Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion First Post - Intro

Thanks! I have a friend in Washington with who chose the state program for the textbook money. I still consider her a homeschooler for the same reasons you listed. My state doesn't have that option and I don't think the local homeschool co-ops do any MAP testing yet.

I think our students switch to the secondary MAP test in 2nd grade. I've been wondering if we'll see a change in DD7's scores from end of 1st to beginning of 2nd because of the different tests. In theory, there shouldn't be a change because the RIT is supposed to be a consistent measurement but at the same time, there will be more types of problems like you mentioned.

Please let me know if you see a difference between the two test results for your son. Enquiring minds want to know and since I've had a hard enough time just getting basic info from DD's school, I don't even try to ask them these types of questions. After weeding through so much bogus info they've given me, I'd be very skeptical of their answers anyway.

Sounds like she's part of Columbia Virtual Academy (CVA). There's another prominent virtual academy here, called WAVA, but I wouldn't recommend it to homeschoolers. They use K-12 (you have no choice but to use the curriculum they give you) and their requirements are much more strict. For example, in CVA I can count field trips as school; in WAVA if you take a day off from the curriculum to go on a field trip, you are marked absent.

From what I know and have seen from the MAP test, I wouldn't expect there to be a big difference in scores between the primary and secondary scores. The biggest difference is suppose to be that the secondary test no longer reads the problem to the child; he has to read it himself. A child working at 2nd or 3rd grade might not even see those more difficult problems on their test at all. If they do get them, and get them wrong, the test will adapt back down to a lower level. When my daughter takes the test, we never see those lower grade level questions because she tests so high. It will be interesting to see how my son's test differs from my daughters. (Since we are at home, I can sit and observe the test.) The way the test works is that every child gets a different set of problems based on how they answer the questions.

I'll post after he tests next Tuesday.

Hi, JoAnn, and welcome!

I wonder if you've seen Judith Wynn Halsted's book, "Some of My Best Friends are Books"? It's meant to guide gifted readers from preschool through high school, with lots of interesting suggestions about forming reading discussion groups, research about bibliotherapy, and so on--and has a fantastic annotated bibliography of books of interest to gifted readers at various ages and stages. Maybe there's something there for your daughter?

peace
minnie

PS--I think I recognize you from the WTM board (where I only lurk)--isn't she doing stop-motion animation, too? Canada's National Film Board archives are gradually being made available online (at www.nfb.ca )--maybe she'd be interested in looking at some of the pioneering work in animation exemplified by the NFB? Norman Mclaren springs to mind...

Yes, I post at WTM. And yes, she just completed her first stop motion clip.


Thanks for the book and website suggestion. I'll go look at them. I wish she wasn't so hard to motivate. I can get her to do the work easy enough but she's not interested or happy about it.

I wonder if CVN would look at her MAP scores with you and make some curriculum suggestion and provide some free materials...might be worth a shot.

As far as gifted summer programs, check with your state gifted association and your local regional talent search. (Does anyone know offhand who does Washington's?) They do financial aid, so it may be worth an application. I know that by age 9, my son was sort of 'teenagerish' and learned much better for other people than for me - I call it 'mental puberty' cause it sure wasn't a physical thing.

Love and More Love,
Grinity