Evals: Gifted

Evaluations for Placement in Gifted Program (Palm Beach County)

Requirements:

1. Score of 130 on an individually administered intelligence test
2. Score at or above the 90th percentile on an individually administered brief test of reading or math skills
3. A majority of characteristics of a “gifted student” endorsed on a checklist by a current or previous teacher
4. Determination of the need for a “gifted” curriculum

Students can be tested by a school psychologist in school or by a private licensed psychologist.

Palm Beach County Gifted Policy

Testing Procedure:

I administer the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) to children 6 and older and the Wechsler Primary & Preschool Intelligence Scale (WPPSI-III) to 4 and 5 year olds. These tests take between 40 and 50 minutes to administer. In addition,  brief reading and math screening tests are administered. These take about 15-20 minutes. I score these tests immediately and discusses the results with you. A written report is emailed to you within several days. This is the report you would submit to your child’s school if he/she qualifies for the gifted program.

Should I have my child tested:

You may want to refer to information in the following websites to determine if your child exhibits characteristics typical of a “gifted” child. It’s important to know that advanced reading and/or math skills do not mean that your child necessarily has a “gifted” IQ. The IQ test measures various verbal and nonverbal cognitive skills and does not assess academic skills.

Characteristics of gifted children and resources

http://www.austega.com/gifted/characteristics.htm

http://www.ri.net/gifted_talented/character.html

http://blogs.edweek.org

Palm Beach Post article on gifted

When should I test my child:

Preschoolers: Palm Beach County School District guidelines require that the child be tested after February 1 of the year he/she will enter kindergarten.

Students in public & private elementary school: Students can be tested at anytime during the year.

What should I tell my child prior to testing:

I suggest you tell your child that “you’re going to doing some work, kind of like school work, to tell what’s the best class in school for you to be in”. Try to avoid the word, “test” as this makes some children nervous. Also avoid the word, “games” as the child may expect to play games and not take the process seriously.

Evaluations for the Weiss School & Jupiter Academcy:

The Weiss School in Palm Beach Gardens requires the administration of an IQ test for admission. Jupiter Academy has a part-time pullout program for students who qualify with an IQ of 130. Academic testing is not required for these schools.

Fees:

The fee for the evaluation, consultation and report is $375 payable in cash, check, Visa/Mastercard.  Gifted testing is educational testing and does not qualify for insurance reimbursement.