Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment How & where to test for DYS?

Hello,

I am considering having my 12 year old (6th grade) son tested to see if he qualifies for DYS. He qualified for CTY with honors in both math and verbal. Unfortunately, CTY uses the SCAT so it looks like we'd have to take both the Explore and an IQ test.

I went to the Explore website but it says you need to go through a school. We homeschool, so that option is out. Are there any other options for taking the Explore test independantly?

I've read that it's sometimes possible to take an IQ test at a local college for less money than going through a psychologist. Would anyone know how I can find such a college? Would anyone know of a college in Southern California that offers testing?

Thanks in advance!

Dottie, thanks for the feedback. You gave me food for thought. Perhaps I should have him take the SAT...but wait until next year so we can do a little test prep first. Then I could have him take the SAT through CTY to qualify for their 7th/8th grade programs as well as try out for DYS. Kill two birds with one stone.

Is there any advantage to applying sooner than later?

Unfortunately, I don't know what kinds of things we could put in a portfolio that would be DYS caliber. He is into programming a Lego NXT robot, does speed cubing, reads adult books on DNA for fun, etc. but those kinds of things don't seem like portfolio fodder.

Any other ideas?

Thank you!

IMHO, they are all exactly portfolio fodder. DYS will say they 'need more info' if they do, so give them what you have as soon as you have it.

Take the SATs 'cold' now, and then take them again next year. It's nice to see them grow. There isn't any downside to NOT waiting. You will have more info if your son takes the SATs cold, because the original group took them back in the day when no one prepped.

Enjoy the ride,
Grinity

Did someone mention that it's easier to get into SET if you haven't had your 13th birthday yet?

My first ever dumb question:

What is SET?

Thank you Dottie. I always learn something when I stop by.

When I was asking about portfolio information DYS told me that a video of my son would be a good option for one of the three things. We took a video of him with his Independent Study kids, doing lego stuff, answering science questions, playing above age games, etc... Since we homeschool I included a selection of work for one week, like the packet we turn into the IS program, as another portfolio item. We included a copy of his NaNowriMo novel from this past November for the third item.

Thanks, everyone. I am thinking about the options. Ds sometimes doesn't test well, so that is why I was thinking of having him do prep first. Although he qualified for CTY, I am not sure he can reach DYS or SET scores.

Thanks for the feedback on portfolios, wyldkat!

My eldest dd, too, has a lot of test anxiety which is currently playing out in the form of having her refuse to do any test prep whatsoever including not even looking at the example book that SAT sends with your ticket -- kiddo drives me nuts!

I don't know how she did on the SAT this year in that she just recently took it, but I did want to mention that taking it this year could be viewed as "test prep" as well for a child who doesn't always test well. It would give him an opportunity to see what the real test is like and then when he does it next year again, he'll have that experience under his belt. Like others have mentioned, there is no harm to taking it this year b/c the scores get purged from his record with ETS at the end of the year since he isn't a high school student yet. No one ever has to see them if you don't want.

Thanks, Dottie. I would actually prefer him to take an IQ test but can't afford it...which is why my original post asked if anyone had ideas on where we could have it done for less money. (I hear it's $250 and up?)