[Ohiogift] Early entrance to kindergarten assessment

Fri May 10 11:27:24 EDT 2013

I agree. We have had a few instances of siblings in the same grade and has  
not stopped the acceleration.  One just has to help all involved (not  just 
the accelerated student) through the process.
Sally R

In a message dated 5/9/2013 5:53:08 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
boyleconsulting at me.com writes:

The WISC GAI score has been covered in ODE's FAQ for gifted ID for a few  
years now. It isn't addressed in the IAS, but there is no reason an evaluator 
 shouldn't consider it during an acceleration eval. (And frankly, I see no 
need  or the IAS to be revised with it. It is silly that they charge a ton 
of money  for a "revised" document that has 1-2 new sentences in it like they 
did with  the last revision.)

The sibling contraindicator, in my opinion, is something to seriously  
discuss, but I don't think it is a slam dunk close the door for some kids.  Now, 
I've not had an early k referral where this was an issue, nor have I had  a 
profoundly gifted early k referral. But, should a case arise, I think it is 
 worth a conversation but not necessarily immediate exclusion. 

The 115 IQ is a completely different story. Because we are talking about  
putting a child in an advanced placement compared to typical development,  
there is a very real need for a child to be at that cognitive level to handle  
internal accommodations needed in the process of adapting to the group of  
older kids. So, if I encounter a child without the 115, I do not continue 
the  process nor do I call a committee. If the child gets 115 but doesn't get 
the  10 total points on the assessment rating, I also stop without finishing 
the  IAS or committee. I explain the criteria and supporting research to 
the  parents, I offer an interpretation of the child's strengths and 
weaknesses  from the cog test (and achievement if given), and I give suggestions of 
things  the parent can do at home to continue the child's development. But, I 
don't do  any other testing. I know i am putting myself on the line by 
sharing the  publicly, but i think the rationale is defensible and in line with 
the  approved IAS. I can't justify putting a small child through that nor 
pulling  teachers and principals from classes the last week of school for 
meetings that  are a definite no. Plus, districts with Aug. 1 cutoffs or all day 
kindergarten  tend to get more referrals (at least in my experience).  When 
responsible  for large districts or multiple districts, coordinators need a 
way to manage  the load without depriving kids of needed opportunities.  If 
it is an  older child considered for whole grade acceleration, that is 
different since  there are In-school options that can still be discussed. But 
for early K,  where there are no other school options within the district, the 
conversation  really stops at that point. 

After  doing this for several years, data seems to confirm how i handle 
this. My  referrals have cog scores clustered between 95-105 (usually kids who 
miss the  cutoff by a couple of days) and 120 or higher (usually miss the 
cutoff by a  month or more). Scores between 105 and 120 are rare in my early k 
referrals.  I've gone back and reviewed the later grade testing of kids I 
have reviewed in  any way with this process.  Every child I stopped after a 
cog score less  than 115 has a 2nd or 3rd grade cognitive score within 1 SEM 
of the original  score and has achievement scores ranging from 35%ile to 
85%ile.  Every  child I screened completely through with the IAS and did not 
place also has a  cog score within 1 SEM of the original cog score and usually 
is scoring in  subject areas between 75th%ile and 95%ile (I get an 
occasional subject area ID  from some of those kids, but not new cog IDs).  Kids who 
go through the  entire process and are placed usually have cog scores 
within 1 SEM at a  minimum, and some who may have had a 125 or so on the original 
cog test  end up cog ID later on.  Achievement scores usually fall between 
85%ile  and 99%ile in the accelerated grade level.  So, it seems to be 
working  well and placing the right kids. 

Colleen
Sent from my iPhone

On May 9, 2013, at 5:07 PM, Anne Flick <_anneflick at yahoo.com_ 
(mailto:anneflick at yahoo.com) >  wrote:

That  is interesting Colleen.  I would love to learn criteria you have 
found  that helped you in the process to consider for a student with  IQ<115.

Another point is that the WISC publisher now notes that  GAI is more 
accurate than FSIQ for some gifted children.  I'm not sure  if the 3rd ed. of the 
IAS includes this updated protocol.

Another IAS  automatic contraindicator for acceleration is if the child 
would be placed  into a grade at the same level or a level above an older 
sibling.   Plenty of families of PG children have ignored this caveat with no 
issues in  their families.  Some kids are so profoundly gifted that it would be 
 cruel to hold them behind a sibling, and where sibling difficulties arise, 
 they manage them because the younger child's academic needs are so  
extreme.

Karen, thank you for sharing your district's  resources.

Anne

____________________________________
 the IAS also says right at the  beginning that acceleration shouldn't be 
considered if the IQ score is  below a 115 or if the total of the ratings for 
the aptitude, achievement,  and ability scores is less than 10. So, 
depending on the child's tested  ability, a modified process may be very 
appropriate.  (This should be  child specific and based on objective criteria, not at 
a district  whim.)

Colleen Boyle,  Ph.D.

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