Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school How do I prepare my 2yo for testing?

My 4yo is in a gifted school, which he and I love for its curriculum - he's really blossomed. I am preparing to have my 2yo tested for admission also. My question is, how do I prepare for the test? I AM NOT, repeat NOT, trying to "teach the test" - but I want to make sure we've exposed my 2yo to all the types of information they might ask her. For example, when my 4yo was younger, I realized, OMG I forgot to teach him his colors! He was totally ready to learn them, I just forgot to talk about them. (Hey, maybe I'm not gifted myself.) So again, I'm not going to sit my 2yo down for flash cards every afternoon, but how could I obtain a list of general subject areas they might cover with her? Thank you!

What type of test is the school administering? My DS 3y10m is about to take the WPPSI-III as part of the application procedure for private school. I won�t do any content prep with him. However, I will prepare him for being in a room with a stranger for 30+ minutes. I�ll also make sure he�s slept well and had a good breakfast but that�s it. Shrug.

I do not know what type of test they're administering. Is it reasonable for me to ask the school?

I would say yes, they might not tell you which test, but you could ask if it was iq, achievement, etc....and I would also ask how long your 2 year old is excpected to sit still and if they will take breaks.... My dd is on a 5 year old level cognitively according to her ped and an education specialist, but her attention span and ability to sit still is definitly still that of a 2 and 1/2 year old and she could never sit for a test even if she could answer all the questions.

Good luck!

My dd is going to take an IQ test this Sunday administered by my dh's friend who is obtaining his Masters in Psych.

The attention span is the only thing I'm "concerned" about. She is also about 2 years or so ahead cognitively (told by our Ped too!!) but her attention span is at a normal almost 3.5 year old range.

Yes, you definitely need to know how long it will be, he might need you to bring a snack, for one thing! We did that with our ds' assessment; it was multiple tests and other assessments over about 3 half-days so snacks were in order.

I agree with Chris. Knowing how long the test is helps you plan better (e.g., snacks). I couldn�t pick the time of DS�s test, but I could list preferences. DS is a morning kid. I knew he was more apt to be in a good mood if the test was in the morning rather than the afternoon. About a week before the test I started thinking about what I was going to tell DS. DS likes to know about changes in his routine ahead of time. He also likes honesty. DS would have been upset if I told him he was going to play with the psychologist and that didn�t happen. I won�t get DS�s test results until January (after the school application due date). I�m not sure how he did on the WPPSI yesterday. What I do know is that he went into the test a happy/confident kid and came out the same way. Regardless of the outcome of his scores, I�m glad the testing experience was positive for him. I�m not sure if this helps, but DS was with the psychologist for 30 minutes. This is the amount of time she spends with 3y/o children. DS and the psych came into the waiting room briefly after 15 minutes. The psych told me DS had a question to ask me. The question wasn�t test related. DS wanted to ask me a follow up question about sharks. We�d talked about sharks early that morning. I guess you could say he wasn�t a 100% focused on the test or he�s good at multitasking. ;-)

Welcome, WEH!

Just a few thoughts I had after reading your post...

Did your 4-year-old do this same testing for admission to the school?

Does he remember anything about the process?

Is there any reason to think this test would be different?

Well, I posted above that my dd was going to take a test on Sunday. I haven't gotten the results but she bombed it! She started out so strong then fizzed out after the first "activity". It was the WPPSI-III. She got past the first section with complete ease then didn't do a thing after! I asked her why and she said that she just didn't want to tell him anything anymore!

Oh well. At least the guy got stuff done for his class!!

Okay, I have more information to add to my original question. The school uses the WPPSI-III for kids up to age 6, and for kids as young as my daughter will be (2.5), they do what the school psychologist termed a "30-minute screening" because 2yo's are too young for a more formal test. So my question is, will that screening be some form of the WPPSI-III adapted for younger kids - in other words, does WPPSI offer something like that - or will the school just make up their own screening?