Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Overwhelmed. Question about testing

Ok - My daughter just turned 4 - so this is a moot point for Davidson Young Scholars at this point, but she is so bright that I know we will test to see if she can get in next year.

I'm confused/concerned about these tests. I know nothing (zero) about them. Clearly my daughter can read, and understands concepts like alliteration, photosynthesis, and democracy (sorry, voting day was yesterday haha!) Anyway - the point is that she is exceptionally bright and everyone that knows her knows this (not my imagination thank you very much!)

Anyway - she is shy around new people, and I think throwing her into a test where she doesnt know the person would be a bit unsettling to her, as she is quite highly sensitive. So how does that work? What are your opinions about testing so young and which test to do and how much do they cost? Ok - whew. I know, its a lot, but she is still only 4 and I'm not sure what to do at this point.

What if she doesnt make the cut - THEN what do I do with this brilliant little soul?

Thanks in advance.

Lydiasmommy

Hi, Lydiasmommy!

We looked for a tester who had a lot of experience with young children. A professional will probably be able to put your child at ease and develop a good rapport... this doesn't always happen, but you may be able to get a sense of the person and whether your daughter would be likely to be comfortable when you go in for an initial consultation. I would be upfront with the tester that you are looking for an evaluation for giftedness.

Testing costs can vary quite a bit depending on where you live and how extensive the evaluation is. We paid several hundred dollars for IQ and achievement tests which were administered on separate days.

If you are trying to find out if your child would qualify for the YS program, make sure you review the list of tests which they accept. For a 5 year old, the most commonly used test would be the WPPSI-III.

If she doesn't make the cut? You always have the option of retesting in the future. Any test score is just a snapshot of your child on a particular day. It's not a number stamped on her brain at birth Davidson offers some nice services, but there are many other resources available for gifted kids of all types and their families. This bulletin board is one of them!

Here's another good resource to get you started:

http://davincilearning.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/oh-no-my-kid-might-be-gifted-where-do-i-start/

Cathy

Hi lydiasmommy and welcome to the board. First it isn't too earlier to think about your game plan and look at the possibilities. Does your DD (darling daughter) go to school now and have you looked into the different programs in your area?

My DD will be turning 4 in another week or so but we still hesitate to test her because she can be very shy with strangers. She is getting better but I still don't know if a test right now would give us a true picture of her abilities. But testing before age 8 is not advisable unless you are looking for entrance into a program such as the DYS or early entrance into Kindergarten or even a possible gifted program. BTW if she doesn't make the cut it doesn't mean that there aren't options for your child. DYS is for the 99.9% child but this doesn't mean a child isn't in the highly gifted range and will still need support and even possible skips during their education career.

I think every parent who calls me for testing worries about how their child will react to the new situation. It's part of the job, to set a kid at ease and help them engage in the process. And the tests are designed to be interesting and appealing to kids. Usually, my experience has been that kids enjoy the process. I generally orient them to it myself. If you click on "I'm worried that my child won't like it" here, you can see a bit about that...

http://www.davincilearning.org/services/assessment.html

But the fact is, there's no requirement that you test a kid the minute they're old enough. There's no requirement that you test a kid at all. It's okay. You test when you have a question that can be answered by testing.

Regardless, it sounds like you've got a bright kiddo there! You're doing the right thing by joining in the GT community. Whether she qualifies for DYS or not, you're still likely to need a lot of support and connection and ideas and space to talk without being accused of bragging.

Hi Lydiasmommy,

We had our daughter tested when she was just over 4 for school selection purposes. My daughter did the SB5 and for the first 3/4 really enjoyed herself from the bit I could overhear. My daughter is also shy and slow to warm up to people, but I did choose a tester very experienced with gifted kids and I think that made a difference.

What we did find though was that at the 3/4 mark, she hit the wall with test fatigue, with 2 subtests to go. She had either reached the ceiling (and in some cases could have gone further if the test allowed) or was a point off for all her subtests to this point. Then she just stopped cooperating (I heard her yell "I sharn't!" - nice!) and the scores on her last two subtests dropped substantially. She still scored very highly and was one point off DYS level but the tester believes her results underestimate her ability because of what occurred. I think had we left it even a few months more dd would have had more stamina. I guess what I am saying is if you do need to test early, still try and leave it as late as you can (and that with a good tester shyness hopefully wont be an issue!)

I'm a parent who hasn't tested my kids due to cost. Local GT psychs have cornered the market where I am and it would likely cost my a few thousand dollars to really test both kids. At this point, I'm pretty sure my 9yo would test into DYS if given the opportunity. We had to pull him out of public school after 1st grade to homeschool. There is an active GT community in our area. So, it is not a big deal to us. DYS can be great socially and it might be a helpful label at some schools. But I don't think it's the only option for very gifted children. If test scores fell into my lap (and they might depending on achievement testing we are required to do for homeschooling), we'd apply. But if not, we're ok! My kids appear globally gifted and through my own reading and research, I feel like I have a good handle on where we are. I was not tested as a child either (or even IDed GT), so I don't feel a pressing need to have numbers. I have enough achievement data over several years on my oldest to see where he is.

You might want to put off testing until you absolutely need the data. Accuracy at 4 is still widely variable. Especially for kids who don't want to show their stuff for new people (my 6 year old is still like this!). Maybe you do need it now to shoot for early entrance? Only you know for sure, but just know whatever scores you get are a snapshot. It's one piece of data, and you will probably continue to get useful data as your child grows. My oldest hit the ceiling of a GT screener at kindergarten, but now 3 years and several achievement tests later, I have a fuller picture. Good luck!

Amen to that!!!

We did not even look at DYS for DS6.5, and though I don't recall test scores, etc, off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure he doesn't qualify. And I am OK with that. The support here, however, is still fantastic!

To the original poster, you DD might be shy when she's with you around new people, as is my DS... but he just got on the bus himself, for the first day of school and didn't want me at all... shy, when he's with peers and without me, he is not. So your DD may not be as shy as you think!

"You test when you have a question that can be answered by testing."

One of the most simple and wise things I have read about when and why to test.

If you need to test for school admissions and you get to select the instrument (i.e. the school doesn't make you use a particular test), then it def. keep in mind the DYS list of accepted tests.

Maybe if you shared why you need to test, you would get some insights about what sort of tests might be the most useful. I know that I now wish I had focused more on achievement testing and less on IQ.

Best, Cat