So, I finally called around for pricing for IQ testing. I've had quotes from a couple hundred dollars just for the test and no interpretation to well over a thousand dollars for a whole work-up. The whole work-up won't be an option in this life time, so I'm leaning towards the cheapest option.

The absolute cheapest place does the WJ-III cognitive with a regular tester, not a psychologist. They do have experience with gifted kids, though. I noticed that for DYS the WJ cognitive has a higher requirement, does that make it harder to use it to get in or does that limit reflect an artificial inflation from the WJ scores? He really seemed to enjoy the WJ achievement and I liked the relaxed approach to it- he doesn't do well with pressure. But, I'm not sure if the WJ cognitive is relaxed like the achievement.

The other places cost about double the first, but I would have a choice of the WISC or SB5. They would be with a psychologist but no formal interpretations would be available.

The only other thing I'm concerned about is that according to the people I spoke with today, we won't be able to re-do the WJ achievement for 6 months to a year (the answer varied). We're missing some of the subtests we need for Broad Reading and Broad Math. One of the people said that we probably couldn't have gotten the Reading Fluency (the one we're missing for the Broad Reading and the area I'm hoping we might qualify for DYS) anyways due to age. Does anyone know what the truth is in all that?

So, is an IQ test without an interpretation better than no IQ test at all or is it a waste of money without the interpretation? I've already tried getting the schools to pay for it and their suggestion was to put him in 1st grade and hope that the new school was more accommodating and willing to test than the last- that wouldn't even begin to be worth it for "free" testing that they may or may not give! Short of winning the lottery, this really seems to be our only option, but I don't want to waste the money if it's a useless option.

One more question- what would our chances of being accepted to DYS with portfolio and the partial achievement scores? Are people actually admitted just on portfolio?

You didn't mention how old your child is...I am guessing under 5yo. If that is the case, I had both of my children assessed under 5yo to qualify for a gifted school in my area. Neither child was given the full ranges of WJ achievement scores to compose a "broad cluster" score. Apparently, there are "fluency" issues for children under 5 and the tests are normed to at least 5 years of age. That being said, I have heard of folks getting the full WJ achievement testing completed with children under 5 so I guess it depends on the psychologist. HTH and Good luck!

Hmmm, I've heard such mixed reviews of the WJ-cog, I'd definitely want more personal feedback before going that route. My test of choice, short of the one that doesn't exist would probably be the WISC-IV, despite it's shortcomings (they all have 'em!) Depending on the $$$, it might be worth the increase. The WJ cog is considered the flakiest of them all, although I do know one person who went that route and ultimately landed in DYS (I'm sure there are others!).

I'm curious about the no interpretation...if they are talking no 1 hour conference after, no biggie. We can collectively give you that, . But ideally you would get more than just a sheet of scores for your efforts. However....those scores are the "proof" so to speak.

Could they do the WIAT achievement test? That's a totally different test that's fairly comparable to the WJ in the younger years, and you wouldn't have that retest complication.

You will need IQ testing for DYS. The only times I've seen kids accepted on just achievement were when the test was "older" (past 8 or 9) and the scores were well above the minimums. However, with IQ testing and the partial achievement...you would fare better.

Did you try any local universities? They often have testing for reduced rates that is done by grad students under professional supervision. It's not ideal, but it is often cheaper.

Hmm . . . the WJ-cog without a psychologist would worry me because I'd be concerned you might someday need the scores from a psychologist and that wouldn't qualify. (Does DYS require a psychologist's involvement? I don't know.) In addition, fewer people seem familiar with WJ vs WISC or SB5 and it might be nice to have something most people understand (barely, at least!). It seems most people don't know much about the WJ-cog, but if you only need it for DYS application, it would certainly work.

Whether it's a good idea to get just the score depends on what you need the results for . . . we paid for a score only report for a school based program that mandated specific tests, done by a psychologist. I didn't need a real evaluation. Although I would certainly love one, Dottie and a score report seems pretty good to me.

I have no idea whether partial AT would be enough for DYS with portfolio, but you could always ask them. It is possible to be admitted with one score and portfolio, but I suspect (and don't know for sure, so I'd ask them) that since AT can be soooo high in very young kids, they might want more than that. It never hurts to ask them . . . . .

I believe that DYS really strongly prefers to have two test scores in the application packet. I recommend that unless your child has produced something incredible (which is rare at age five, even in PG kids) that you stick to the two tests. It is my impression that they are more likely to accept just one test if you have other "data" in the form of a product showing the same sort of advancement that they'd pick up from the achievement test. So if your child hand wrote an amazing short story, composed original music and performed it on video, etc. You might go ahead and skip the achievement.

I think portfolio admission was more common before the specter of PG fraud loomed over the gifted community. Now they feel a need to have more "hard evidence" to support admission.

By the way, I shouldn't have said "flaky". I've heard that the WJ is fantastic for LD type issues, and giving a realistic overall profile. However....these strengths do not make it a great test for returning big numbers. And I'm pretty sure the friend I know that went that route was from when individual scores on the WJ were considered (versus the GIA, which is akin to a full scale).

I think that's one of those tests that if it was used, and you have it, fantastic! But it doesn't seem to be the one to outright pursue for gifted purposes.

FWIW, the higher criteria probably comes from the higher ceiling. Particularly in lower years, the WJ-cog has ceilings in the 200+ range on some of the clusters. At age 5, you can actually get a GIA of 270! (I'm guessing a LOT of stuff feeds into that!) I wish more posters had personal experience, because that's one I never hear spoken of, and I wouldn't necessarily "trust" that ceiling without documented HG+ experience using it, kwim?

I agree with Lorel's thoughts on the porfolio route.

I forgot to put DS's age, sorry! He's 6yrs 6mo, his achievement was done at 6yrs 5mo. When I called DYS, the woman was really nice, but it did seem that the portfolio was going to be a pain. I asked her outright if what she was getting at was that they wanted to see work he had done on his own without me coaching him and she said that was exactly it. And just like you guys said, he's 6, we're lucky to get him to write legibly much less to create masterpieces, lol.

There's one other company I've got a call in to that looks like it's only a little bit more for WISC or SB5, I have to verify that they use a psychologist for the testing. If we're spending the money and trying to get the most out of it, I'd rather go with the more widely accepted and trusted tests. I'm also going to call the university here this morning, that was a great suggestion! I'm trying not to think too hard about how unfair it is that we pay taxes, can't use the school system and they refuse to pay for his testing...that's unhelpful thinking, but still it makes a little bitter.

I think for the achievement, if the IQ shows that he's a good strong candidate, I'm inclined to just use the scores we have with a note explaining the missing subtests. If they need more, from what I've read here, they're pretty good about asking rather than just outright rejecting the application. The WIAT was going to be another $200 at least, so I think it's worth it to wait.

A few of the places I called pushed for the full work-up, but we're really just trying to find out what we're eligible for (there's a couple of schools here and then, of course, DYS). Other than DYS, I'm not looking to change his schooling right now, but it would be nice to know there are options. I'm trying not to dream too big, we don't have the test yet, even applying for anything isn't a forgone conclusion at this point. But I just keep thinking of DYS's educational support person who will help me figure out what to do with/for him and then having access to possibly local kids and parents...it makes my heart go pitter-patter, lol.

Oh, and Dottie, I'm pretty sure the interpretation is the 1 hour conference at the end. A couple of the places mentioned a summary report and talking briefly about the results. I'll make sure before we decide for sure which office we're going with, but I would definitely expect more than a sheet of unintelligible scores for what they charge!

Thus ends another epic-length post from me!

Understandable, but unfortunate. One one hand I would guess a truly PG kid would demonstrate that consistently, however, I wonder if some truly PG kids do better in a real world situation vs. testing environment. And then there are those who don't have access to testing for various reasons.

DD is one of those admitted on achievement scores and portfolio - but as Dottie said, it was a test for "older" kids (ACT) and I had quite a bit of portfolio material to choose from. Where things might have been questionable, I tried to photocopy the original "rough draft" DD had created before typing something. I also included a little cover sheet explaining what every piece was, its intent, how old she was when she completed it, etc. (Of course, I'm one of those packrat moms who saved little scraps of paper with "harder math problems, Mom, please" on them so that made it easier.)
If you have to choose which test to spend money on, I'd go for the WISC. Just my personal bias. Our local university does testing on a sliding fee scale, so you might ask about that too.
Oops, almost forgot, we have Dottie to thank for encouraging us to apply!!!

Oh, hi Emm!!! <<<waving madly>>> Your DD was one of the ones I was thinking of, LOL! I missed your other post, as that was during a very busy week with a lot of clicking on "mark all read". It's great to have you here!