SAGES or KBIT 2 IQ testing

[REV]

Can anyone tell me where I can find samples of these two tests? My DS's school district uses SAGEs and K-BIT IQ test for placement in the gifted and talented program. They say that it is black and white - if the child gets over a certain score, they are in the program; if they do not then they are out.

This makes me a bit nervous - I would like to know what the tests are before I send my son in for testing. It won't be till September so I have a little while to do research. From what I can find online, SAGES is a knowledge test, and KBIT is an IQ test. But I would love to find some sample questions or sample test so I know what to expect.

Does anyone know where I can find them, or have any experience with these two tests?

Thanks!

eta: My DS is going into 2nd grade in the fall if that makes any difference...

[JollyGG]

My son took the KBIT for entrance to our full time gifted program. It's a brief assessment not a full IQ test. It takes about 1/2 an hour. Basically they ask a few questions and track the following questions on what they get correct. They stop once the child has a certain number of wrong answers.

It's most common use is for evaluations for gifted programs. It does not provide the sub-tests and such that a full scale IQ test does. I'd hesitate to call it an IQ test honestly but more a brief ability assessment.

The score we got out of it was not an IQ score but an percentile score.

I know that the people I talked to in our district were hesitant to give it to my son at age 6 because that was the bottom of it's recommended age range and they suggested testing at 2nd grade level as more appropriate.

My son did get the score he needed to get into our full time gifted program, barely. He had the minimum score possible to qualify. Our district uses a matrix that included ability testing as well. He took the KTEA, not the SAGES but he did very well on that.

I would find out what the minimums are for getting into the program and how they balance minimum scores on one test but not on the other or what other information they use. I'd also ask if retesting at a later date is possible if he doesn't score well enough. In our district you can retest but only after 1 year has passed.

[itsmyturn]

I don't know about Stages
K-bit is a Brief Intellegence Test, you are not likely to find any sample questions. IQ tests are very protective of their test format to prevent studying.

My DD took K-bit as a pretest to qualify her for a full-scale. She said that they asked her some analogy type questions and had her do some stuff with shape tiles.

The best thing you can do is tell your DS that he will be doing some fun and challenging tasks and games. Encourage him to try his best and try to have fun.

Good luck!

[JollyGG]

I was told to just tell my son he'd be doing some activities with a teacher. It was stresses to me that he should guess if he's unsure of an answer.

[NashvilleMeg]

To itsmyturn:

How well did the KBIT predict your child's full scale test score? Were the composites close? My son took the KBIT and got a composite of 134, I'm debating whether or not to have the full scale done and wondering if the overall score will be similar, lower or higher (by full scale I'm referring to the WISC-IV) Any feedback is much appreciated! Thanks!

[BrunoS]

Nashvillemeg,

We had one daughter do both a WISC-IV test (required by one school) and she ended up in a different school that did the KBIT-2... as I recall the IQ scores were within a couple of points and the percentile was slightly higher on the KBIT than on the WISC, but not by enough to matter... Odds are if they are over 97% on one they will over 97% on the other.

[hubcap-delites]

Hi

I have used the Kbit-2 composite IQ for both high and primary school children. there is 3 components that this test covers and yes it is not the best and full testing that i would expect gifted and talented children would endure. it would only be the quick version to decide does your child have those traits. really traits is not true as kbit tests verbal( and non verbal capabilities with a matrices section that i find is excellent for ESL students. I will add another test that i think they made have used prior at the end of this.

section 1: the child looks at 6 pictures (all on one page) and one of those pictures matches the word you say. eg you say ball and the child has to indicate the picture with a ball in it. You show another 6 pictures and say another word and so on. the words are based on a progression that they get harder until the child get 4 wrong in a row then you go back and add all the correct ones. A picture of a ball may come up 3 times through the test and the tester may say globe and then may say sphere as the scoring is based on where the child should be at a certain age. This sort of testing is looking for the child's receptive knowledge so you can imagine that the child would need to get plenty of verbal communication throughout their growth to get a high score.

section 2: riddles. there is about 40 riddles to get through and each one gets harder until the child gets 4 wrong. eg I have a tail and bark? the child has to work out the answer and say dog.

section 3: Matrices. progresses also from easy to hard and the child looks at patterns and has to pick the matching pattern. you might get 9 squares with pictures in it and one picture is missing. you get 6 to choose from and you have to pick the correct one. eg ball, ball, ball, hat, nothing, hat, ball, ball, ball. correct picture would be hat. or you also get hard shapes in all different sequences and you have to work it out. This test stands on its own but is added to the others to make the composite IQ. if you child does well in this i would say this test in itself would determine how smart the child is as the others are more about language. this is why ESL students can be tested who cant speak English.

My guess is that your child may be struggling in reading but has a high comprehension. If so he may be struggling to put together the components required for reading. I would like to direct you to a web site in Australia by searching google "Best start assessment". Its actually what is used to test k-2 primary students and to assist the teacher in knowing where the child is at and how to teach that child. It takes a little working out but once you do you will be able to place your child in literacy continuum and assist the child in those areas.

having said that i realize you will not be able to get the resources through this site because it is a government site for teachers to access but it will give you the language to help you find those resources in your country.

All the best

[hubcap-delites]

sorry i forgot.

The Peabody is probably the initial test that your child did as it tests and finds where your child is in reading, comprehension and rate of reading. Each section gives a score which is based on age. reading might say the child has a deficit of 24 months and that is based in the child's age now minus the age he/she is reading at. eg 10 years and 4 months old but reads at 7 years and four months hence the child would have a deficit of 36 months. comprehension and rate of reading is also scored. now if your child had a very low reading accuracy with a very slow reading speed but scored well in comprehension then that could be an indication of where your child is at. Kbit takes it further. There is a big difference with Kbit and WISC, Kbit you don't have to be a psychologist, its not the hour to two hour test and you don't get results like spacial awareness and more. Kbit is like a small 3 cylinder car as apposed to the Bentley of a WISC. Kbit can give you the initial result that your child is gifted but WISC will confirm more and how best to see not how smart your child is but how your child is smart. It has more of a relationship with the likes of Piaget, Vakoski and Gardner. That may bit of a stretch but all together their theories can be better understood and practiced with the greater knowledge you have about the child.

[paulovesringo]

These are all very helpful.  Thank you!  What I'm wondering is if there is another screening device apart from the K-Bit2.  I'm afraid that the K-Bit is somewhat skewed to favor a reading/language student over a science/math student.  With only one out of the three sections measuring logic I wonder how the math/science student is identified?