That said, to clarify, he got an A in math this quarter in his gifted cluster math group and scored in the 81st percentile on the standardized test. This was without using a pencil and paper. Goodness only knows why he decided NOT to try and write the problems out. Plus when you look at last years scores...in the 31st percentile...then that 50 percentile point gain is amazing. I know he's quite good at conceptual math skills, but he has no rote memory ability. Rite was the same way. He just struggled in math for years because of rote memory issues, now he's skipped 2 grade levels and is considered the best in math in his grade. So, I'm just waiting for Mite to blossom, too.

The ITBS prep course isn't a course, really. It's a prep package you can buy online. I just googled that phrase and found loads of them ,but I can't remember which one we had. Ours was a cd course.

Hi Willa Gayle,
((applause))
Trinity

It's weird, how these little gains are so big for these little 2E folk and how educators just don't get it!

I know the 81st percentile does not indicate giftedness, but that much of a gain in 1 year, imo, does. Now he just needs exposure to higher levels of math to see if the spikes even higher. I believe that it will. His conceptual ability in math is phenomenal. It's the rote memory that kicks him in the pants when he's doing the calculations. I think the dysgraphia is why he doesn't like to write things out even when he can just do stuff on scratch paper, which was provided. He just relies on his head.

I think we'll see that spike as we hone the accomodations and coach him a bit on test taking skills.

Does anyone have any information regarding what types of questions are on the math portion of the SCAT?

Thanks

Welcome Sacbutter, what an unusual name! How old is your child? Did they register through JHU? They should send you a booklet with a tutorial and sample problems. The math part is all "greater than, less than or equal" problems with the goal of quickly determining which side is greater, without necessarily performing the operations. I believe starting in 4th grade they add the more complex "cannot be determined" option to the mix. The biggest stumbling block tends to be that kids try to solve the problem completely, and run out of time.

Thanks for the information. He is in the second grade, and yes, he did register through CTY. The booklet provided a couple of sample problems, but it was still somewhat unclear.

That's really all he'll need to prepare.

I just wanted to dive into here a bit to the SCAT test, as my 2e (aspie) daughter took it last summer and did well, and I was excited, and signed her up for a summer course (day) in Los Angeles.
I can only say, unfortunately, it was a nightmare. There was apparently a boy who picked on her incessantly during the class and yes, she's an aspie so is not so well-informed to these things, and I phoned and tried to deal with the JHU people and... nothing.
The people staffing the areas were college students and the teachers were possibly qualified for gifted training, but I saw no evidence of that for our specific teacher. Overall, there's no way any of these people had any 2e or asperger's training and I personally think any highly gifted education training so, caveat emptor. For us, our daughter was terribly unhappy and had every reason to be so. Maybe the online classes are good but I'd be leery of trying CTY again- it seems it's been watered down to the masses to make money. It was a huge enterprise, more like a daycare! I could tell a lot of those kids were just there because their parents put them there, not because of their own natural curiosities, (hence, bullying!) so again, I didn't feel at "home" here at all with a gifted child, I felt like I was in the SAT rat race with Middle America trying to get their kids into Yale and Harvard and the best Frats, meanwhile, my daughter just wants to study black holes, so it was a bad fit.
Hope this helps~

Hi Calizephr!
Welcome! Thanks for your frank impression of the program.

May I ask how your daughter did in comparison of the other kids who did SCAT as a talent search that year? Was she within a Standard Deviation of the middle clump or beyond that?

The reason I love LOG (Levels of Giftedness) is because it gives me the backing to avoid programs aimed toward Moderatly Gifted kids (the middle clump) unless they let him attend with kids a year or two older than he is.

We did very very well at SIG (day) when he was amoung the youngest in his grouping, and poorly the year after that. Poorly is an exaggeration, but it was a big dissapointment for him. the individual teachers at SIG had come back year after year and most seemed bood to great, but certianly not all. Another hint is to allow them to take classes in topics they haven't been exposed to, and steer clear of main interests and strengths. Sad, huh?

I do think that you have a right to be furious that they weren't able to be sensitive to your daughter's disability! I would call and write letters even now, and let them know how it went. Many MG kids are 'just right' being 'directed' by parents in their enrichment. Now that my son is in Middle School age (11) he is in full 'duck and cover' with his intellectual needs, and if I were to send him to CTY, he would look pushed, at least until the hoped for magic kicked in.

Smiles,
Grinity

I'm very sorry about your daughter's negative experience. What grade level was the program? I have heard many reviews of the CTY middle school and high school program, and they have all been very positive. People often use terms like, "life changing" when they summarize their CTY summer experiences. I'm looking into CTY for my 11 yo this year.

I've heard more mixed results for HG+ kids at SIG.

I think it just goes to show that there's variability in any program, and all we parents can do is gather the facts as best we can and try our best to find the right fit for our individual children.