Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment EXPLORE results in...

We did ours through Duke in January and received them on Saturday. Very pleased, especially considering she did not finish Math and Science, but curious as to how to use these to advocate for differentiated instruction. Our school district is very "test" oriented and mainly teaches to the state test. Although identified, my DD is not allowed to move ahead in the curriculum. Wondering if her scores would make them pay attention?

You might want to take a look at this chart which has info on what scores are considered "gifted" on above level tests by grade level of the tester. If her scores are at or significantly above the gifted cut point, they may help with advocacy.

The 2010 data from the regional talent searches is still available online as well, but I'm not seeing much 2011 data out yet. Seeing how she compared to other talent search kids throughout the country also might help in determining how much the scores will work for advocacy. As much of the 2010 data as I can find is near the bottom of this page.

Has anyone gotten Feb. test scores already or are these just Jan. scores about which you all are posting?

Hello!
I'm new to this forum (just registered today after getting results from Explore test)
We had E tested and she scored between 80th and 99th percentiles on the Explore for everything except math.

We have never had her IQ tested, but she was consistently scoring in the 98-99th percentile on grade level tests so her principal last year recommended the Explore test.

Her highest score (99) was in the Rhetoric portion of the Explore test. I'm wondering:
1. Are there programs in Rhetoric for gifted kids that any of you know of and
2. Should we/ Do we need to get her IQ tested for those programs, and
3. Should we worry about her math scores being lower than the other scores on the Explore test? Or might that be lack of algebra training?

Thanks for your help!
Sarah

EandBMom -
Welcome!
From what I understand, the rhetorical skills questions are part of the English section of the Explore. Supposedly it tests the more intuitive skills in writing, not necessarily the mechanics. So, maybe you could explore an on-line writing class for your daughter, or a language class (Greek/Latin?)

If her overall scores qualify, I would suggest the Gifted Learning Links from Northwestern University. There are on-line classes that are self-paced (I'm only familiar with one of the science classes, but you could check out the writing classes or other humanities classes).

http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/gll/courses/

Thanks, twomoose! I will check those out. I had tried to get E to take a short Chinese class last year, but she balked.

She isn't a risk taker (thinks she isn't smart...).

An online class might be the right first step for her.

Cricket2,

I think they are all from the January date.

EandBMom, hopefully the scores will help convince her that she is in fact smart!

Hi,

I'm new here. My 10 year old homeschooled daughter took the Explore test in January because we thought it might be a good experience for her to do a "fill in the bubbles" test. Her results are much higher than I expected (except in the math section where she seems to have gotten confused and given up). Will the analysis NUMATS has promised us clarify what her results mean? Despite her math score, her results and composite score are good enough to help qualify her for the Young Scholars program. Would this mean that she is profoundly gifted? Or not necessarily? She's certainly quite bright, but since we homeschool and hang out with a lot of gifted kids, I don't have much feel for what "normal" is, KWIM?

I apologize if I've put this in the wrong forum. I wasn't sure where it would belong.

Thanks!

Welcome, Fern!

Congratulations on your daughter's results. The data given by the talent searches (NUMATS and others) can give you some perspective. It sounds like you already found DYS cutoffs, so that gives you some idea of the level of giftedness. I've never been comfortable with the "profoundly gifted" label despite my kids' scores qualifying for DYS - maybe that's just me. I think the scores help as a piece of the profile of an unusual learner - very high scores, precocious achievement, and often an internal drive. I found that the scores were consistent with what teachers and other adults were observing about my kids. Maybe the scores will help you plan her curriculum, or qualify her for on-line classes I mentioned above.

I just registered on this board, too, after receiving Explore scores for my 10-year-old ds yesterday.

My ds did horrible in math and, oddly enough, not great in English. But his science score and reading score were both decent.

He is "gifted" in Science and Reading, according to this chart http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?Page=3&TopicRelationID=961&Content=89304,but he falls short on all areas in the DYS qualifications chart.

Is it normal to be SO across the board? Now I'm worried about his math skills, and I'm confused about his English scores! He's only in 4th grade. As we move forward, should I look for enrichment opportunities in Reading/Science, where he clearly excels, or find courses in Math/Grammar to help him improve in those subjects?

He is my oldest, and we're new at this! I'm proud he took the Explore test. He was not phased by any of it - took it all in stride.

Another new member here. We got Explore results for my DD (4th grade) yesterday as well. We tested through NUMATS.

I was surprised by her results. I've always considered DD to be MG, but based on the results, I'm wondering if I should consider her HG instead. She met the DYS criteria, but I don't think she falls into the PG range.

Interestingly, DD scored poorest in math, which is the one subject she was accelerated in this year. I think it may be mostly because she wasn't familiar with some of the symbols/terminology. She score best in reading, which really surprised me because her reading ability on at-level tests has been steadily dropping as compared to her peers.