Comments on: Board of Education Issues Statement in Response to Washington Post Story, ‘Montgomery Erasing Gifted Label’

By: kim/hormone-colored days

kim/hormone-colored days — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:41:02 +0000

Kevin you said “Discrepancies between achievement and ability tests should trigger an investigation into what the the cause of the discrepancy is, followed by appropriate intervention to bring achievement up where it ought to be (this may include therapy for learning disabilities).”

I agree, but if a gifted child meets general grade-level standards, there is little concern, and even fewer resources, to help that child reach his potential. A friend of mine is struggling with this with her gifted son who has executive function issues. He’s struggling, but not failing.

Given the discussion above it’s worth noting that my 10 y.o. is getting a B in his 5th grade enriched math class, but he’s also taking an enriched 6th grade math class in which he is a top-performing student. (Yes, both are every day at the same school, long story.) I think he’s not very motivated in the 5th grade class and just scraping by. He’s a bit more eager to meet the advanced challenges, though.

By: SwitchedOnMom

SwitchedOnMom — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:16:11 +0000

There’s just the second grade global screening, which among other elements uses the Raven Progressive Matrices. A form of the SCAT is administered for testing into the Center programs, but the results aren’t shared with the parents…or the home school for that matter (that may have changed by now). Any other ability testing has to be done by the parents, such as a SCAT through CTY, or taking the SAT as a middle schooler.

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:48:56 +0000

Are there any ability tests regularly given in MCPS? How will the teacher know that they have a discrepancy? They are constantly testing achievement. In kindergarten, it is nicely mixed with learning, so it’s not overwhelming for the children.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:16:01 +0000

I agree that grade-level achievement tests are a poor way to identify kids who need different education. Above-grade achievement tests are often useful, though, particularly for making acceleration decisions.

Discrepancies between achievement and ability tests should trigger an investigation into what the the cause of the discrepancy is, followed by appropriate intervention to bring achievement up where it ought to be (this may include therapy for learning disabilities).

By: SwitchedOnMom

SwitchedOnMom — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:10:32 +0000

Thanks for posting, Kevin. And you’re right…I was a little hasty in my comment (shhh…I was checking my blog at work). I guess I was just thinking of the situation that I’ve found often arises when if a gifted child isn’t absolutely blowing away whatever (on grade-level, say) assessment measure they’re using, it’s used as a reason to not accelerate. Gifted kids aren’t always the ones that present as “model,” high achieving students.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:18:26 +0000

Gifted does not equal achievement, but achievement is an appropriate way to place kids for subject acceleration. If they already know the material, they can be placed a level up. The IQ-based tests may be more appropriate for classes that go at a different pace or in more depth, but achievement tests are appropriate for subject acceleration.

In many ways subject acceleration is a lower-cost option than gifted classes, and is often more successful (since many “gifted” classes are just feel-good entertainment without much academic content). Note: I’m not speaking of Montgomery County, since I have no experience of them, but of the all-too-common 1 hour/week “pullout”.

By: SwitchedOnMom

SwitchedOnMom — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:57:25 +0000

Bingo. Gifted does not necessarily equal achievement.

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:38:06 +0000

This is a major CYA message. What is going to happen to children with high intelligence and low or middling achievement? First, they won’t be identified (Although, the TerraNova is an achievement test, so perhaps they weren’t being identified anyway). Second, services are going to be based on achievement–it’s the only way it makes sense.

And math and reading are going to be the gateway achievements. If your child is excellent at science or history, it will be easy to push them out of the services by saying that he or her needs to accelerate in the math and reading first.