and after that I would check with the talent search for more information. If the school received the information directly, I would ask for a copy.

Thank you for all the great info and advice. I shared and explained the scores with my DD this morning, and she wanted a copy of the report to take in to her teacher to show why she should be in the gifted math class. We have been trying to teach her to advocate for herself, and I'm hoping that this will help her. Also we want her teacher to see it is DD who wants to be in the higher class, not her parents pushing her into something. If they still won't place her in the higher class, I will definitely step in and help.

After getting these results I'm trying to understand that link between IQ and her high score on these tests. About a month ago we had the WISC IV administered for DD (it all started because of a full neuropsych eval we had done for my DS6) to get an idea of where she might fall. I was surprised when the WISC IV came back with a GAI of 126. Her highest score was the Verbal Comprehension at 130. I was expecting her to score at least in the mid to high 130s, and all that I have read the gifted range doesn't even start until 130. Why is there such a discrepancy between her IQ and the results for the EXPLORE? The EXPLORE results quality for DYS, but the IQ score is not even close.

Blessed - it's hard to say without the full list of her subtest scores. She obviously had at least enough scatter to warrant a GAI calculation. I'd ask for the subtests if you can, she might have something else going on.

I do have the subtest scores, and they did identify a fine motor issue (my DS6 has a fine motor issue as well, but his is more pronounced) as well as difficulty with organizing thoughts and writing (again my DS struggles with this as well). In fact, if you compare my DS6 and DD10 scores, they are similar in how they relate to each other -- VCI highest, followed by PRI, WM and then Processing Speed lowest -- it is just my son's are all higher than my daughter.