BellaOnline Forums Education Gifted Education Trying to make sense of test scores- WJ III Cog

This is my first post on these boards, please forgive me if I'm in the wrong place. I have 2 girls (ages 8 and 6). We were considering switching schools and the new school wanted to test them first before deciding on admission. They used an outside vendor (a local psychiatric clinic-very well known in our city). I know my children are bright, but I was surprised when I got a letter with the results of their tests, and I'm trying to figure out what it all means. Are these scores considered gifted? Should I be sure to have them in classes geared to gifted students? Gifted summer camps and other programs? Or are my kids the typical 'run of the mill' bright students? When I look at their peers, I don't see much difference in my kids abilities than their friends. Is it possible that I know roughly 30 gifted students and don't realize it? I'm confused when it comes to the terms of giftedness and where my children fit in (if they do?) in all of it. They both were given the Woodcock Johnson III Normative Update, Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ III COG). I was given the scores but not any PRACTICAL advice/opinion/thoughts on what these scores actually mean for my children, their education or things to consider as a family. All scores were given in percentile. [u]DD "S", age 8, diagnosed ADHD.[/u] General Intellectual Ability - 96th- superior Verbal Ability - 96th- superior Thinking Ability - 98th- very superior Cognitive Efficiency - 47th- average subtests verbal comprehension - 96th - superior visual auditory learning - 67th - average spatial relations - 60th - average sound blending - 99th - very superior concept formation - 98th - very superior visual matching - 34th- average numbers reversed - 55th- average *She had testing about a year ago when diagnosed with ADHD, but I don't have those results handy. There were some things she scored really high in, and others she didn't, I believe (if I remember correctly there were issues with processing speed?? I would have to dig out the report to know for certain. [u]DD "E", age 6.[/u] General Intellectual Ability - 98th- very superior Verbal Ability - 93th- superior Thinking Ability - 98th- very superior Cognitive Efficiency - 93th- superior subtests verbal comprehension - 93th - superior visual auditory learning - 82th - high average spatial relations - 89th - high average sound blending - 98th - very superior concept formation - 97th - superior visual matching - 43th- average numbers reversed - 99th- very superior any insight to what these scores mean would be greatly appreciated. Is there a way to boost the lower scores? As a parent should I be making sure my children are in classes that are more challenging? Again, my apologies if this is in the wrong forum. R-

You have the right forum, and the Gifted Ed editor might be able to explain the results better than I can. You might want to take them to a psychologist, and get a written report telling you what they mean.

First, as a teacher of many years, looking at these scores, I can tell you what you already know; your kids are bright. Are they "gifted?" Various school systems use different cut-off points to define gifted. In a rural or urban core school, the necessary score might be lower to get into the program than in a suburban school. Gifted is a bit of an arbitrary label.

There are good and not so good attributes to gifted classes.

The good---Often there are interesting subjects and projects to pursue. Kids get a lot of encouragement. They get to be around bright kids, so they learn to move at a faster pace, since learning can be accelerated. They feel special.

The not so good---Sometimes the subjects won't interest your daughter, and she will feel a bit isolated if everybody else is saying, "OOOH! AHHH!" about what they are studying. There is more pressure to perform. Sometimes things move at a swift pace, and especially for kids who have writing and processing problems, irregardless of their intelligence, it gets to be too frustrating. They know what needs to be done, but can't quite do it. There are kids that start to feel very entitled in Gifted programs.

With bright kids, I recommend giving them many and varied experiences. Teach them to find their passion. Work with their strengths. If you choose to enroll them in the Gifted program, let them decide whether to stay. One of my kids stayed, and the other did not after the first two years. DO NOT force a child to stay in a Gifted program.

Based on your excellent questions, I am sure that you are at least as bright as your children. You can provide wonderful experiences for them to help them grow and develop their talents.

I notice that your oldest has ADD. I am the ADD editor, stop by the ADD site and forum, if you want info about ADD. We are on the Health and Fitness channel.

I am going to send you a private message about some resources for ADD that you might want to read. They concern school. At the top of the forum screen, you'll see a little envelope flashing. Just click and you'll see my message. Nothing super secret, but this is the Gifted forum, and while I know that there are many Gifted people with ADD, I think that it would be more appropriate to send you a PM.

Well, that's irritating. I can't send you a private message.

Here are some resources that you might want to read. You can e-mail me by clicking on my ADD signature link, and that will take you to my site. Click on my name at the top of the page. At the end of my bio is my direct e-mail. You are always welcome to post in our ADD forum.

I did not mention the discrepancy in your oldest daughter's scores on the first post. There are huge differences in some of those scores! She is so bright that she might not have problems in school now. However, with that much of a discrepancy in her scores, she might also have a learning disability. Please don't let her get into distress before getting help. I've seen that many times, even with my own kids, both of whom are bright with ADD. I have had many students over the years who are extremely bright and have learning disabilities. It is frustrating for the child.

I have reviews of all of these books on the ADD site.
If you have not read them, please get copies of these books:
How to Reach and Teach Students with ADD/ADHD-Sandra Rief
Delivered from Distraction-Dr. Edward Hallowell
Superparenting for ADD-Dr. Edward Hallowell

These books contain the information that you need to develop strong advocacy skills for your daughter.

Here are some articles:


School Success and ADD

ADD and the IEP

Here is an article about understanding the WISC.

Understanding Gifted Test Scores

As a parent with very bright kids, you want to know what tests mean. Here is some information about the subject.

Here is an article about the Woodcock Johnson from LDonline. It is a fabulous online resource for any parent who has a child with neurological differences, like ADD.

Tests and Measurements for the Parent, Teacher, Advocate and Attorney