Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Do you think DYS acceptance would be more likely..

doing the portfolio or paying to take an iq test. We already have scores that exceed the SAT requirement. What would be an indicator of probable IQ scores? We don't want to pay for the test if it's not going to go well. But the "portfolio" might be difficult also, since it needs to be impressive, and I'm assuming that they are really critical of them, since no IQ score is present. The reason the IQ score is to risky is because she has not always scored so high on some sections of the NNAT and CoGAT. Then some scores have been at 149, which is close to the ceiling, apparently. So, what test would be the best indicator of the IQ score. We have taken the SAT, MAP, NNAT, and CoGAT, but that's about it.

You could try the portfolio first, then if they need scores, they'll tell you so.

They have 3 possible responses: "yes, you're in," "no, you're not in," and "we need more info." You might get the 3rd response instead of the 1st, but if that's the case, you're not out anything but the time it took to pull the portfolio together, right?

Look carefully at the requirements - IQ doesn't have to be FSIQ. I'd think a portfolio is more difficult than having the scores, but as Kriston said, there's no risk in trying first with a portfolio. You should call and ask them what they think. Good luck!

I agree with all the other posts. As far as I know there is no rule that you only get one shot, either you send in the good stuff and it's a yes, or it's a no and you are out of luck and that's that!!

In our case, we sent a portfolio and qualifying IQ scores. I obviously didn't know what to send because they went ahead and asked for the achievement test.

I'd guess they'd let you know if they wanted more info.....

I'd stronly agree with Dottie that any tests, like cogat, that aren't actually on the list could be considered portfolio.

My 2 cents! Good luck.

Neato

Yes, but one of the scores is at 121, and the other is at 139. Both of those are below 145, and I'm afraid it may do more damage than good. Also, we actually don't have the score report, this was all from what the counselor said. We don't want to go to the trouble of asking for it. This is typical of her nonverbal scores, as they usually are not much above 130, if at all. This one was strangely low, though. What are the benefits of the program?

The CogAT is often low, even in HG+ kids. It's a screener for GTness, not an actual GT test (though this is how many schools use it anyway).

Lots of benefits! The social contact with other HG+ families is the biggest one for us. Though having a DYS consultant and other experts available to help you deal with school issues and such is really great also!

There are lots of other benefits, but I have to go get DS4 ready for bed. I'll let others address them for you.

Well, thanks. So what would good portfolio items be? She loves composing, but she hates writing it down without good software, so unless we tape it, I doubt that would work. She is not very artistic, and would probably prefer not having to draw. I just have not kept many of the "golden" things she has created. I have another question, though: She LOVES to plan things. Like vacations. She has a blast creating itineraries, schedules for her own little "school" program, she has planned all her high school courses out for fun, etc. For some reason, she has a blast making tables and charts and schedules and all that stuff. Do you think this is a personality thing or that it could be a "gifted" thing, aka, we might want to include a couple of those things. (by the way, she rarely follows through with these "plans". she just has a blast making them.)

I always recommend video of your child being most herself. When you see an HG+ child in action, I think you know it.

I also always recommend that people applying remember that the goal is NOT to show that your child is GT. The goal is to show that your child is HG+, so you need to demonstrate abilities exceeding MG. There's a difference there. Think 3+ years above age-level.

Video of her composing and then playing her music could be good. Tables and charts she has created could be good, especially if they exceed the planning ability of even most GT kids her age. Do be sure to send a good bit of academic work. You can even send video of her thinking through something really hard, then also include the written work she did while being filmed. That gives them both a look at how she works and at the product itself.