Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Test for PLEP

Hello all. I'm a newbie here. Looking forward to getting to know you!

My son will enter 3rd grade in Sept. His second GIEP meeting is coming up. Last summer he took the Naglieri and WISC-IV tests and scored "very superior." He report cards indicate that he has consistently excelled across the board all year. I'd like to find out exactly what grade level he currently is, particularly in math and use it as a basis to create his PLEP. I figure why bother having a GIEP when you don't know what the child is really capable of?

Do I write a letter to our Supervisor of Gifted Ed requesting testing prior to the GIEP meeting? Or to the Gifted Ed teacher? What type of testing do I ask for?

Thanks so much.

Hi Advocate4,
Welcome!

What's a PLEP?

Don't you wish that there were some kind of achievement test that your kid could take that would hellp the school really know what I call 'readiness level' that is - what the child is ready to learn next.

Here's the catch - each school has it's own unique idea of 'what a 3rd grader should know' so a nationally normed test that says he is at a 5th grade level in Math, for example, might mean that he's normal for his school, or behind a few years (ok that would be rare) or ahead many many years.

What kinds of interventions are you looking for on the GIEP? If you would like him to learn the same basic stuff with lots of independent projects where he goes into more depth, then either hand pick the teacher, or hire a tutor for afterschooling or partial homeschooling. Elementary School really is quite a lot about getting the basic skills accomplished: Can the child tell time? Can the child read? Legible handwriting? Can the child say her 7 times table? Does the child start sentences with capitol letters and end them with periods?

That's why the 'one hour a week pull out gifted program' tends to look so fluffy. they are in a position where the goal is to balance the whole rest of the week's emphasis on concrete skill building.

If you want a gradeskip, then there is a book, the Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual that brings all the info together and helps everyone through the process.

KWIM? Please post again, and say more about your child, your worries, your hopes,and what the school has done for other kids in the past?

Good news is that there are lots of different ways to get the good result you are looking for.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

LOL Advocate4,

I just read your other post about MiniCamps!

If you are looking for the school to 'do what you do' during the summer as part of their school year, I'm duty bound to tell you that you are heading down the road to frustration.

You sound very gifted yourself, and I would send my son to you for homeschooling, afterschooling, or summer projects in a minute. You may think that the schools 'should' be better at this than you are, but that is part of the confusion of not quite accepting that you are better at some things than many, if not most, other people. Perhaps up until now, you thought that they just weren't trying, or just didn't care, or were blind. If so, I'm sorry to inform you that most people are doing the best they can with what they have. If so, time for some journaling and some tears about why the world is different from how you wish it could be. That's what I had to do anyway.

Different is ok. Reality is good, after we get out from under our wish for it to be different from what it is.

Love and More Love,
Grinity