It takes more than a test to tell who's gifted

It takes more than a test to tell who's gifted

Preventing a child who is academically gifted from receiving a rigorous course of study is the same as leaving a child behind. In both scenarios, the child will fail to achieve his or her full potential.

In most North Carolina schools, children in the third grade are evaluated for placement in academically gifted, or AG, programs. A big part of the evaluation is a child's scores on standardized tests such as the Cognitive Abilities Test and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.

But a child's readiness for more challenging curriculum should be determined by more than high scores on standardized tests. Because of my oldest son's borderline Cognitive Abilities Test scores, his elementary teacher would not recommend him for the AG program. My husband and I felt he could handle the AG courses and began advocating for him. We pointed out his strengths, including his ability to easily grasp challenging mathematic concepts and rapidly learn new material, as well as where he stood academically in relation to his same-age peers.

More importantly, our son wants to do well and is willing to study hard to learn more in school. We helped him set challenging yet achievable academic goals and continued encouraging his teachers to support him.

Now, our son is a junior at Green Hope High School and thriving in his Advanced Placement courses.

If you feel your child meets the criteria for AG programs and has not been identified for specialized services, don't stop advocating for him or her. According to Dana Diesel-Wallace, the Wake County senior director for middle school programs, no single factor should put your child in AG programs or keep your child out.

At any grade level, you can nominate your child for the AG program. Begin by writing a letter to your child's teacher clearly outlining his or her potential to perform at a high level, compared with others of his or her age, experience and environment. If you feel your concerns are not being addressed, contact the school AG resource teacher and ask for a more extensive evaluation of your child's needs from the school-based committee for gifted education. The next level is your child's principal and finally the school district administrator for AG programs.

For students identified as AG, specialized education enrichment studies typically begin the second semester of third grade and may require your child to be pulled out of regular classroom periods.

In middle school, AG students are often grouped in clusters to receive continued services with advanced math and language arts. This curriculum is typically a year or two ahead of what their peers are learning.

High school AG students are encouraged to enroll in honors classes in ninth and 10th grades followed by Advanced Placement or college-level courses in 11th and 12th grades.

(Weidle is vice president of the Wake County PTA Council and author of a coming book on parenting. Contact her at familyfilter@nc.rr.com or go to http://home.nc.rr.com/lizaweidle/.)