Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Newbie - Questions to ask School Psych re: WISC IV

I am new to this forum but need some guidance from those of you more experienced. We are meeting w/school psychologist tomorrow night re: 8yo DS WISC IV scores. New school psych asked to test him based on 99th % MAP scores, (FINALLY, by the way, 3rd year in a row for these MAP scores). We've been asking for some help from them and are incredibly frustrated. Private school, no gifted program. School psych told me last week that he's "around 140". What specifics should we ask for? The school has always seemed very reluctant to release info. Thanks to all in advance for any guidance!

Other than MAP, no testing I am aware of; they do ERB in May. The only feedback I have received so far is from my DS who said he went "as far as he could go" on sequencing and digit span, which was (sort of) verified by the school psych after I questioned her. At the same time, she let me know that for some reason he scored lower than she expected on either comprehension or general knowledge. The former school psych gave him the KBIT(?) in PK but said she couldn't score him because the answers he gave weren't exactly wrong but weren't the "expected" responses. Do we need the MAP scores as well? The school seems to feel that they are academically advanced enough and don't need to offer gifted options. We are seriously considering switching schools at the end of this year. Thank you so much for all your help.

I was just wondering if, in addition to the breakdown of all the WISCIV subtests, we need to get scores (if there are any) from his MAP testing. They have done MAP testing for 3 years and they tell us he's in the 99th % every year, but we've never seen any sort of number score. They told us that MAP was an assessment test and I'm just trying to make sure I get everything I need in order to research on my own so that we can get him in the proper school. We are also dealing with some issues of older kids making fun of him. The school psych okayed him to go to the 4/5/6 grade "math club" (extracurricular) but after his 2nd time, he never wanted to go back because the older kids were teasing him. He's the youngest in his 3rd grade class as well so he's the smallest boy. We have been asking for at least math differentiation for 3 years, which the school touts as one of their strengths - "meeting kids at their own level" but we have not experienced that in the classroom. We don't entirely blame the teachers because we don't think they are very well-equipped to handle gifted students. Part of the reason we chose that school was the possible differentiation and small (14) class size. Their solution has typically been to send extra work home and allow him to do higher grade level math on IXL, again at home. They really don't teach him anything new. In fact, they are having him tutor his classmates, which isn't really benefiting him very much if at all. He's bored stiff all the time at school and rushes through assignments so quickly that he's starting to miss easy problems/questions on all subjects. Last night he was assigned 15 minutes on IXL. He chose a 6th grade level section on decimals and decided to "test" it. He put in leading zeros, the decimal point, the correct answer, and more zeros, and although his answer was mathematically correct (we checked), IXL marked it wrong. I see where he's going and I'm concerned that if we don't challenge him now, we'll be in trouble soon! Again, thank you. Sorry for the lengthy reply; as you can tell, I am frustrated!

Definitely put your request to the school psychologist in writing. Ethically, he/she is bound to release them unless he/she sees a danger in doing so. By law, the school must release the scores/profile to the parent if it is requested.

The school psychologist should have done a report that summarized the findings- ask for that, too.

I'm curious if this is a public school or a private school. If this is a public school, then are there 'other choices' in your public school system?
Is homeschooling an option?
Love and More Love,
Grinity

Private school. We've looked into our local public schools as well, both the one he would attend based on where we live and one in a nearby city, both with GT programs. It so happens that 4 of our neighbors are public school teachers and only one of them has advised me to look into her school; the other 3 have told me it would be a mistake to send him to their particular GT program for various reasons. We considered homeschooling a few years ago but he was very shy and timid, and we were advised by his PK teacher to continue attending school at the time. He has since totally blossomed, LOVES his friends, so we feel it was a good decision. His closest friend (also gifted) left this year to attend a private school w/GT program and they are very happy. They left for the same reasons. We are looking into that school even though it's further away; another friend (not gifted) has applied to that school as well. We visited the school and are impressed with their GT program. They carefully accelerate each student based on individual testing and emotional readiness. The school has counselors, paraprofessionals, teachers, etc. trained in gifted education, though that's just a small part of their total population. What we really like about it is that when students reach the junior high level academically, the gifted counselor prepares an individual curriculum tailored to each student. I have asked around and it appears they actually do what they say they will do. We'll see. Suggestions?

Dottie, I'm embarrassed to say I don't know how far past the 99th % he is. I will find out. Thanks for alerting me!

I can see having these problems in public schools, but your are paying them. Why all the secrets? Why are they not forthcoming with information? The school should send home a MAP report each time your child takes the test (which in most districts is a minimum of 2 times a year). NWEA (the company that does the MAP test) creates a Student Progress Report and I get it each time my child takes the MAP. It is an especially useful tool to monitor your child's growth. I would suspect that your child is in the 99% above his grade level. The MAP score is based on a RIT number that correspondence to a %. So, if you can get his RIT, you can go to the NWEA website and get the conversion chart and see for yourself.

Sounds like a wonderful school - I would suggest: a car pool!
awesome!

Met w/school psych last night. We will get something in writing next week, as we ran out of time in our meeting and will meet again next week. Suffice to say, understanding this is a daunting task! Here's what we know...hope it makes more sense to you than it does to us.
FSIQ 138
PRI 139/99.5%
WMI 148/99.9%
PSI 126/96%
VCI 110/75%

She said he would need another test if we want to get MORE details re: WMI, as he hit the ceiling at 19. She did say that the VCI score could be due to a couple things - whether or not he was really tired of the testing and just stopped trying or (and this is our opinion as well as hers) what his experiences have been. She gave us an example, though not an actual question from the test, and we knew immediately why he answered the way he did. When we explained to her, she understood too, but that doesn't change the test result. With the 138 FSIQ, he's good to go into most gifted programs here in Ohio, so should we worry? She doesn't seem to think so - she says he's sheltered and we need to let him grow up, that his responses in the VCI showed "immaturity". Thoughts anyone?
PS - on the MAP score issue - she doesn't think we need to know any scores because they are something the TEACHERS use, not parents. We may pursue this further.