Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment how to initiate the process?

Help! How do I initiate the process of having my child evaluated? We (her parents and grandparents) have known since birth that she is GT.
To give some background: She is only 5, but her teacher is beginning to seriously "pick on" her and continuously gives her bad marks for talking (she is counting to herself by 100's in order to keep her mind stimulated during inactivity) and "being mean to others" (she is actually delegating and trying to lead her classmates). She also has an extreme sense of justice, morals, and right vs. wrong which is misinterpreted by her teacher as "being mean" and "disrupting". When she challenges the teacher on facts, etc. she gets into trouble. She rejects repetitious learning of things that she has been doing since she was 2 or 3, and the teacher interprets this as failure to follow the rules! Because of all this misunderstanding of her by her teacher, my child's grades are beginning to drop. Also, she is constantly getting N's on her report card for her "bad" conduct. I am terrified that her teacher might try to fail her b/c of her "bad" conduct marks and behavior!
So how do I get her evaluated? Should I ask for a new teacher? or should I ask for a mid-year grade skip (at 3.5yrs she was operating at a 1st-2nd grade level)? We just moved to a small town and I was assured that "our teacher's are trained to recognize giftedness, blah, blah" but I think they were just pulling my leg. I was told that she COULD NOT skip kindergarten and that grade skipping is "strongly discouraged b/c kids need to be in class with their peers". But I know my child and the way things are IS NOT working! Help!?

Hi AMS's mom - i'm sorry things are going so poorly for your DD5.

My gut reaction would be to ask for a different teacher, but first give this one a chance to explain. By that I mean have you told her everything that your daughter can do and explained that she needs more of a challenge, and that's why she's acting out. I'm guessing you've already done this by the sounds of things, but just laying it out. It kind of sounds like this teacher has pegged your DD as a trouble-maker, and it might be best to get out of that classroom if possible.

Is there a gifted coordinator or similar position at your DD's school? It might help to contact her and ask about testing. Also, she might have some suggestions for better teacher placement. If no gifted coordinator, might be time to contact the principal.

It might also help to look at your state's dept of education website and see if there's a GT person who can speak with who can tell you about the laws in your state. Some state's and/or district's require that a child be evaluated upon the parent's request. there may also be some resources on the website to answer some of your questions.

If your school does not do testing and your state does not require it, it might be worthwhile to get private testing. You can start by looking at Hoagiesgifted.org: http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/psychologists.htm.

Is there a GT parent group at the school? Maybe you could contact someone through that. Also, you'll want to see what you're fighting for before you get testing. If this school doesn't offer any acceleration in subject matter or class, or any differentiation for gifted kids, you may need to seek alternatives.

Just random thoughts from someone who doesn't yet have a kid in school yet. HTH.

Well, I just got home from a meeting with her teacher. By the way, my assumption was correct-it is her first year teaching!
She informed me that my daughter is in the highest division of her class (apparently the class is separated into 4 divisions based on "intellect"). She also said my DD5 is extremely good at math. I told her that she needs to be challenged more in order to calm her "acting out" and I was assured that beginning next semester the curriculum will be more challenging (yeah, right).
She also said that my DD5 has an almost explosive rage that comes out and is directed to the other kids. I tried to explain that this is how GT's react towards peers who are not at their same level, but my MIL was there and I have to be careful about using the "GT" word in her presence.
Her school has a program for GT students starting in 3rd grade! So what do I do in the mean time? This school has a policy that they do not skip grades and they promote "grouping students", which means students of all levels in the same classroom in order to benefit the "less smart" (trying to be politically correct) children. But this is damaging the high intelligence children. I am at a loss as to how I am going to be able to convince them about her unique needs. It seems like I would be better off pulling her out and home schooling. But, if I do that I am going to have another equally irritating issue: resistance from the mother-in-law.
I picked up some special education pamphlets on the way out and I plan on calling them for any advice/leads. I also plan on calling a meeting with my husband, the principal, school counselor, and a special education teacher. Do you think this will help? Thanks!

Hi -

My child is still in preschool so I have no direct advice.

That being said, I can hear your frustration and have been in bad fit (preschool) situations before... It is so hard when the teacher/school administration a) don't "get" your child and b) can't even hear what you are trying to tell them.

Until the other wise and experienced Moms and Dads have a chance to respond to your post I would encourage you to do the following:

- take a deep breath
- read through the archives (previous posts) on this board.

There are a lot of folks who have been in situations similar to your who have successfully advocated for their children and/or found other options.

Hi AMS's mom,

I agree with SPG that you should look up what your state defines as far as IDing and services.

If you can't compel the school to i.d., you may want to pay for a private evaluation with a child psychologist that specializes in testing for gifted.

I've been advocating for my kids for a couple of years now. Their services don't start until 3rd grade either. On this board, most of us will agree that the behavior is a result of being understimulated, but you won't get very far with the school if you simply say she's acting out because she is bored.

Kindergarten is a rough year for some GT kids. If you are going to advocate at school, my suggestion would be to slow down and figure out what you want accomplished.

Use this forum as a sounding board to figure out how you want to present the situation before you go in. There is nothing more personal to you than your child's welfare. However, when you meet with the school, it's a "business" meeting to them. They have tons of then during the week. That's not meant to minimize the importance of what's happening to your child, just know what you are getting into before you walk in the door.

You might not get too far if you call a "power meeting" and you don't have anything tangible to present, like IQ or achievement testing results.

Actually, it's not good for all kids, not just the HG+ ones. Ability grouping--at least to some extent--is really the best way to go. No time to go look up the studies I've read on it right now, but it's pretty well documented.

Interestingly, it's best to put the highest group in one class and the above-average kids in a separate class. This gives the high-average kids the best chance to feel good about their abilities and shine. Competition with GT kids is apparently quite detrimental to them.

If anyone doubts my claims, I'll look for the sources later. Was this Karen Rogers' work? Dottie, do you know off-hand?

We started homeschooling for some of the same reasons. IL's were not supportive at first either, but as soon as they saw how much DS was learning, and not being held back at PS, they were 100% supportive. If you have the calling to homeschool, don't let others influence you otherwise. And HS'ing doesn't have to be a permanent solution. You can always try it for a few months, and see how it goes

As far as testing goes, if you want it done quick, I wouldn't bother with the school. Private testing will be quicker but can cost quite a bit. I found a local university who will be testing my DD with the WPPSI III for $75.

Good point, Kriston.

AMS mom: How did you hear about grouping? The teacher, other moms? If the teacher did, did she say grouping and then explain it the way you defined? Could she have said ability grouping?

RJH we crossposted. Again, good to dig up the laws defining all of this stuff. In IL, a child isn't even truant until 7, I think. Homeschooling is legal with essentially no paramaters currently legislated.

Our youngest had an awful time in K, I should have taken action sooner. She's in first now and is pretty happy, but her real learning needs are not being met, IMO.

We will be homeschooling her next year and then she will re-enroll for third, take the qualifying tests for gifted services and we'll go from there.

There are a lot of options.

Both of my daughters had IQ testing and I've found it very helpful as a reference point for making these decisions.

I would request, in writing (not phone or email) that your child be evaluated for academic readiness level and 'rage.'

Also, Request a chance to sit in your child's classroom so you can better understand what the teacher is seeing. Request a chance to sit and quietly observe the 1st and 2nd grade teachers, to see if you see any signs of 'intelligent life in the universe.'

I think that the real question here is: 'How many hours of misery a day is ok for my kid?' If you have no options, then you have no options, but it's very sad. One approach is to wait for things to get worse, and then the school may be more willing to do an evaluation. Bad grades in kindy aren't a long term problem, but a teacher who says mean things about your kid in the teacher's lounge is.

Grimity