› When is Gifted Testing Used?
When is Gifted Testing Used?
posted by Karen Quinn, The Testing Mom - August 4th, 2012
The process of testing students to determine intellect, school readiness, and gifted and talented status occurs under a number of different circumstances. Many private and public schools conduct standardized testing at the start of the school year. Others test students at the start of kindergarten. Gifted testing may only be conducted later on if there are other reasons to suspected gifted status. Other reasons can be based on coursework and grades, performance in particular disciplines, and teacher observations.
Because not all gifted children act alike, perform the same in regular classroom activities, and don’t even all perform equally well in all modes and formats of gifted testing, the process of determining gifted status can sometimes be challenging. Every private school and public school district sets its own gifted and talented program admission standards. Each additionally determines its own schedule for gifted testing and a process for determining when or if gifted testing is necessary outside of a regularly scheduled testing cycle. In other words, when gifted testing is used is entirely dependent upon where a child goes to school.
When gifted testing is used, it is usually the primary determinate in a child being admitted to a gifted and talented program. While other indicators may point to a student’s gifted status, most schools use IQ measurements obtained through gifted testing as the single criteria for gifted and talented program admittance.
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