Screening for gifted program (Florida)

[tmarquez]

Hi

My daughter is just finishing up 1st grade. I got a form yesterday to sign to have her screened for gifted. Her teacher told me that she was screened at the beginning of the year and they want to screen her again (although I didn't sign anything at the beginning of the year?). She was also screened in K.

Any idea why they keep screening her like this? Maybe she is missing it by a few "points" or something? And what is "screening" anyway? The guidance counselor said it is 1 test and then she talks to a psychologist...is this normal?

Do the schools get additional funding for gifted students or does it end up costing them? The scholl does not currently have a gifted program but are "starting one" this upcoming year.

Thanks!!

 

[Ali]

My son has been screened every year K,1,2, and they asked me to do it again this summer) and he has missed the needed 130 points by 1 point each time - of course, this doesn't mean he got one answer wrong on the assessment, it means that when his scores for the sub tests were averaged together he came up short -

He is very smart, got 5s on third grade FCAT!!! (shameless proud mommy brag) he doesn't seem to do well on the gifted assessment but because he gets straight A's and scores high on all tests he has to be screened every year.

Yes, Schools get money for gifted kids so they want to have as many as possible.

 

[Minniemama350]

The gifted program is the easiest way to provide differentiated instruction for an advanced learner. We do not test twice in one year here. In fact we can only test once every two years. Just becuase a kid does not qualify today does not mean they are not gifted. A gifted learner may not show up on a test until they have developed more(1st graders do not often qualify). If a child is only missing by a little and the teacher feels they need the instruction that the gifted program is offering, I can see why they might want to test again. Money may be involved, but the classroom teacher is not motivated by this factor.

 

[Colinsmom]

I'm in IL. Our school screens at the beginning of second grade, and again at the end of the year. During the year, they observe the kids to see who might benefit from the additional differentiation, and use that information along with the 2 screens to invite certain kids to join a full-time gifted program in third grade (there is also a pull-out program that starts in 3rd grade for kids who fall just below the FT cut-off). Our FT program cutoff is 95th percentile or higher, and the pull-out cut-off is probably closer to the 90th percentile mark.

There is no screening in K or 1st grade here.

If you are curious where they are doing this, I'd encourage you to talk to the principal, for starters. There is hopefully someone within your district who can explain it thoroughly to you.

 

[mom2d&b]

My 4th grade DD has been tested twice. Both times she just misssed the 130 score. Now that DH and I are both unemplpoyeeded they want to test her again in the fall. Something about different ( less stringent ) rules for title one kids.

 

[Britgirlus]

My son did gifted testing earlier this year - they don't do it here unless the parents and/or teachers request it. In his case, it means he goes to a gifted pull-out class one day a week for "enrichment". He also qualified to go to the local gifted school, though we'll be keeping him in the school he is currently at. He just finished 1st grade (turns 7 next week)

 

[Magpie]

Hi

My daughter is just finishing up 1st grade. I got a form yesterday to sign to have her screened for gifted. Her teacher told me that she was screened at the beginning of the year and they want to screen her again (although I didn't sign anything at the beginning of the year?). She was also screened in K.

Any idea why they keep screening her like this? Maybe she is missing it by a few "points" or something? And what is "screening" anyway? The guidance counselor said it is 1 test and then she talks to a psychologist...is this normal?

Do the schools get additional funding for gifted students or does it end up costing them? The scholl does not currently have a gifted program but are "starting one" this upcoming year.

Thanks!!

Her teacher is probably nominating her for the new gifted program, because she thinks your daughter would benefit from it. She's likely just missing the cut-off by a tiny bit. Most schools get extra money for gifted students, and in some districts they come under the same funding category as any student with special needs - except they're cheaper to teach and you don't need to hire any extra teachers.

If your daughter seems content and is making progress in the class she's currently in, then I wouldn't worry about it. Either she'll get in, or she won't, and whatever happens, you know she's doing just fine. I'm a big fan of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

However, if your daughter's been having problems in school, then you may want to inquire further. Some kids fall through the cracks when it comes to testing, either because they have a very divergent way of thinking (ie, they don't answer the questions "right"), or because they have a hidden learning disability.

My son had both issues, and couldn't pass the screening when his teacher nominated him in kindergarten. We paid for private testing (several sessions over the course of a week) to try to get a better picture - but it didn't actually help. His results were too scattered to read, and we ended up homeschooling him because he was just SO miserable in school. We didn't get a clear picture of his abilities until he was 9, when we had him tested a second time. This time he came up as very highly gifted, with a severe learning disability.

All this testing was very expensive! But our son is now 12 and doing well in the public school's gifted program, and he has a laptop to help him with his LD. So, it was ultimately worth it for us.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Hi, I'm in Florida too and have recently gone through this. Our district does not test until the students are at the end of 2nd grade, ready for 3rd. My son's school has a full class of gifted and talented students, so they test in stages to see who qualifies. The teacher recommends which students in a class should be tested. The school guidance counselor tests first. Students that score over 120 on her screening are slotted for further testing by a school psychologist. The kids that make over 120 are automatically in the TAG class. To qualify as "gifted" the child has to score 130 or better on the second round of testing. Yes, the districts get more money for gifted students. Once they know how many kids made the 120 cutoff, then the kids that scored close to that are also put into the TAG class to fill it up (approx 20-22 students).

My son scored in the 130s so he will automatically get into the TAG class and will be getting tested by the psychologist, hopefully over the summer.

Hope this helps!

 

[DisneyFed]

DW is a School Psych in Florida...she says the retesting can be for a number of reasons....

However, she did say you might want to request a meeting with the "Team" to discuss it, based on the information you gave me. Nothing wrong, but it will allow you to find out where your child stands and what they happen to be looking for...if that makes sense?

 

[mommyjam]

At my kids school they test all the 2nd graders, then the ones that qualify start the gifted program in 3rd grade. My daughter didnt qualify, but I had a friend who is a teacher that kept pushing us to have her tested again. She insisted that my daughter had to be gifted. So we asked her teacher and she told us that no she did not do well enough on the first test to warrant testing again. We pushed the issue and finally they agreed just to make us happy. And it turns out she outscored the test. They test their reading level every year and this year (5th grade) she was reading at the same level as a high school graduate.