Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy New here...please help

hi there. I found these boards while searching online for information to help my son.

He's 8, in 3rd grade. He has always "hated" school, and has a history of minor behavioral issues. He doesn't always follow instructions well, often complains of boredom or has a bit of an attitude, and will not always do classroom work. I know he is very very bright and he reads well at home, so I was surprised last year when the school sent him to their summer camp program for at-risk readers. When I asked him what happened, he said he got bored with the test so he just kept saying "I don't know" in response to the questions.

We've already had one call home this year from a teacher complaining about his visible boredom and bad attitude in class. The first report card came home yesterday. He got mostly 3s for academics (so, on track for grade level) and 2s for behavior (needs improvement).

We also got his statewide 3rd grade standardized testing results back yesterday. His Lexile score indicates a reading level of 11-12th grade. His math scores are 8-9th grade. Both were 99th percentile.

I have several questions.
1) does the discrepancy between his achievement level and his grade level explain the behavior stuff? I'm trying to figure out if fixing the educational issue will also fix the behavior, or if there's more going on.

2) would this level of achievement plus the behavior stuff suggest that he needs to be in the district's differentiated gifted program? I feel like a kid this far ahead should not have been sent to reading camp for at-risk readers and since he was, there's a huge disconnect between what's possible and what's happening...

And 3) we have a gifted program in our district, beginning in 4th - will the school actually look at his recent testing results and flag him for further testing, or do I need to be proactive here? I will be, but I'd like to know they're already working on this instead of me having to force them to pay attention to scores etc.

Any suggestions? Information? Commiseration?

Thanks!

Yes. :-)

How does he behave at home? Or in other places where he is actively engaged? If he has an attitude at home, perhaps there are other things but my gut instinct, having lived this, is that it's the discepancy between the work he is getting and what he needs.

For reference, my DS8 (also 3rd grade) was not in a gifted program in second grade and hated going to school. He was absolutely miserable, something that he'd never been in school. This year, he is in an HG program and loves going to school again. Based on our experience, I would totally take action NOW at the beginning of the school year.

Welcome!

1) Very likely.

2) and 3) It depends on your district. Usually, the teacher will nominate a student for testing. Many districts allow parents to nominate as well. There definitely is a huge discrepancy between the Lexile and ?SMS scores and performance during 3rd grade in school. If the tester is well trained in gifted services, he/she may see through it but many won't.

With my personal experience, Lexile score does not carry much weight. Out of level testing like EXPLORE would. Your DS can take it through Duke TIP. And check your district policy and nominate your DS.

Our district flags kids who score over the 95th percentile for math or reading and sends home permission forms for a cognitive ability test. If they do well on the ability test (98th percentile on one or more sections) then they are put into cluster groups the next year. See if your district has a G/T coordinator or at least ask the classroom teacher how kids are chosen for G/T services. Put your foot down and insist he doesn't need any remedial reading programs. Now you have data to back it up.

1) Yes, very likely.
2) Yes, probably.
3) Yes, always be proactive. It's probably going to be necessary and if not, it's good practice.

Good luck and welcome to the board.