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I just got my child's tests results back on the SBV and the WIAT II. And I am confused (hence the screen name).

SBV
NV IQ: 141
V IQ: 153
FS IQ: 149

Wiat II
Word Reading: 126 (96%)
Numerical Operation* 136 (99%)
Math Reasoning: 127 (96%)

*Out of test range scored by hand. Mid second grade level

My child was tested before entering kindergarten (5-9).

I'm wondering if my child would potentially qualify for the YSP given these scores (I'm waiting on a call from a rep at DI). My child doesn't read well (mid first grade level I'm told) and in fact more or less hates it. But loves math. Does multiplcation and division.

Does the fact that my child doesn't like to read hurt their Achievement score and therefore hurt their chances for the YSP. The tester's comments were "Because math reasoning was so easy, I decided to give the written calculation portion which should only be administered after a child has entered kindergarten". It also mentioned that the tester had my child "read some of the first grade tests of the reading and comprehension sub-test which they could have completed had the test scored out of grade/age range" Final comment "Age norms allowed me to calculate a normative score of 136, 99th percentile, mid-second grade level"

So what the heck does all that mean???

Thanks,
CP

My son read words (by sight) and favorite books (by memory and sight) before he was two (probably by 18 months).

He is almost 11 now, but is terrible at sounding out unfamiliar or nonsense words even though he has had extensive phonics training in 1st-2nd grade (the classical stuff with coding).

I would guesstimate that his oral reading is high average, but know that his silent reading for comprehension (using context clues) is through the roof!

He really started reading for fun around the second half of 1st grade when his reading skills finally began to meet his reading interest level. That was the key! Although, he did the work, he had no interest in the grade level easy reader books with subjects such as a dog and a ball!

Now he reads at least 500 pages per week for fun. We have to constantly tell him to stop reading! I know there are worse problems to have.

There are many different ways to evaluate reading. With scores like your son�s, his reading will probably take off soon!

Hi CP -
Just one other thing to confuse you further - does your son have any vision problems? Apparently the regular optomatrist's visit isn't enough - there is a special branch called behavioral optomatry that evaluates how well the muscles that control the lenses work. Many find this useful, many find this snake oil - but I figured that you'd like to know.

On the other hand, you say that your K aged child doesn't read well in that he is only scoring mid first grade. My son, also a YSP, was in the 2nd highest reading group in first grade, and didn't get to the "Magic Tree House" type books until the end of first grade. He also had trouble with catching a ball, riding a bike, and had learned his letters and their sounds very early at age 2. The gap between when he learned his letters, his interest in having complicated books read to him, and his own reading certainly freaked me out. But everyone I asked just teased me as an overprotective new, older, mom. Then there are all the people who might have helped me, but I was afraid to ask by then - not wanting to look like an overprotective Mom. People acted like the problem was "how to calm me down" and not like a 4 year gap between letter recognition and actual reading was any big deal.

In retrospect I think he did have a visual tracking problem, or was at least slow to mature in that area (we certianly did everything wrong regarding too many video games and not enough outside experience) - but I stayed away from "Vision Therapy" because it sounded to "snake oil-ish" to me and DH. If I had gotten him tested earlier, perhaps someone would have suggested it be checked.

In the long run I don't think his reading "delay" did him any harm. But it sure did leave me bitter and distrustful.

Smiles,
Trinity

Are you going by the SBV or WIAT scores to make this comment?

It seems to us that whenever we talk to administrators or other gifted parents they all mention that their children were reading Harry Potter when they were born. Our child could do math well beyond their years and loved to study science but reading, not so much. I hear stories all the time about someones child that taught themselves how to read by the time they were 7 minutes old (sarcasm alert) but I don't hear much about math or science. Even the tester didn't get into multiplication on the achievement test which they would have blown through.

So I'm I missing something? Is reading the standard for gifted kids?

Thanks,
(Still) Confused Parent

By memory, I believe �Losing Our Minds� by Dr. Ruf mentions that early reading usually means some level of gifted. Very early math reasoning often means level 5 (highest)gifted.

Trinity,

I don't think it's a "vision thing" as much as a I think it's a "boring thing". Plus it's a struggle compared to math which comes easy.

As far as the reading level, mid first grade is good but since we have been researching gifted kids it seems like the important thing is reading at a high level.

You mentioned your child is a YSP. My original question was whether these scores were adequate for the program. I think the SBV are fine but I'm not sure if the WIAT scores are. I'm confused by the fact that the scores seem low but are they low for a kindergartner of someone in mid 2nd grade. The confusion I have is with the comments from the tester related to the score.

Teaching oneself to read at an early age is an example of reasoning ability - but by no means the only example of reasoning ability. Many, many gifted kids to teach themselves to read early - but not all by any means. You son may just have "other interests."

There is always a tendency to simplify everything so that we can understand and remember it. Don't let this human quality get you down. You know better!
Trinity

Opps - our posts crossed.
As for YSP - my standard advice is - fill out the application and submit it. Only the YSP folks know exactly what they are looking for - for the exact reason the oversimplifing is so dangerous.

Is your son interested in listening to chapter books, fiction or non-fiction? Does he make up stories? The weirdest thing of all about my DS's late reading is that he is much more of a verbal guy than a mathy guy - with his vocabulary hitting the ceilings as well as his "comprehension" which is about being able to verbalize "why things are the way they are." ((shrug)) Human beings are complicated!

Interesting that you mentioned reading as "boring" - I noticed that in my son also - he hated "baby books" and books with cartoon animals in them. I used to joke that until there started to be early readers with weapons and spacecraft in them, that he wasn't going to be reading. No one used to laugh actually. If you are handy on the computer, you can always try the old - "Here son, I'd like to make a million dollars from writing a book for children who are just starting to read, but I'm stuck on ideas. Will you stand next to me as I type, and give me some good ideas?" You may be able to get somewhere with that approach. Then you can publish you results here and say that the other gifted children loved them and are begging for more. I tried to avoid lying to my kid, but I'm certianly not above a little creative advertising.

As for "what the tester meant" you can either ask him/her or wait for Dottie - I don't have a clue!

Best Wishes,
Trinity

CP,
I didn�t mean for my post to come across as bragging about my son�s early reading- in fact his reading ability seemed/s all over the place depending on how it was/is assessed. What I meant to highlight was the fact that reading assessments for young children seem to focus on sounding out easy and boring words and phrases. As they get older, our students are evaluated more on reading comprehension which may be more important for academic success. These skills do not always coexist.

Early math ability is not as commonly cited among the various levels of intelligence, but may be more indicative of profound intelligence which seems in line with your son�s SBV scores!

Too funny, but true about waiting for Dottie!

Hi there ConfusedParent,

I'm new here: what do YSP and SBV mean?

I'm a confused parent too, as I'm just beginning to grapple with my the education of my kids (oldest is 7).

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that reading is more of a struggle. As a natural thing, people put the most effort into subjects that are most interesting to them. And if mathematics is very, very easy and very fascinating for your child, he may not be enthusiastic about putting extra effort in somewhere else. Even thought reading may come more easily to him than most other kids, it's still a lot harder *for him* than maths. So he would have a natural preference for maths.

Sometimes we have our kids work at things that *aren't* easy for them. Doing this seems to teach them what can come of a little hard work. You should see them grin when they realize that they can do something that they thought was outside their reach! We do this as a way to help develop study and habits they'll need later on.