[Oz-gifted] tests in the public system

[Fly2]

>> Assessment will most likely include the WISC 4 and other reading tests.
>> We chose not to have the assessment done at school as I wanted a
>> copy of the results for future reference.
>
> I'm not so worried about that, given that he is only 5.5 -- the
> results aren't so reliable at this age,

The problem people have struck in the past is that they do not have 
access to the results and therefore , when the school makes a decision 
about the provisions they make, there is no way to assess the 
appropriateness of the intervention nor any way to argue for an other 
provision. The parents in some cases have been poorly informed and have 
found it hard to get the school to justify their decisions.

OTOH, some people have had independent assessments done and some schools 
have not considered the independent analysis  to be valid or appropriate 
for their needs. Perhaps you can clarify this with the school. What is 
their reason for seeking the  assessment through their system and would 
they use an independent assessment? Of course that would mean you would 
have to pay.

You may have to wait for a while for assessment because they are often 
poorly resourced and this may not be the assessor's primary role.

>  but OTOH they will not interfere if we decide we need a private 
> assessment at about age 8.
> I'm interested to know in exactly what ways the results are
> unreliable as I presume it would be more than just a matter of a
> larger margin of error.  I can make some educated guesses, but does
> anyone *know*?

I am not sure what you are asking here exactly. If you mean the school 
assessment can be unreliable, it would probably be because the psych may 
not understand the idosyncracies of a gt child, esp those within the 
higher range. They also often have several responsibilities and will not 
neccessarily spend as much time on the assessment as a private psych 
would.

A person who is experienced with gt children  will notice things a 
normal assessor will not, eg slower processing may be due to deeper 
thinking and they may take that into account . They may pick up on the 
effects of OEs eg the light in the room etc . There are many more subtle 
things they will make note of eg just the way they interact possibly 
will be different. HOw they interpret cues and information can make 
quite a big difference in the outcome of teh assessment and the 
recommended provisions.

> The Department expects assessment to cover intellectual functioning,
> academic achievement, and social/emotional maturity.

Again, a person who is not experienced with gt children may misinterpret 
social /emotional maturity issues. That seems to be the experience of 
some folks who have been subjected to the school-based assessments.

I am not saying this is universally the case, just that it does happen 
and if you do not have access to the assessment it is pretty impossible 
to  work out a solution.

>> What does the school plan to do once they have the results?
>
> I think they are hesitating between a number of courses of action,

Are they not making the options clear?

If I you were asked to have an assessment in your work situation, what 
questions would you ask?

Personally I would ask them to give clear reasons why I would be taking 
the tests, what they expected to find out and what impact it would have 
on my work etc. As an adult we would expect this sort of information and 
justification. Would you expect access to the results and an explanation 
of what they found and how they interpreted them?

I don't believe it is any less reasonable to expect the same when it is 
our children's daily life that is affected.

>> Does your school have a G & T policy?  Check what their ideas are.
>
> <g> The Department expects that they will develop one RSN (no time
> frame has been set).  I suspect it will miraculously appear AFTER
> they have had DS1 a bit longer!  Certainly no-one has admitted to
> keeping such an animal...
>

Good luck with the next stage

Louise