Mothering Forum banner

Qualifying for a gifted program question

1K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  lunita1 
#1 ·
What qualifies a child for a gifted program? Does the FSIQ need to be gifted or can a gifted subtest score allow a child to qualify? Like in public school, for example. Or is every program different?
 
#2 ·
It seems like it is different with every program. A lot of them don't use or require IQ scores b/c most kids don't have them and it is too expensive for the schools to test themselves. Although, they often will accept IQ scores if you have them. I do know a few that won't take outside scores, though, and only consider scores obtained by the schools.

The factors usually used are achievement scores, scales filled out by teachers and/or parents, and sometimes group ability test scores like the OLSAT, Raven, CogAT, etc. Depending on what the program is, they may look at composite scores or subject specific scores. Most of the GT programs I've seen where I live fall into two categories:

1) subject specific program like a reading GT class;
2) pull out where they do things like critical thinking puzzles.

For the first type of program, the scores that would count would be the verbal subtest on something like an IQ or CogAT, reading and writing achievement scores (or math/quantitative if it was a math pull out)

For the second, they tend to look more at rating scales of personality traits and/or composite scores on ability or achievement tests.
 
#3 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by kgianforti View Post
Or is every program different?
Every program is different. They are different not only in what it takes to qualify but also what the program entails. So basically you'll just have to ask what's available in your own school district.

Almost all school districts will provide the required testing. If you are interested in doing private testing to qualify your child for a gifted program first check which tests the school district you are interested in accepts.

Some schools don't do IQ testing. For example my school bases admission to the full time gifted program on the KBIT and KTEA One is a brief intelligence test. So it will give the school district an idea of where he falls. But no actual IQ results. The KTEA is an achievement test and told us where he was at in Math and Reading.

In our district they had to meet standards in both ability and achievement.

Different districts will be different and may even be different for different programs. I think the testing for our full time program is more involved that that for our pull-out program.
 
#4 ·
Yep, all are different. Here in San Diego USD they use the Raven Progressive Matrices along with some personality/behavioural characteristics and scores on achivement tests. There are two different programs - gifted and highly gifted and a varying combination of information will determine placement.

If you look at your public school website they should have a page discussing the program for gifted or perhaps under "advanced learners."

In Seattle it was the COGAT along with IOWA achievement tests that determine eligibility. First the COGAT to determine ability and then the IOWA to determine if the child's academic achievement is up to the challenge of the program. They focus on academic performance a lot in that program, where as here in SD they focus more on raw ability and bring those kids that may be underachieviing along to where there ability shows they can perform. Particularly important in an area with high ESL kids.

More info than you needed, I am sure...but it is interesting how it is determined in diffierent districts.

-- Michelle
 
#5 ·
The district my children attend school in requires 130+ full scale on the OLSAT. The district I work in uses the CogAT and we take 128+ on any of the three scales. We used to individually assess with the WISC but we couldn't reach the same number of higher cognitive kids so we switched over.
 
#6 ·
Even two school districts that use the same tests can have different cutoffs on those tests. I've seen school district websites that describe cutoffs as low as the 85th or 90th percentile for gifted programs, and districts that only provide services to kids in the 99th percentile or higher. Some districts screen all of the kids in a given grade (sometimes that's first grade, sometimes not until fourth grade) while others only test a few children. Some accept outside test scores and others don't.

My school district has a couple of different paths to GATE identification, and then GATE identification doesn't necessarily mean that a child qualifies or gets a spot in the self contained full time GATE program. In a most general sense, they identify kids as gifted if they score at or above the 98th percentile overall (not just in one subject area) on a standardized achievement or intelligence test.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top