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I sent in my daughter�s grade level test along with a copy of the registration and our email inquiry (with their answer).

I didn�t have the scores sent to my son�s school last year and did not elect that option for any test this year. The school did not initiate the talent search in any way. I learned of them through this board and the YS program last year.

I did share the results of both his SB-5 and EXPLORE (taken last year) with his math teacher and the assistant principle in an effort for collaboration and in hopes of continued math subject acceleration which was really not well supported by most of the grade school level staff despite his success and need. The junior high math teacher and his 6th grade homeroom teacher seem far more laid back about his schedule this year.

BTW, we declined the offer for him to skip 6th grade because the academics and organizational requirements really kick off in 6th grade at this particular school. He does very well academically, but socially, he is far more comfortable with the soon to graduate 8th grade students (in his math class).

Thank you delbows! I'll send in the same things for my DS.

I'd never heard of talent searches until a month or so ago on this board. I'm very interested to see how this all turns out. Thanks for your help and I hope your kids' testing goes well!

Dottie,

Yes, DS is taking the EXPLORE in Jan and the ACT in April. I didn�t learn until a couple weeks ago that he was eligible for either the SAT or ACT through MATS. My preference would be the SAT as it seems more intuitive and less dependent on an advanced education than the ACT. The dates just did not work out for the SAT, so we will see what happens. He is not intimidated by an academic challenge, and may surprise us.

I think that DD�s grade level may be DS�s true academic peer group (3 years older, so you can relax about your DS�s situation). They finally publicized the school national standardized test results for the first time. It is no wonder I have always found DD�s class to be a perfect fit for her. The 8th grade average for the ITBS is the 85th percentile composite score, while DD�s composite landed at the 86th percentile (at one year young). Perfect fit!!! Unfortunately, DS�s composite falls at the 96th percentile (while quite literally hitting the ceiling in math and science) in comparison to his 6th grade average composite of the 75th percentile. His Explore results verify that he has drastically above grade level ability in all four subtests (for a talent search participant). I still second guess whether we did the right thing by keeping him with his grade.

DS got the EXPLORE packet today. If you haven't received yours yet, you should get it very soon.

We got our Explore packet in the mail, finally!!! I looked over the material, blocked out the right answers and had DD take the test. She did well, only missed one math question. She said "now I'm glad I did the Challenge Math book over the summer", LOL. She also liked the science portion, because I wasn't all facts and detail memorization, but more looking at charts and figures. Now she is very excited to take the test on Saturday. Anyone else's DD or DS taking it this weekend?

Hi Dottie,

Thanks for the wishes!!! What are the impressions/comments your children told you after the test? DD9 was so excited to take a test "you can't fail" as we have referred to it, LOL. DD thought the science was the easiest portion, didn't know all of the math material but could narrow some of them down to 1 or 2 answers. I was afraid she would run out of time, but she said she finished ahead of time and had some time to review answers.

I am so glad we decided to do this regardless of end result. She feels so confident and this has reduced her test anxiety, not added to it. I hope everyone else had a great experience.

I think if we were to repeat this test, we will choose another testing location, though. This was an urban area, and I didn't feel too safe driving to the location. The staff were very nice once we got there, but the drive there was a little scary for me....

Dottie,

I loved reading your kids impressions. Sorry about your car... How funny for your DS to avoid using scrap paper. DD stated science as the easiest probably because it's her favorite. Maybe she found it more interesting than reading and it "felt" easier.

As far as results, was it closer to 6 weeks last year? They told us 4-6 weeks and I am hoping we would get results before our spring conferences which are at the 4.5 week mark for us. You are correct, I have no idea what to expect, since DD has only done 3rd grade achievement last year. What do you hope to see or achieve with the repeat of the Explore? Their booklet suggested repeating the test under certain circumstances. I would have thought they would be happy to get "repeat customers"

I thought that too. I would think there would be a lot of ceiling issues on the Explore, at least for PG-ish 6th graders. Isn't the ceiling 25? We chose the ACT this year because of that (DS is in 6th and could have done either) and, at least on his practice test DS got at or over 25 on 3 of the 4 subtests (all but math) and that was several months ago and I know there are kids who are ahead of DS (not at his school, but in general).

Do most the talent searches recommend ACT or SAT for 6th graders? For us, it's optional, but I think most do that instead of retaking the Explore.

Thanks for letting me know. I am with you wishing for 4 weeks.BTW I re-read your edited post earlier today and don't worry about how you thought it may come across. I knew exactly what you meant. We know our children's capabilities and want the similar to show on paper. Since I will be advocating for acceleration in math (at least) I hope this would help DH and I when approaching our school.