Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment levels of giftedness?

Does anybody get anything more from their school for being Highly gifted? I was just wondering what knowing the level means to a student/parent. Would a gifted class do something different based on the levels of gifted? Are they aware of this information? Would a parent do something different based on the gifted ranking. I just try to keep my son challenged, follow his interests and provide new things to learn if he is interested.

A grade skip is what DS got.

Cathy A- did you just show Ruf's guide/ levels of giftness and show how it applies to your DS and then they felt OK to grade skip?

Hello! Well, after a big pow-wow with the g/t coordinator, principal, and teachers...in third grade, my child did receive two private tutors for half the class day I was armed with Dr. Ruf's book, private testing scores, etc...etc...etc...I think that it helped showing she was a level three, but ultimately I believe that it was her IQ score coupled with various classroom behavior problems that showed she needed something else...The traditional classroom just wasn't doing it anymore. The part in Dr. Ruf's book showing who famously was at each level, caused them to pause...pointing out to them, for example, that Leonardo da Vinci was a level three like my DD...Her characteristics of being very visual-spatial etc...are very much on with his. Overall, I believe showing her level helped "paint the picture" but no, if I only had that to go on, and not the IQ score or other observations, I know she wouldn't have received the tutors. Good luck with everything!

I didn't use Ruf's guide during our advocacy at all. I don't think our school would have been receptive to the largely anecdotal nature of the book. I did use A Nation Deceived, and my son's IQ scores. I talked about the reasons that a skip would be beneficial to him and why it is important for his emotional development to be appropriately challenged.

Ultimately, I think they made the decision to skip him because it was the easiest way for them to address the issue. They felt that subject acceleration and/or differentiated classwork would be too complicated, and would single him out. With a full skip he is completely integrated into the new grade.