Most parents notice the talents of their children early on, whether it’s a child who is athletic, artistic or an early reader. But what do teachers look for when they formally identify students as “gifted”?
As your child moves through school, teachers begin selecting students who have the potential or ability to be included in a gifted program. In addition to teachers’ observations, identification is also based on:
- Group or individual intelligence tests (IQ tests given in 3rdand 5thgrades. OLSATs are given in Illinois’ public schools)
- Standard achievement tests (In Illinois, these are the ISATs)
- Grades
- Parent observations
Below are some of the most commonly used IQ score categories. NOTE: There are different versions of this breakdown, so you need to find out where the cut-off is for your school’s program, according to the Judy Galbraith, author of “You Know Your Child is Gifted When…”.
IQ Score
- 180 Profoundly gifted (about 1 in 1,000,000)
- 160 Exceptionally gifted (about 1 in 100,000)
- 145 Highly gifted (about 1 in 1,000)
- 130 Gifted
- 115 Bright
- 100 Upper normal
- 85 Lower normal
What’s important to remember is that your child is so much more than a number, said Joy Bell, a gifted education teacher in Illinois. The intelligence tests identify students who bubble out from the mainstream as having a higher ability in learning. Bell said she is looking for students who not only score high, but are great at abstract thinking, an ability that separates bright students from gifted students.
“It is in the thinking. Gifted students are great abstract thinkers,” Bell said. “It’s not about, gee, this student did well on the tests because their parents prepared them. Those students will struggle too much in a gifted classroom and could lose their self-esteem.”
Abstract thinking is a concept often compared to concrete thinking, in which thinking is limited to what’s in front of the face, and the here and now. In contrast, the abstract thinker can conceptualize or generalize, understanding that each concept can have multiple meanings. Such thinkers might see patterns beyond the obvious and be able to use patterns or a variety of concrete ideas or clues to solve larger problems.
Bell said she also looks for:
- How quickly students learn. A gifted students needs between 1 and 4 repetitions. An average student needs between 6 and 12. If you have to drill a child to learn something, it takes the fun out of learning.
- Students who are so thoughtful about what is being taught that they jump 2 or 3 steps ahead of the teacher.
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When Zoe Sharp gets recruited for the swanky Allbright Academy by none other than Secretary of State Martha Evergood, she says that she will not attend without her twin brother J.D. and her older sister Franny. All of them are relatively freaked out by the 2 days of testing, but thanks to Zoe's moxie, they all end up on the picturesque campus, and are thinking that this opportunity is too good to be true.
Franny is bothered at first by the perfection of the place. Everyone seems flawless in appearance and in habits. Who has every heard of a perfectly clean dorm that houses 6th-12th graders? But eventually she gets over it. She is realizing her potential and changing her ways with the help of her PD (personal development) counselor. Her grades are climbing, her room is neat, and she wants her friends to do as well as she is doing. Cal looks amazing, compared to when Franny first met her, and she's much more positive, and Brooklyn is changing his name to Brook and cutting off his dreads so that people will take him seriously.
Franny, Cal and Brooklyn are a threesome whenever it's possible. They sign up for the same field trips and the same PE option. One day while they are on their PE hike, Cal doubles over in pain. Franny, Brooklyn and Cal try to carry her back to the dorms for help. It turns out Cal's appendix has burst and she needs emergency surgery. Cal is out of the picture for weeks.
When Cal comes back, she is different. Very different. And she has a theory about why this is. Is Allbright Academy exerting control over it's students? How is this being accomplished?
Franny, Cal and Brooklyn are soon knee deep in a mystery that has enormous repercussions. Can a school drug its students and get away with it?
Diane Stanley has written and fun, intriguing and fast paced mystery with a hook every kid who has ever gone to school will love. The cover is spot on, and I've had many middle schoolers reach for my arc over the last week. Mystery lovers, and fans of boarding school fiction will approve!
Tonight is the grand gala for Doctors and Derrieres II! If you're still interested in seeing the show or bidding on a few pieces (there are some really cool ones in there....) tonight at the Red Strap Market between 7 and 11pm is where you'll find a buzzing crowd, cocktails and of course doctors and arists to chat with.
I will be selling prints of the pieces that were for sale at the auction as well as the rest of my originals soon. I know a couple other artists are going to sell the rest of their pieces as well and we might set up an online store where you can purchase some of these splendid goodies. Hope to see you at the show!
Shown below (and please forgive the reflections on the glass) are artists: Adolfo Ruiz, Amanda Woodward and Gerry Rasmussen.
Most parents notice the talents of their children early on, whether it’s a child who is athletic, artistic or an early reader. But what do teachers look for when they formally identify students as “gifted”?
pretty cool :-)