Parent Advocacy for Gifted Kids in NurtureShock

Gifted Placement Facts Parents Should Know Discussion Guide

Oct 18, 2009

Flawed gifted program entrance procedures are exposed by Bronson and Merryman in NurtureShock's 5th chapter. Book club forums help parents formulate advocacy strategies.

NurtureShock’s fifth chapter delves into testing procedures for gifted education program placement and alignment with the intellectual development of children. Bronson and Merryman use research to show that current testing and rating systems do not meet “a reasonable standard of confidence to justify a long-term [placement] decision.”

As the primary advocate for the child, parents will gain factual information to talk with school officials about important placement decisions and how to better support and grow natural talent within the education system.

Current Tests for Gifted Kids are Ineffective Predictors

Testing for private school admissions or public school Gifted and Talented Programs occurs annually. The scores from these tests determine if a student is admitted to the school or placed in the program for gifted learners.

Bronson and Merryman share research (page 97) which verifies that only 27% of the time, a student testing as gifted in kindergarten will still test as gifted by the time the student is in third grade. While the tests accurately report current performance, the tests are not accurate predictors of future performance when administered to very young children. What are the parent advocacy implications?

Gifted Programs Result in Better Learning Results

Qualifications for gifted programs find academically bright children. In some districts, when too few children meet the admissions standard, seats are filled with regular students scoring as low as the 80th percentile (page 106). Yet, a California state study found that students in “Gifted and Talented programs make 36.7% more progress every year than the norm (page 99).” What produces the superior learning results in gifted programs? How could those elements be included in regular classrooms?

Initial Admission Target for Gifted Programs

Initial entry is the focus for most gifted programs. Retesting of students is rarely required, so children stay in the program as long as they do not fall too far behind. Available seats in the programs are almost always filled during the initial admission period. Students who move into the district or qualify at a later time, cannot enter the program. How might students not in the initial admission group be accommodated?

Intelligence is Not Fixed

In the past, IQ or intelligence was thought to be static and unchanging. An IQ score derived when a child is young, is likely not accurate. “From age 3 to age 10, two-thirds of children’s IQ scores will improve, or drop, more than 15 points. This is especially true among bright kids – their intelligence is more variable than among slower children (page 111).” As a parent advocate, how might this information be helpful?

Advocacy strategies, parenting approaches and child development ideas can be developed during a NurtureShock book club or discussion group. Chapter 5, “The Search for Intelligent Life in Kindergarten” shares facts about the flaws of early gifted testing and what science is learning about the cognitive development of children.

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The copyright of the article Parent Advocacy for Gifted Kids in NurtureShock in Parenting Books is owned by Lynn Brogan. Permission to republish Parent Advocacy for Gifted Kids in NurtureShock in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.