Gifted education

[Chrisada]

In our district they test in first grade. R's teacher has recommended him for testing. Then, based on that, they are either pulled out of class at their homeschool, or move to a completely different school (where R is now) for a full time gifted class. Apparently the gifted class, does not interact with the other students, not even at lunch, for field trips, or on the playground.

In Nashville, I went to an academic magnet public school based on testing, that was extremely competitive and stressful. All classes were honors and AP. It's usually ranked in the top 30 high schools in the country. I was smart, but not as smart as a lot of the students, and that was difficult for me. I did not realize I really was smart until a went to college with normal students.


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[metroguy]

in nyc, i think they switch over to common core. for g&t, it depends on school. i can't really tell since CC is tested on 3rd grade and my kid is not there yet. i know g&t is insanely competitive. we spends hrs and hrs of time (3months) +$$ to prep our kid. i know other parents spend more. a few set of parents sold their house/apts so that they can move themselves closer to the g&t school. some kids commute 1.5 hrs each way so they can attend g&t. crazy.. worth it? don't know.

[spotty_dog]

Bumping this. At the end of last school year, my district complied with the new state mandate and initiated a Highly Capable program. With trepidation I nominated DS (though I'm sure one of his teachers probably nominated him too.) After some delays, the assessment (according to the plan they wrote for this program, it should be an ITBS and a CogAT) is happening today and tomorrow. I'm anxious, partly because of what GMW said about not letting the district test them. :\ What if he tests poorly and is forever barred from services? What if he tests well and assumptions follow us in this tiny community?

Bah. At least DS hasn't picked up on my anxiety. He is hopeful that this will mean that there will be a bright point of interesting activities in his otherwise boring school week, but complacent that he might not get in and in that case we'll just keep doing interesting stuff at home. I am hopeful that good scores will mean I can better advocate for his in-class work. (Currently the teacher is giving him extra enrichment activities, which is good, but it also means double the busywork when he's really quite beyond this material.) I'm grateful this should all be completed before his first trimester parent conferences in a month...

(Oh, and because talking about giftedness makes a person feel uncomfortably braggy...I feel like I must reiterate my kid is NOT the next Einstein. But he deserves to have a little interest and challenge in his school days when he enjoys learning so dang much.)

[Pollyanna]

Good luck with the testing!!! Let us know how it goes!!!