Honors/Gifted & Talented Testing - did one of your twins pass and one not?

Discussion in 'Childhood and Beyond (4+)' started by twinstuff-old, Feb 12, 2007.

  1. twinstuff-old

    twinstuff-old Well-Known Member

    This isn't a big deal because my guys are so young and we'll test the twin who didn't pass again next year in 1st grade, but have any of you ever tested your kids for the G/T or Honors programs in school and have a situation where one qualified as G/T and the other didn't?

    That's what just happened with our twins. I'm kind of amazed either passed because I've heard it's next-to-impossible for Kindergarteners to qualify as G/T since they don't really have the experience in taking tests.

    Both actually did quite well and the one who didn't qualify outperformed his brother in two of the three tests and had a higher cumulative score, but the way they factor in teacher's observations (they have different K teachers), the one who scored higher on the English/Language Arts test (as well as doing really well in the Reasoning test) had high-enough teacher's scores that he was designated to start taking G/T curriculum later this spring.

    I guess I'm just trying to see if anyone had similiar experiences. If you had your kids take G/T tests, did you share results with them later? That might be the stickiest issue in our case; I don't think we need to discuss the test results with either one, but how do we deal with inquisitive relatives/friends who might ask why one of our twins is in a G/T class and the other isn't. And do you have schools where they only have one G/T class per elementary school grade? (that's how it's done in our district) I'm not sure I'd want our guys together in the same class even if both grade out as G/T in future years (hey, as a bragging parent, I'm pretty sure this will be the case within a year from now!)
     
  2. Anna3

    Anna3 Well-Known Member

    My boys had been tested too, and the results were quite different. In our school kids are being pulled out of the regular classroom for the G/T ( or they call it enrichment) classes. Isaac goes there 3 times a week for reading, writing and math, but Ethan only goes for the math sessions. Ethan knows that Isaac is a much stronger reader, but it does not bother him at all at this point. We did not discuss the test results or report cards with the boys either. It just so happens, that they each have their own thing, like Ethan gets better swimming results, or Isaac is scoring more in soccer.
     
  3. JenJefLog

    JenJefLog Well-Known Member

    This did happen to me. At our school, kids aren't tested until 2nd grade. The teacher my girls had in 2nd felt that Caitlin should be tested, but not Sarah, so Caitlin went and was designated gifted. Towards the end of the year, the gifted coordinator was looking at state test scores from the previous year and felt that Sarah's reading score indicated she should be tested, so put her on the list. Unfortunately, they didn't get around to testing her until the beginning of 3rd grade and supposedly the test is much more difficult in 3rd grade and she didn't pass. I'm not saying she would have passed either way, but it seems to me if you're taking the 2nd grade test at the end of 2nd grade when you've been learning stuff all year, it would be easier to do better than if you take the 3rd grade test at the beginning of 3rd grade and don't have as much learning under your belt. Anyway, at this point, they are both in what is called SAS (school for advanced studies) which doesn't require a gifted designation, just a teacher recommendation, but when they go to middle school year after next, Sarah won't be able to continue in the SAS program because she's not designated and it's required at middle school level. Logan actually took the test as well and didn't pass, but then got designated by his state test scores. I haven't really discussed this much with the girls other than to briefly talk to Sarah a bit about the fact that when she's in middle school, she probably won't be in SAS. At our school, there are usually two classes per grade that are SAS, but it's usually one class that is the "main" class and then another that is the overflow. I've tended to have a strong preference for one teacher over another, so I've kept them in the same class because of it. Also, in 4th and 5th, there had previously only been one SAS class, so I figured they'd be together then, though this year they did have a 4th grade overflow because it's a big class. I find it very difficult to deal with sometimes because almost all the other girls my girls hang around with are also designated gifted, so it feels like Sarah is the only one who isn't and it also makes it hard for me to talk to other parents about it, because there really isn't anyone else in my situation. The other day when I talked to Sarah about not being in middle school SAS, she started talking about how Caitlin and their friend Jaclyn always do better on tests than she does. I talked to her about her dad who had a hard time in school and didn't do very well and yet is one of the smartest people I know and who runs a successful business. I pointed out that Einstein also didn't do well in school (right Renee? [​IMG] ) and that sometimes some people just don't test well or things don't come as easily, but she's still a good student and a great kid and that as long as she does her best, that's all that matters. I would think that most relatives and friends would understand that your boys may look identical to them, but that they are two individuals who will always have differences and as long as they're living up to their own potential, that's all that matters. Of course it's nice to have a child that's identified gifted, but there are so many more things that make up a well-rounded individual and it certainly isn't a free pass for the rest of their life. I kid with one of my friends about how many times kids in the gifted classes have more behavior problems and that parents often use their "boredom" as an excuse for poor behavior. Sometimes when Caitlin has acted out, I've turned to my friend and said, "Welll, it's because she's gifted." [​IMG]

    ETA: In being designated gifted from state test scores, kids need to score above a certain amount in both reading and math. Sarah has scored well enough in the reading portion, but not quite high enough in math.
     
  4. jxnsmama

    jxnsmama Well-Known Member

    This is a big fear of mine.

    In our district, "gifted" in grades 1-5 is a separate school. They don't offer gifted options at any other elementary schools. Hayden and Brady know Jackson goes to a special school and, of course, they want to go there. I believe Brady will test in at kindergarten, because he is further advanced than Jackson was at this age and displays some gifted learning characteristics. Hayden not so much. [​IMG]

    If they were all in the same regular school, with some of them on the gifted track and some not, I guess it wouldn't bother me so much. But the prospect of entirely different schools does concern me a bit. I know I have to keep in mind what's best for them and their individual learning styles, and focus more on "how" they are learning than "where" they are learning, but it does worry me.
     
  5. Mama_Kim

    Mama_Kim Well-Known Member

    I was worried this would happen with B&C but they actually scored virtually identical on their tests! It's really odd how closely they tested toe ach other. Even their TAG teacher commented on it to me, that their scores were so closely aligned.
     
  6. twinstuff-old

    twinstuff-old Well-Known Member

    Mark and I almost always tested the same as well (high school GPA's ended up being 0.01 apart from each other, our first honors testing in grade school which I believe was an IQ test was virtually the same, he beat me in honors testing in high school, but I had higher SAT's than he did) although I think the testing at this young age was more an indication of who was more focused rather than what they know.

    There was one test where one got a 93 and one got a 95 and another where one got a 96 and the other a 99. But the other two tests they took were vastly different, Colby vastly outperformed Brady in Science and Math and Brady did a lot better than Colby in English/Language Arts (the last one kind of surprised me as I believe their reading and comprehension skills are about the same).
     
  7. kdmom

    kdmom Well-Known Member

    In Illinois there is no funding for gifted/talented education in the public schools. This is a large reason why we are in a private school, but even they do not have gifted programs until 2nd grade.

    That being said, this happened to us. Danny is gifted, and it has been obvious since he was very small. When we got into Kindergarten, they tested both of them. They tested Danny because he got a 5% on a reading readiness test (when he has been a fluent reader since age 2.5). When they got Danny's results back, they tested Kaitlyn because frequently when you have one gifted child, the other children in the family are likely to be gifted, too. Kaitlyn's results were right at grade level.

    The school they are in is small, so there is only one classroom per grade level. Danny goes to a pull-out class for the advanced 2nd graders every day, and 3 times a week he goes to the special ed teacher for 1-on-1 enrichment in writing and spelling to try to catch his writing skills up to his reading skills. Kaitlyn does not seem to mind that Danny goes to these outside classes.

    Kaitlyn knows Danny is more academically advanced than she is. It doesn't seem to affect her self esteem at all. She has her own talents, physically and artistically, that far exceed Danny's talents. In fact, it's great to see them work together on things, recognizing each others strengths and weaknesses.

    And, I wouldn't worry about the relatives. I just tell them that my kids are twins, not clones!!! [​IMG]
     
  8. Sherri3kids

    Sherri3kids Well-Known Member

    They are test every Friday, good pass and will be 2nd grade this year. It's wonderful and smart. It's math, reading, art, spelling, vocabulary, and computer skills with reading word. And Travis have to test every Friday, good pass and will be 6th grade this year.
     
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