Math comes so easily to my daughter that her school work just doesn't challenge her...
Our school district just started a Talented & Gifted (TAG) program. Does my child qualify?
My son seems bored with school ... does he need a more demanding educational program?
Many parents have these concerns and questions. Schools must serve children and adolescents of all levels of ability and skill, and it is often difficult to supply enough variety, challenge, and enrichment for unusually capable students in the context of a typical classroom. A number of school districts have special "TAG" programs for students who are "talented" (that is, unusually strong in one or more academic or other significant skill areas) and/or "gifted," or highly capable in the verbal, logical, and other ability domains that are most central to school achievement. Standardized testing is used to help demonstrate a student's ability to profit from TAG programs offered by local school districts. The Oregon Administrative Rules state that students who score at or above the 97th percentile on appropriate tests should qualify for placement in TAG programs. While some students can qualify based on assessments offered at school, others require independent evaluation.
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 5th Edition (WISC-V), published by Pearson in 2014, is designed for use with children ages 6-16, and is the more up-to-date testing instrument for estimating intellectual potential available. The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, 3rd Edition (WIAT-III), also by Pearson, and the Academic Achievement Battery (AAB), published by Psychological Assessment Resources in 2014, are both comprehensive, norm-referenced, individual tests of reading, math, and writing achievement. All three instruments provide both standard and percentile scores that can be shared with appropriate school personnel, to assist with placement decisions. An individualized report including all relevant test results is provided as part of each TAG evaluation.
A note to parents about "IQ"... There are not many numbers that have been more over-interpreted or mis-applied than the so-called "Full-scale IQ" score provided by such tests as the WISC-V, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4th Edition, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, 5th Edition, and other similar instruments. The original purpose of the early versions of these tests was to help identify children at risk for academic difficulty, so that intervention could be provided in a timely manner. Unfortunately, many "myths" have emerged over time, myths that are inaccurate and often, potentially damaging. First, IQ is NOT a permanent characteristic of an individual, like eye color... in fact, IQ can and often does change over time, in response to educational opportunity, maturation, environmental factors, emotional status, health, and many, many other factors. Next, IQ may or may not accurately reflect a person's potential for learning. How a child or adult may score on a given day at a particular time may vary notably with such factors as quality/quantity of sleep, health status, and the presence or absence of problems with attention and concentration. IQ can seriously underestimate ability in persons who have learning disabilities, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, a history of concussion injuries, or a host of other difficulties. People can also have good or even excellent IQ scores, yet have significant challenges with social skills, emotional stability, or adaptive functioning, any of which can seriously limit functioning: So IQ may or may not predict an individual's potential for future success, even within the domain of higher education. Finally, IQ tests are limited in their scope, and there are many important forms of "giftedness" they do not measure. Specifically, IQ tests focus on those abilities most relevant to traditional education, such as verbal skills, logical reasoning, and to a lesser extent, visuospatial awareness. While those are certainly all useful and relevant skills, the fact remains that an individual can be truly "gifted" as a dancer, an artist, an athlete, or a musician, can have fabulous social skills, a remarkable capacity for empathy, or be inherently in touch with nature and able to effortlessly relate to animals, but none of these highly prized talents and gifts will be evident in an IQ score. Just saying... Don't put too much stock in one very limited number!!
Our school district just started a Talented & Gifted (TAG) program. Does my child qualify?
My son seems bored with school ... does he need a more demanding educational program?
Many parents have these concerns and questions. Schools must serve children and adolescents of all levels of ability and skill, and it is often difficult to supply enough variety, challenge, and enrichment for unusually capable students in the context of a typical classroom. A number of school districts have special "TAG" programs for students who are "talented" (that is, unusually strong in one or more academic or other significant skill areas) and/or "gifted," or highly capable in the verbal, logical, and other ability domains that are most central to school achievement. Standardized testing is used to help demonstrate a student's ability to profit from TAG programs offered by local school districts. The Oregon Administrative Rules state that students who score at or above the 97th percentile on appropriate tests should qualify for placement in TAG programs. While some students can qualify based on assessments offered at school, others require independent evaluation.
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 5th Edition (WISC-V), published by Pearson in 2014, is designed for use with children ages 6-16, and is the more up-to-date testing instrument for estimating intellectual potential available. The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, 3rd Edition (WIAT-III), also by Pearson, and the Academic Achievement Battery (AAB), published by Psychological Assessment Resources in 2014, are both comprehensive, norm-referenced, individual tests of reading, math, and writing achievement. All three instruments provide both standard and percentile scores that can be shared with appropriate school personnel, to assist with placement decisions. An individualized report including all relevant test results is provided as part of each TAG evaluation.
A note to parents about "IQ"... There are not many numbers that have been more over-interpreted or mis-applied than the so-called "Full-scale IQ" score provided by such tests as the WISC-V, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4th Edition, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, 5th Edition, and other similar instruments. The original purpose of the early versions of these tests was to help identify children at risk for academic difficulty, so that intervention could be provided in a timely manner. Unfortunately, many "myths" have emerged over time, myths that are inaccurate and often, potentially damaging. First, IQ is NOT a permanent characteristic of an individual, like eye color... in fact, IQ can and often does change over time, in response to educational opportunity, maturation, environmental factors, emotional status, health, and many, many other factors. Next, IQ may or may not accurately reflect a person's potential for learning. How a child or adult may score on a given day at a particular time may vary notably with such factors as quality/quantity of sleep, health status, and the presence or absence of problems with attention and concentration. IQ can seriously underestimate ability in persons who have learning disabilities, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, a history of concussion injuries, or a host of other difficulties. People can also have good or even excellent IQ scores, yet have significant challenges with social skills, emotional stability, or adaptive functioning, any of which can seriously limit functioning: So IQ may or may not predict an individual's potential for future success, even within the domain of higher education. Finally, IQ tests are limited in their scope, and there are many important forms of "giftedness" they do not measure. Specifically, IQ tests focus on those abilities most relevant to traditional education, such as verbal skills, logical reasoning, and to a lesser extent, visuospatial awareness. While those are certainly all useful and relevant skills, the fact remains that an individual can be truly "gifted" as a dancer, an artist, an athlete, or a musician, can have fabulous social skills, a remarkable capacity for empathy, or be inherently in touch with nature and able to effortlessly relate to animals, but none of these highly prized talents and gifts will be evident in an IQ score. Just saying... Don't put too much stock in one very limited number!!