Use the Free Ruf Estimates™ of Levels of Gifted
I have found that the single most important factor for achieving academic—as well as social and emotional success—is whether or not the child fits their schooling environment.
Many parents wonder how their children compare to other children. They worry about how to select the best school for their young children and wonder if they will not only learn up to their potential but be happy in their school environment. But, before parents can make good choices about where their children go to school, they need to learn how their children compare to the other children who will go to that school they’re considering. The single most important factor for achieving academic as well as social and emotional success, I have found, is whether or not the child fits the school.
So, you need to find out how smart they are compared to the other students likely to become classmates. You may have very good reasons to suspect your children are above average, maybe even gifted (for example, your five-year-old is adding pupils and eyelashes to drawings of people or your three-year-old can read an “Exit” sign), but you’re not sure if this is advanced, normal, or means anything in particular at all. Knowing how smart your child is can be critical, because it helps parents to provide appropriate opportunities for their children’s increased growth, enjoyment, and success in areas of interest.
There are certain childhood behaviors — milestones — that can tell us when children are ahead of or behind others their age. Most of the charts on childhood development show the typical range of behaviors for each age group. If your child is ahead of those tables, that doesn’t necessarily mean he or she is on the fast track or slated to become the next Einstein. Levels of Giftedness range from those who are simply bright to those who are intellectually astonishing.
Here’s an overview of the various levels of giftedness and milestones that are common — but not necessary — to each Level. Here, also, are the numbers at each Level of Giftedness that you are likely to find in an average elementary classroom of 28 (or so) children. It is the overall “feel” of where the child fits that tells you the Level.
How rapidly could the child progress through the academics of grades K-6 lessons and objectives?
Level One (moderately gifted) ~ 4 years (or about 2/3 of the standard time)
Level Two (highly gifted) ~ about 3 years (or about ½ the standard time)
Level Three (exceptionally gifted) ~ 2 years (or about 1/3 the standard time)
Level 4 (exceptionally to profoundly gifted) ~ 1–2 years or less (or about 1/6 the standard time) particularly in their strength areas
Level Five (profoundly gifted) ~ less than 1 year
Level One — bright to moderately gifted
- These children show interest in many things before they are even two years old — like colors, saying the numbers in order, and playing simple puzzles.
- Most of them are good talkers by age three, and by four, many print letters and numbers, recognize simple signs, their name, and know most of alphabet.
- By the time they are six years old, many read beginner books and type at the computer, and most read chapter books by age seven.
- It is not unusual to find six to eight Level One children in an average classroom, children who are nearly always a few steps ahead of what the teacher is teaching the whole class.
Level Two — gifted to highly gifted
- These bright children love looking at books and being read to, even turning pages without ripping them, by 15 months. Some shout out the name of familiar stores as you drive past.
- Many of these children know lots of letters by 18 months and colors by 20 months, and between ages three and four, they count small groups of objects, print some letters and numbers, and they very likely drive their parents crazy with all their questions.
- They’ll sit for what seems like hours as you read advanced level books, especially fiction and fantasy, to them, but they require a bit less of your time by age six, because most of them read for pleasure and information on their own by then.
- Level Two children can find only one or two others in their classroom who are as advanced as they are, which starts to make it hard to find good friends.
Level Three-highly to exceptionally gifted
- They’re born wide-eyed and alert, looking around the room, reacting to noises, voices, faces.
- They know what adults are telling or asking them by the time they are six months. You say a toy, pet, or another person, and they will look for it.
- Everything Level Two children do by 15 months, these kids do by 10 to 12 months, and such children can get family members to do what they want before they are actually talking.
- By two years, many like 35+ piece puzzles, memorize favorite books, and know the entire alphabet — in or out of order!
- By three years old, they talk constantly, and skip count, count backwards, and do simple adding and subtracting because they like to. They love to print letters and numbers, too.
- They ask you to start easy readers before five years, and many figure out how to multiply, divide, and do some fractions by six years.
- Most of these children are a full two to five years beyond grade level by age six and find school too slow.
- There are one or two Level Three children in every 100 in the average school. They are rarely in the same elementary class and can feel very, very lonely.
Level Four-exceptionally to profoundly gifted (especially in at least one area)
- Level Four babies love books, someone to read them, and they pay attention within a few months of their birth.
- They are ahead of Level Three children by another 2 to 5 months while less than two years old.
- They have extensive, complex speaking by two years, and their vocabularies are huge!
- Most of them read easy readers by 3½ to 4½ years and then read for information and pleasure by age five, with comprehension for youth and adult level books at about 6–6½ years.
- There are about one per 200 children in the average school. Without special arrangements, they can feel very different from their typical classmates.
Level Five-profoundly gifted across most domains
· Level Fives have talents in every possible area. Everything is sooner and more intense than other Levels.
· They have favorite shows before 6–8 months, pick out letters and numbers by 10–14 months, and enjoy shape sorters before 11 months.
· They print letters, numbers, words, and their names between 16–24 months and often use anything that is available to form these shapes and figures.
· They show ability with 35+ piece puzzles by less than 15 months and interest in complex mazes before they are three.
· Musical, dramatic, and artistic aptitudes usually start showing by 18 months.
· Most speak with adult-level complexity by age two.
· At two and three-years-old they ask about how things work, and science — particularly biological and life and death questions — emerge.
· They understand math concepts and basic math functions before age four.
· They can play card and board games ages 12 and up by age 3½ to 4.
· They have high interest in pure facts, almanacs, and dictionaries by age 3½.
· Most read any level of book by 4¼ to five years.
· They read six or more years beyond grade level with comprehension by six years and usually hit 12th grade level by age 7 or 8.
· We know they occur more often than once in a million and regular grade school does not work for them. Levels Three through Five score similarly on ability tests — very high. Tests can’t quite capture it.
Once you have a sense of your children’s abilities, you can provide them with more activities and experiences that build on these strengths and take advantage of their talents. Once you have a good estimate of how smart or advanced your children are, you can begin your search for appropriate environments. Choosing the right school for your children might be the most important decision you ever make for their healthy intellectual and emotional growth.
Author’s note: Deborah Ruf, Ph.D., Minneapolis, retired as a private consultant and specialist in gifted assessment, test interpretation, and guidance for the gifted. She now devotes her professional time to writing. She developed the Ruf Estimates of Levels of Gifted, which is delineated in her book, 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options, 2009. Her follow-up book, The Five Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up: What They Tell Us, 2023, is a complete 20-year longitudinal study of the adult children and their outcomes. See www.fivelevelsofgifted.com for more information.