A lot of parents are interested in getting their child into the gifted program. To help parents understand more about gifted program and what it takes to get your kids there, here are some useful tips as follows.
First, not all kids are the same, some kids are talented in math while others are very good at social interaction. I think as parents, we should encourage kids to pursue their passion and provide guidance and help, but we shouldn't demand them too hard on something they are not just passionate about by nature. It is a tricky balance to maintain but a parent-guided approach is the best.
Every child is born with a unique gift. Since the gifted program is heavily oriented towards math and logic, not all kids can go into gifted program. But that doesn't mean the child is not gifted. Don't get discouraged. This is just like, the life achievement for a person only depends on very small portions of his/her IQ, but largely depends on persistence and passion.
With this understanding, let's take a look at the components of a gifted program test. There are 3 aspects of the test, i.e.:
-Verbal: the ability to reason with words and sentences
-Quantitative: concepts and relations regarding numbers and math
-Nonverbal: figural concepts expressed in pictures
Perhaps the most important aspect of the gifted test is critical thinking. This is pretty much the way to measure the IQ of your child. Critical thinking is kind of an abstract concept, to make it easier to understand, they are typically brain-training questions/puzzles. For example:
-Word puzzles
-Numberical puzzles
-Visual puzzles
-Memory puzzles
-Logic puzzles
For CogAT test, you can get some practice books and let your child do it. find Some good books here
Books for CogAT Practice Test or
Books for Critical Thinking
Also there are some very good IQ Testing Exercise books recommended in this article:
Gifted and Talented Program Sample Questions and Answers for your reference.
Gifted Test Duration Time
To give you an idea how long it will take for the testing, in Bellevue Washington, the test duration is like this:
For first grade students
-Test time is 2 hours, there are 6 sections in the test, each takes about 20 minutes to complete.
-For verbal and quantitative sections, the teacher will read the questions to the students. Students will choose an answer in the answer sheet.
-For non-verbal section, students see 3 pictures and choose the next picture in the pattern from 4 choices.
For 2nd grade to 9th grade students
-Test time is 2.5 hours with breaks between sections.
-Students read the questions themselves.
-All questions are multiple choice. The sections are timed.
-Students mark their answers on an answer sheet that can be read by a computer.
Sample Testing Questions
These are questions that appear on gifted tests across the USA for kindergarten through third grade. They test visual-spatial reasoning, cognitive skills, memory and comprehension.
Gifted Test Sample Questions: Kindergarten through 3rd Grade (pdf download, about 4.5MB)
Also, below are two good links that contain another set of sample gifted test questions. The author (pen name Susulin) is a parent of the gifted class. He also wrote an English/Chinese bilingual white paper documenting his thoughts on elementary gifted education and best practices for parents.
GiftedMaster_CriticalThinking.pdf
GiftedMaster_ElementaryLife.pdf
Comments (10)
"Gifted/highly capable students are generally defined as 2+standard deviations above the norm depending on the test used. For the CogAT = 132 is considered gifted.
As reference, Bellevue School District currently uses 132 as the threshold for receiving pull-out gifted services in grades 3-5, a similar level on multiple measures to qualify for in-class services in literacy for grade 2, and 144 to be eligible for the self-contained classroom or full day curriculum option in grades 2-12."
This book on gifted programs could be an interesting read:
Parents' Guide to IQ Testing and Gifted Education
The book mentions various gifted education programs, and how those programs may or may not serve your gifted child. Also the disadvantages to being gifted. It also talks about the common sensitivities of the gifted child, and the possible effects on the child's self-esteem.
Mind Benders Book 3 by Critical Thinking Press, is a good book on deductive thinking puzzles, logic and reading comprehension, as well as mental organizational skills.
CRITICAL THINKING ACTIVITIES IN PATTERNS, IMAGERY, AND LOGIC GRADES K-3 This book is good exercise book for CogAT test.
Primary Grade Challenge Math this is also a nice book for math.
Lollipop Logic: Critical Thinking Activities This is 4.5 stars reviews. good book for your kid's mind.
This workbook is very good to help students learn strategies for effective test preparation. The lessons in this book cover essential content areas, including reading, math, language, science, and social studies. Very Good problem solving and Questions phrasing. If you kids are very smart, then you can give him/her a higher grade test.
TWO FULL LENGTH Practice Tests for GRADE 2 This one got two tests, if you want your kiddo practice more, then you can get this one.
Book Description
Building Thinking Skills® provides highly effective verbal and nonverbal reasoning activities to improve students? vocabulary, reading, writing, math, logic, and figural-spatial skills, as well as their visual and auditory processing. This exceptional series provides a solid foundation for academic excellence and success on any assessment test.