Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment IAS Question

That is exactly what I hope to do tomorrow.

I actually am surprised how high my dd scored on the IAS considering she only has points in the group-administered section of the test. I mean even missing scores in two of the academic ability, aptitude, and achievement section she still falls in the good candidate section.

I am still going to run to staples and make copies for everyone there and see if they would be willing to fill it out. I will also bring in one we have filled out. Like I said it isn't 100% valid the way it would be if we had the other testing done, but it still gives and idea. Maybe it will also convince them to administer one of the tests in the school too. I would love for them to do that so we can get another view of what she is doing. I find the more we really look into with her, the more we are floored by what she is doing. I almost feel bad for how much we underestimated her and we are with her all the time. The fact that she was capable of what she did in the math section when she was tested by Northwestern was a shock. We hadn't introduced her to any of that so it was totally self taugh.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Well, we are back from the meeting. It started out with them telling us all the wonderful things they do in 5th, 6th and other upper grades in their gifted program. I explained that our concern is what will be done in 1st grade etc. The coordinator kept going back to the gaps that could have an impact on her grades in Algebra etc.

I said well I student taught 1st grade and taught third so I am confused as to what she could miss in first grade that would impact her in Algebra. She then gave examples that had to do with kids skipping 4th or 5th grade. I then explained how that didn't pertain to our dd. It was a lot of this talking in circles and them talking about the one area they feel dd isn't more than one year advanced...writing. That b/c she is so low in writing compared to math/reading they don't know that she would be sucessful in 3rd grade if she skipped.

They then gave us a program they are going to start doing now that will be how it would work if she was in first grade next year. We are doing a 4-6 week trial and then meeting again to see how we feel it is working. They are also going to retest her with the higher level of the map. If we are not satisfied they will call a meeting with the board and we will have to give them our case to grade advancement with dd and they will decide. She did say it most likely wouldn't be done. They currently do not have a program in place to properly evaluate children and would have a "snowball" of parents coming in to have their children advanced. I said that is why they should use the IAS and they would be able to justify every child they advance. Guess what, she was going to look into the IAS and speak with the super...um, wait didn't you tell me you used it for the gifted program? Hmmm, I guess you don't know anything about it. This is my big frustration with this school district they say things at one meeting/phone call and then pretend like it was never said or change what is said. Is this common?

Unfortunately, I don't think it's uncommon. After each phone call/meeting, I suggest you send a brief letter or email that acknowledges (in a nice, polite way, of course) your understanding from the conversation. You may want to cc: someone in authority as well, although I guess that depends on who's working on the situation....

"Dear Ms. X, thank you for meeting with me to discuss DD's current situation. I was happy to hear that you are familiar with the IAS and look forward to reviewing it with you to determine whether a grade skip seems like the appropriate decision for DD...."

I think a lot of folks here have heard from some administrator that it's unlikely that a grade skip will be approved, only to have their DC grade skipped shortly thereafter. Keep your hopes up, and don't let them off the hook.

Wishing you the best!

I'm sorry that you got the run around. We had a few meetings like this. For us, persistence did eventually pay off.

I think that any time you are presenting something that's never been done before, you've got an uphill battle. But we have found that once the teachers finally believe you (oh, yeah, I guess this kid is different), then things start to change. The trial run might be a good opportunity.

We also face issues with writing, which prevented the old school from advancing our DS in math (we moved to an HG school midyear, which doesn't see that as an impediment but simply something to work on).

You never know, the school might surprise you in a good way. Maybe when they become familiar with the IAS and how it really makes the decision making process easier, they will embrace it.

Good luck!

This is excellent advice. I would also add that whenever you give something such as a portfolio to the school, you make copies of what you've given and also send a follow-up email mentioning that you dropped it off. Although I failed to make copies, I dug out an old email that helped me when the school GT coordinator said that she never received the portfolio (which I had handed to her!)

In my experience, it is very common. I think many parents find this so frustrating that they just give up which makes it easier for the schools. I'm sorry that you are dealing with this. I think if you really think a skip is necessary, you have to keep working and working for it.

See... I knew that was what they would say... we will have a hundred people lined up at the door asking for the same...... We got the same concern.... but, luckily, that was covered in the IAS and I pointed it out to them

Don't worry, like I said, we were a first also, and we got our way in the end. It is an uphill battle, but stay strong, be knowledgable, polite, but, tactfully assertive and you really can move mountains. Don't let the fact that it's never been done deter you. Find out what your state policy is and even look into talking to an educational advisor at the state level and see what they can do to help your case. The school is hoping you aren't aware that such things exist!

Not sure if this helps you or not...

http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/Resources/Policy/By_State/Default.aspx

Thank you everyone. I felt very discouraged when I first posted. I went and ate dinner and relaxed a little and feel better. I am not going to give up. I will go in front of the board if that is what it takes.

I actually gave them a lot of material on our dd(a portfolio) tons of research on acceleration, the IAS, states with funding that use the IAS and acceleration, and districts in our area in our no funding no mandate state(red lucky us) that also impliment successful programs.

The principal(who I feel is in our corner) said she was actually astonished by how much they are lacking and how much she is lacking in knowledge of gifted education. I feel that she actually was interested in introducing new things to the school. I don't know what will happen and when, but I am happy that I am exposing them to something.

I will be optimistic that the new plan will be great and I am holding them accountable for not only reporting weekly on what activities were done, but I want to see records and want a communication journal. This way if we go to the board we can say it didn't work b/c of x,y,z and here is what they were doing, how often they were doing it.

I am going to take the advice about relaying our conversations in emails so I can keep records, just to prove to myself I am not nuts when they change their tune.

Thanks for all the advice from everyone. This site is truly a savior!!