Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment When do you test?

I'm sure this question has been asked and answered many times before, but I'm wondering when you should start testing your child in general.

DD4 has been in preschool this year -- a Montessori-like pre-k that has been really good for her. She has perfectionism issues and will often not even attempt to write letters, but school has helped with that. She will go to pre-k next year (she just turned 4 in January) and then off to school after that.

She began reading at age 3 and now reads at a 1st-2nd grade level at least (I'm not sure about reading levels so if anyone has any resource for this, that would be great). She does simple math problems. Her memory is unbelievable and she learns VERY quickly.

I know it's a little early since she still has another year of preschool ahead of her, but I think it would be best if DD skipped K when the time comes. I'd like to start preparing myself now if possible. What test is usually required for this? This is unknown territory for me since DD4 is my oldest. I was thinking of contacting the local university to see if any graduate psychology students could administer a test for free -- anyone have experience with this?

I probably wouldn't test until she was closer to 5-yrs-old since from what I've read, it seems the older the child, the more accurate the results. And I don't want to test too soon before Kindergarten. However, if I can get some graduate psych students to administer a free test, I thought about having it done a couple of times so DD can get comfortable in that situation (she gets shy about reading/writing/math in front of others and I fear she'd score low because of this).

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions??

Thank you!

Each S.D. should have its own rules regarding early entrance. In some SD it is flat out impossible, no way around it. Others have clear policies that might consist of a combination of factors: only a few months younger than required, some measure of IQ and achievement, social readiness, physical screenings (like skipping, balancing), etc.

I would look at your SD and see what their policies and programs are for gifted kids.

Skipping K might be good for some gifted kids, but it is not a good idea for others. Frequently K teachers are more used to differentiating since they can get kids not knowing letters and others already reading, same for other items. K can be more fun and open ended while 1st can be very rigid. In those instances, skipping 1st might be a better option.

an IQ test will not involve any reading or math (that would be achievement testing).

You can't have her repeat the test, because it loses validity. Many recommend waiting at least 1 year between tests, others even more.

A good tester should give her time and make her feel comfortable answering questions. I know many shy kids who did great on testing if the tester respects them and gives them some time.

I think that in many cases, testing as close as possible to Kindergarten entry as possible is a good idea. In some cases, it has to be done earlier to go with the early entrance procedures or private school's deadlines. The summer before entry could be a good time, you'd then set up a meeting to discuss results with the principal before class assignments are made. But, many principals are not even open to that.

i only tested when the schools we wanted to go to needed it. the kids went to a gifted pre-school which did it's own informal assessment. then for K they needed it so each child was tested at about age 4.5. We are retesting DS8 and DD6 because we are applying to new schools and they need current testing. FOr some schools that means within 1 year and some it's within 2 years.