I decided that I needed to have Dermot tested to bring more information to the school. I was told that the school would need to test him if I asked, but they said that they wouldn't test for giftedness. Dermot's school has a pull out program that starts in the third grade, and entry seems entirely based on tests taken at the end of second grade in reading and math. What is irritating to me is that the state law requires schools to identify gifted kids in kindergarten and to provide them academic challenge as deemed appropriate in kindergarten. I have brought in a copy of the law and it hasn't gotten me very far. Anyway, I went through a series of tests as a child, and they were helpful. I was hoping that Dermot's testing would be helpful too. Turns out it was a mixed bag.
I don't want to go into too much detail because numbers can follow people and it's very possible that Dermot may read this some day. I don't want him to know the numbers. We took him to the Gifted Child Clinic run by UMDNJ (the medical and dental school of NJ - near Rutgers). Everything that I found online suggested that this was the best place to go to get an accurate reading of your child. Dermot and I went one day and he took the WISC-IV (IQ test) and then we went the next week and he took the PIAT-R (which I had never heard of, but it's an achievement test - testing what he has learned, not what he is capable of).
The best part was that I got to watch him take the test behind a one-way mirror. It was fascinating to see. In fact, Ethan took the next day off of work to watch Dermot take the second test. Dermot was bouncing off of the walls. He couldn't sit down at all. I'm shocked that ADHD has not come up from the schools. It was killing me not to be able to go into the room and tell him to sit down and focus. Then it happened, he got hit with his first hard question and he slowed down a lot to think. It seems that he knows that he doesn't have to focus for most things, and so he doesn't. I don't think he can. This is part of why gifted kids can look so immature. Dermot hasn't had to learn to self-regulate when it comes to academics. He hasn't had to work hard on anything or focus on anything. I know he can do it when he has to, but it's not an everyday skill that he has.
The second test was even worse. I don't know if it's because he was so excited that his dad was around or if it was just that the questions were multiple choice and fairly simple to him. We went in last Friday for the results. The psychologist asked us a bunch of questions about why we were having him tested, our backgrounds, and Dermot's background. Then she went over the results. I think she wanted to make sure that her interpretation fit things that we saw.
Here's the bad news, his IQ score was lower than any of us expected. I don't care except that it's going to close doors to opportunities that should be open. After the psychologist went over the entire test with us, she stated that the official IQ score is not accurate for him. One subtest (digit span) dragged down his entire score. The funny thing is that I teach digit span every single semester, and mine is way below average. You have to remember a string of numbers and say them back in order. It's such a stupid task and not tied to reality that I have zero attention for it. I have the digit span of a 7 year old, as does Dermot. She said that it was very clear that it was a motivation issue and not an intelligence issue, but she had to score things the way they fell. The funny thing is that there are three subtests for this section of the exam. Most kids do worse as they go through the three tests. Dermot did better as they got harder. In fact, he scored at the 15.6 year old level in arithmetic reasoning. Wow. Unfortunately, that's some newfangled score that doesn't get included in the final score.
She said that for Dermot it would be more useful to focus on his achievement test. They tested reading comprehension, reading, spelling, writing comprehension, and a couple of different types of arithmetic. He scored at being at the beginning of 4th grade on average and he's about to start 2nd grade. Math and spelling were noticeably higher than the other scales.
Her take home message was that he's gifted, and he's more gifted than the numbers say he is. He has motivation issues (as do his mother, father, and all of his uncles), which can look like attention problems. Again, I wanted to be proactive and not reactive to this situation, which she appreciated. We haven't gotten the official written report yet. I'm interested to see how she lays everything out. Dermot's test scores really do need explanation and interpretation. I'm afraid that the school may not see things the way we do.
The psychologist says that Dermot's so off the charts mathematically, that we really need to focus on the math. That's where he will go off the rails first. Supposedly the school is willing to work with us on that, so we'll see.
I'm really torn if skipping a grade is the way to go. I am pretty sure that he could handle it academically. I'm afraid for him socially, but I also know that he will rise to the occasion when he has to. Everything that I am currently reading seems to think that acceleration is the best way to handle kids in Dermot's shoes. Even with a grade skip, I think he would need advanced math. I also think that it would be awkward to go from first to third grade. It might be better to go from third to fifth since fifth grade would be a new school. But again, what if that's too late and he gets bored and checks out before that? I haven't written about it yet, but fourth grade was really where I decided that I had had enough of the work that was way beneath me. I'm so scared of Dermot's fourth grade because of that. Also, because I was accelerated, I was only 8 when fourth grade started, and I had already figured how useless school was for me. I only have one year left before Dermot hits that age. Fortunately, he doesn't seem nearly as internally focused and as reflective as I was and still am. Maybe that will help him. Anyway, lots to think about and no clear answers. Isn't that always the way with this parenting stuff? I'm interested to see what the psychologist recommends in her final report.
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