Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment IQ tests for young children

Yeah, sorry. I don't mean to go off on a tangent or anything. But testing (at an appropriate age) was so vital to our family, I wanted to be sure that I said something.

Carry on!

I agree there is a quandary as to whether to test, and once you get the results for a very young child, whether to believe results, high or low. I have been concerned for dd, now 4, since her brother was not tested early, and we did definitely run into issues with school fit, some minor ld, etc in first grade. I wanted to do more proactively for dd4, and started looking into some different schools. Almost any option seems to have the prerequisite of testing, so I have finally made that leap. The wppsi is pretty short (<1 hour for a 4 yr old) and that alone would make one have to suspect it's long term reliability, so I'm definitely prepared to take any results with a grain of salt.

Gratified3 - But do you think the IQ tests showed you something needed to be done? Even if it didn't say what needed to be done?

I didn't know anything about IQ testing and such when I took DSthen7 to see a psychologist after MISERABLE 2yrs in school complaining of boredom and watching his personality change for the worse. Looking back, he was certainly depressed. The psych administered an IQ test and I was shocked. It was a wake up call for me that I needed to be more proactive. The psych didn't offer achievement testing so that hasn't been done. His Explore scores support the scores as well as his SCAT scores and he has high achievement scores on MAP test. With each piece of new data I think "HHmm maybe that IQ test wasn't a fluke." Like Dottie says, I think it's a picture that develops over time in that midrange of high IQ. For those kids who the second you meet them, you just know. There is a boy like that here. He's 10-11yrs old and in an online highschool. The minute you meet this kid, you just know.

Thanks for the link ColinsMom, that was an interesting read.

I do think in general, we place too much stock on IQ tests. This is not to write, that they can not be useful, they can be, but they are only a piece of the puzzle. More, I like consistent achievement tests plus just what is this kid like in real life factor?

I do think more of a problem is the cut offs for some gifted programs is an issue. We have a program near us that is using only the WISC, which they administer, to determine their cut off. Crazy! It is like the article that ColinsMom posted, something like only half of the top 3% on one test are likely to be in the same top 3% on another test. It is obvious they are going to miss some gifted students with this approach.

More in general, I wish, we had a lowering of gifted cutoffs for programs, with a shift of focus to more individualised learning instead of the current, in many schools cookie cutter approach to regular as well as gifted programs. If we could do that, we would be less interested in the IQ numbers and more focused on meeting the unique educational needs of each child.

There is at least one public school, that I know that is doing Portfolio plus Interviews as a cut off as opposed to just tests. In fact that program has no stated cut offs, it is more interested in how does the student present themselves both verbally as well as on paper.

This method, I do think is helpful to both parents who can not afford extensive testing, or for kids that dont test well. In that school, they do have, for the bulk of their courses, a very individualized curriculum. However that school is very much as it stands in the minority in its philosophy. In terms of $$$ and cents, I am guessing this school is cheaper to run that many gifted education programs.

Yes I totally agree!! I think it's more about personality than it is about IQ, but I did find IQ information helpful and I'm very glad I had him tested. Yet, even though he's not way out there compared to most kids on this board, he was totally miserable in school whereas many kids here are fine in PS w/ accommodations. However, our district offers NO accommodations. They offer a pullout which is about creativity development but that's it. The district is also very into lock-step for all students and I had inside recommendation that it wasn't the right environment for my son. Now a friend lives in a different state, near a major university and my son would love school there. So you can't say kid w/ IQ of 145 won't do well in PS...you have to look at the personality of the kid, the environment of the school. Some kids are ferocious learners and need to be learning, learning, learning ... other kids are fine w/ living inside their head, love the social aspects of school, and do their learning outside or else are just content w/ grade level even though IQ and achievement says they are capable of so much more. I think IQ is just one small piece to the puzzle.

I guess for many IQ doesn't tell you anything you didn't already know....for me, it was eye-opening. And every bit of data that comes in, continues to be eye-opening b/c I see him as a normal, average kid who drives me insane w/ his sensitivities.

dazey

I think Gratified3 brought up some very interesting points about what works right for individual learners. My kid also hit for example 160 on the WIAT in Maths, she has her WIAT normed to two grades above herself, so I feel that it was a reasonably fair result.

My kid is so most of the time, not interested in maths, that it is almost painful, as a parent to watch. However, at school, my child is working at seven grades above herself in maths. In fact, the only way, I have really found to get my child to do maths, which she obviously doesnt find that difficult is to offer various forms of "incentive programs"! Such as, when you are finished with HS maths, then if you want too, you probably never have to study maths again. She *loves* that idea!

What an IQ / Achievement Test can not accurately capture is my child's in the main complete lack of interest in maths, nor does it show how she can rapidly progress through her school's maths curriculum. She does, in fact, blow off some tests if she isnt in the mood. Nor do they reflect, that in the future, her same age pals, that do enjoy in maths and are prepared to work hard at maths, will most likely surpass my dd's mathematical abilities.

Interesting quote.


How do you cultivate thought and not glibness?

Dazey -- I completely agree with you. My ds's test results were eye-opening as well.

We knew ds was bright but didn't know *how* bright. And obviously the available tests don't differentiate between *really* how bright (especially in our situation -- ds tested at 5.5 with the WPPSI -- not ideal).

But I didn't quite realize why he was so miserable in school. I knew he was smart. I didn't realize he was 99.9 percentile smart. And even if he doesn't "stay" 99.9 percentile smart on future IQ tests, his WPPSI certainly gave me the impetus to do something right then instead of trying to tough out full-day K with no accommodations.

So would ds8 (tomorrow!) score lower if tested today? Maybe -- I honestly have no idea. Possibly. It really doesn't matter, though, does it, if he's getting appropriate work at school -- and the original testing made me realize he needed something different?

Happy birthday, DS8! Can you believe my two are nearly 6 and 9? How time has flown!