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Testing: Who Needs It?

Posted on 19. May, 2009 by JM in Posts

Testing, Who Needs It?

We all like to think, or hope, our kids are pretty darn smart.  We throw them praises for counting to 100, for remembering and retaining things that happened years ago, for reading “the cat chased the rat”, or for constructing a complicated Lego contraption.   We are told they’re bright by their teachers, relatives and friends, but are they?  Are they really as gifted as we think they are?

There is no telling that where you send them for Elementary School will determine a whole lot in their future, after all, there are plenty of extraordinary and successful individuals that went through the most feeble of early childhood education.  Nonetheless, if you seek to get some answers about your child’s intellectual talent, here are the ways:

Private School Testing:

In Denver, there are three private Kindergarten-age school programs that require a cognitive assessment. They are: The Logan School, Colorado Academy and Ricks Center for Gifted Children (part of the University of Denver). Graland and Stanley British Primary used to required these tests several years ago and starting next fall, Graland will once again require cognitive testing.

The two accepted tests are called the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (or WPPSI-III) which The Logan School prefers and the newer version of the Differential Abilities Scale (DAS-II) which Colorado Academy prefers.  Graland will accept either one of these.  The tests are for ages 2-5 years and for older children (6+) there is a different assessment called the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV).

If you are considering one of the previously mentioned schools for your child, then you will need to speak to a Child Psychologist who is trained in and specializes in administering cognitive assessments.  Typically you can speak with a Child Psychologist (schools can provide you with a list of names) on the phone to first assess the need for the test and to answer any questions you might have about the child’s learning style.

If you’re expecting to prep your child for one of these tests, think again.  According to Child Psychologist, Dr. Mary Monroe, if a parent were to prep or train their children on the subject matter, the integrity of the test would be compromised and wouldn’t be a true test of a child’s cognitive abilities.  The child’s score would not be valid if the information they are being tested on isn’t novel to them.  It is supposed to measure cognitive abilities and is NOT a measure of achievement.  A Child Psychologist (via the test) is looking to see how a child’s brain responds to a novel experience (left brain vs. right brain, visual vs. language, spatial relationships, analytical, etc.) which will provide a truer sense of the child’s abilities as opposed to how well they have studied the material. Here is an explanation of the Wechsler Tests on Wikipedia.

Public School Testing:

In the Denver Public School System there are three different types of assessments given to children based on their age and need.

Early Entrance

If you are considering Kindergarten for your child but they do not meet the birth date cutoff of October 1^st for the following year…you may take the Early Entrance assessment which is administered by the DPS Early Education Department.  As stated on their Website, the Early Entrance assessment is available for children with exceptional academic need who turn 5 years old between October 2 and December 31 of the year of enrollment. The Board of Education policy stipulates that students must have extraordinary academic need for early entrance.” The fee for this assessment is $50. 

Advanced Kindergarten

DPS offers Advanced Kindergarten classrooms in eight elementary schools that are specifically designed for academically advanced kindergarten students in the areas of reading and math. These classrooms provide a full-day curriculum that enriches, expands and accelerates state and district kindergarten standards according to student academic readiness and assessed curriculum mastery. The Advanced Kindergarten Program is a part of the full-day Tuition Based Kindergarten Program. There is a test/assessment that is administered by the DPS Early Education Department for these programs for a $50 fee as well. The application is an additional $50 fee.

Advanced Kindergarten classrooms are available in the following elementary schools and you must apply to your neighborhood school or go through the choice process (through the Advanced Kindergarten Dept. and NOT the School of Choice Dept.) if it is not your district: Archuleta Elementary, Bradley International School, Edison Elementary, Gust Elementary, Palmer Elementary, Polaris at Ebert, Stedman Elementary and William Roberts School.

Highly Gifted & Talented

There are also eight schools that offer the Highly Gifted & Talented Magnet program in the Denver Public School System: Polaris at Ebert, Southmoor Elementary, Carson Elementary, Cory Elementary, Edison Elementary, Teller Elementary, Archuleta Elementary and Gust Elementary. Qualifying students will be offered placement in their area HGT Magnet site based on their home address and their DPS neighborhood school. A child has to be “nominated”, during their first grade year, for the Highly Gifted & Talented Program. A child can also be “self-nominated” if a parent chooses to do this for their child.  If accepted, the child will be placed with other students with similar abilities and taught by trained teachers.

There is an application on the DPS Website for this nomination and it’s typically due in early November.  If you are seeking for your child to be nominated and your school offers the HGT program, you should discuss it with their teacher. There is no single criterion that determines Highly Gifted & Talented students, rather several in combination, including observation by teachers and an assessment given by the DPS Department Psychologist.  Typically, the students that are a part of the HGT program are the top 5^th percentile of those tested.

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Hopefully, this breakdown will help you in determining what will be the best path for your child and eliminate some of the mystery in this process.  I, for one, had trouble navigating through the muddy waters during my quest and am still in the process of figuring out a final path to take.  Sometimes it can be tricky, especially if you have a potentially gifted child, but they do not meet the cutoff date for enrollment.  There is an onslaught of new questions that arise because of this.  Do they do Kindergarten twice?  Do they go Early Entrance AND to Advanced K?  Is it better or worse for a boy or a girl?  Only you can make that choice…and instinct will lead you there.

Tags: advanced kindergarten, child psychologist, denver elementary schools, denver kindergarten, denver public school system, DPS, early entrance, HGT, highly gifted & talented, Private Schools, testing