In this post, we look at how to prepare your bright, possibly gifted child for individual or group testing for intellectual ability and current achievement levels.
In a later post, I talk about how to find the right person to work with you and your child for individual testing.
The reasons a young child gets tested for academic ability and intelligence vary. Some parents recognize or suspect their children are so highly intelligent that they would benefit from starting school earlier than other students. It’s called Early Entrance and is common throughout the country. Although schools sometimes administer the needed tests free of charge, it isn’t common. An individual test is time consuming and requires a higher level of training than for a group test, so it’s time-consuming for the school psychologist or gifted specialist.
Well-known individual tests have more questions within a wider array of ability domains than the group tests have. The latter are proctored by classroom teachers and aren’t as thorough as an individual test but are great for initial screening purposes. Before children are admitted to school earlier than the usual cutoff age, though, schools almost always require testing. It’s the most common reason to test earlier than age 7.
It’s generally accepted that age 7 is the ideal age for getting the most useful result and input regarding your child’s needs. By that age, most children are mature enough to follow a classroom teacher’s directions for completing the forms that are part of the tests. Accordingly, it is in 2nd or 3rd grade that almost all United States schools first administer the first round of ability and achievement tests to all children. Anyone currently reading this who grew up in the United States took those tests and the results are in your mother’s — or your own — filing system. Most schools administer the versions of the same tests at least two more times before you and the other students finish 8th grade.
For many private schools, especially college preparatory or schools specifically designed for the gifted, a group ability test is required if the child is being considered for admission. The school personnel need to know ahead of time that your child is college capable (prep school) or in the gifted range (gifted school). There are some (not many) publicly funded gifted charter[1] schools, and they have the test requirement, too. Many of those specialized public gifted schools, though, don’t start until 2nd or 3rd grade. And, because testing isn’t often used for children younger than 7, the population at many college prep schools is winnowed down by the end of primary school to include tested children who are in the range needed to be successful students in a college prep environment.
For either individual or group testing, the messaging to your child should basically be the same. It should be something along the lines of this:
“Next week you [or you and your class; or you and the other children who are applying to the school] will be taking some tests that will help us and your school know more about what kinds of things you are already good at and what kinds of things you will still want to learn in school. A lot of the questions and activities on the tests are like puzzles to solve or things you know already. I thought they were more fun than regular schoolwork when I took them back when I was your age.
No one expects you to get every answer right because the test is made to help us see how far you can go and where you are so far in your learning. So, keep trying even when it gets hard, but don’t worry. It doesn’t mean you aren’t doing well. We already know you’re smart! And we will share what the results are when we find out, okay?
Finally, if you aren’t sure how to do what the teacher [or specialist] tells you to do, make sure you understand what they are looking for. Like, you might only have ten minutes for finishing the next 20 items. It is always better to guess than put no answer at all because sometimes even a guess will be right. Do you have any questions now?”
There isn’t really any other prep needed except a good night’s sleep and a sense of “looking forward to it.” So, parents, relax, don’t worry, and take each step one at a time.
For more context and information, read Ruf Estimates of Levels of Giftedness© to get more background on the different abilities children within the gifted range can have. Available on Medium.com and the www.FiveLevelsofGifted.com website.
[1] A charter school is a public school that operates as a school of choice. Charter schools commit to obtaining specific educational objectives in return for a charter to operate a school. NCSRChttps://charterschoolcenter.ed.gov › what-charter-school
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