Pre-School and Daycare
Blair11884
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Anyone's dc tested for gifted program in pre-k?
Blair11884
member
DS's teacher mentioned testing him for a gifted program recently. DS has been reading for a year now and she said he seems bored in class. He doesn't want to color and she took away his recess b/c he didn't finish his seatwork...I told her that I thought that would make him resent school since she was taking away his free-play time. She agreed. I was mostly bothered b/c he wasn't listening to his teacher at the time.
Anyways, what are your experiences with testing for giftedness at such a young age? My sister was in a gifted program started from Kind. on up.
TIA!
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Re: Anyone's dc tested for gifted program in pre-k?
dh and I are debating this right now. our city offers a G&T program and the testing is mid winter. dd will start kindie next fall... so testing is to get into a program at a public school of our choice. he says have her test... I'm not sure. in our situation, she is in prek at a private preschool and is one of a few kids selected to do kindie work in the am. she's ready. my understanding here is that the g&t program offers some good programs but also shuffles the kids through the system faster (depending on the school the child gets into, I've heard varying opinions). kindie is already what 1st grade was for us. they are expected to write their first and last names and the letters and numbers before entering and the kids are receiving homework in kindie. I don't want her to burn out. I want her to enjoy school.
it's rare that a child is truly gifted at this age. if you think he is, I'd talk to someone about what the benefit of the program would be for your child. for instance, here, the kids are in specific schools in specific classrooms with just children who passed the exam. curriculum is supposed to be geared toward the children of the class... not just the set standards for the year (which I know some general classes do this as well and if you do not test and the teacher feels the child is gifted, the child may be placed in a classed with a "brighter" group next year). my nephew was tested as gifted (in another state) and is pulled from his class for a couple of hours a day. it really doesn't seem to be anything more than more worksheets for him... busy work. but if he's not busy, he acts up. here the kids are being exposed to more arts and music and museums.
Here the test consists of the BSRA and OLSAT. basic knowledge (like colors and shapes) and then comprehension and reasoning skills.
I think it really depends on the school and the program. I read an article over the summer that stated the greatest predictor of academic success was how much the child read at home with family. sounds like he's a great reader and will be fine no matter what you choose.
My qualifier: I have my masters in GT education and taught GT elementary for 11 years.
If the teacher suggested it I would absolutely have him tested. Teachers do not refer that early unless there is a real need. : )