How to test your child for gifted and talented

How to Get Your Child Tested For Giftedness

If you have read the article Is My Child Gifted?, then you may be wondering how to find someone to do gifted testing. Finding someone or somewhere to evaluate your child for gifted identification can be difficult. However, you may be able to locate options in your area through a variety of channels, such as your school and state educational department, private practice professionals, or specialty organizations.

Tips on Getting Your Child Tested For Giftedness

• Know which kind of test you need or is accepted for the purpose you are considering
• Group-administered achievement tests like the PSAT, SAT or ACT may be the most affordable and accessible if it can meet your needs, but they won’t provide in-depth information on your child
• If you need an individually-administered assessment like the WISC V for a more in-depth look at your child, your school or education department may still be able to help
• Networking with local groups and parents may help you find someone to test your child
• Virtual assessment and tele-health options may become more viable and available in the near future
• Always inquire if sliding-scale pricing is available or check with a university for reduced scale options
• It may take time to find someone right for your family and specific needs

Many gifted programs accept group-administered achievement tests like the PSAT, SAT, ACT, or other designated standardized tests. Group-administered achievement tests may be a parent’s first choice for gifted identification because they are widely available at local schools or testing centers and affordable. If a group-administered achievement test is right for you at this time, you may be able to access one through your local school district, a nearby Talent Search program, or reaching out directly to the test publisher, such as the College Board for the SAT or the American College Testing Program for the ACT. However, group-administered tests rarely offer in-depth information on a student’s learning profile of strengths and weaknesses, which is why many parents seek individually-administered assessments and professional evaluations instead.

If you’re not sure which kind of gifted testing is right for you, our article Testing and Assessment for the Gifted Child reviews the differences between achievement tests and abilities assessments for gifted identification and may help you narrow down which kind of gifted testing meets your child’s needs. Since group-administered tests are relatively easier to come by, as shared in the paragraph above, the rest of this article is aimed at helping parents find someone to provide individual assessment and evaluate the results for their child, which can often prove to be a challenging undertaking!

Where to Seek a Gifted Child Evaluation

Local School or Education Department

Your school may be the first place you want to look for a gifted evaluation and may even have gifted identification practices in place already. A school may also be an affordable option if parents are hoping to screen their child for additional concerns, such as ADHD. There are many pros and cons to seeking a school evaluation, and parents will need to consider their goals for seeking a gifted assessment to determine whether or not this option is right for their child.

Even if your school is not set up to provide the gifted evaluation you were hoping for, the education system is full of personnel with knowledge and training. Professionals working in your school district may be able to help you identify people in your area who can provide the right gifted assessment for your child. You may try reaching out to the following staff to inquire about gifted identification options:

• Counselors at your school, including specialists like a Speech & Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Guidance Counselor, Psychologist or Social Worker
• Depending on their gifted policies and practices, your state department of education or local school district may employ one or more of the following gifted and educational specialists: Gifted Education Teacher, Gifted Pull-Out Specialist, Special Education Teacher, Gifted Education Coordinator, Assessment Coordinator, District Psychologist, District Social Worker, Director of Student Services

Near-by Professionals

Many full evaluations take place within the private practices of working professionals. Different kinds of evaluations require differing levels of training and education, but broadly speaking, you may likely be looking for a licensed psychologist in many cases. However, individuals with advanced degrees in areas like education or social work may also be qualified to administer some gifted evaluations.

Knowing what you want is key to any search you may do in your area. If you know the specific assessment you are interested in, such as the WISC or WCJ, you may start with your local area and use these simple search terms to find someone to administer the gifted assessment and evaluate the results. It may be time consuming, but looking through local psychologist listings, such as in the directories on Psychology Today or through other associations, may help you find someone with the qualifications you need. Professionals closest to your home may or may not advertise their specialties on their website or profile, so it is often a good idea to call or email individuals to directly inquire about their past experiences with gifted or twice-exceptional students in addition to any specific information you would like out of an assessment.

You can also look up professionals in your region who have experience working with gifted children through the following lists:

• Gifted Testers and Therapists List by the Davidson Institute 
• Hoagies’ Gifted List of Professionals Family with the Gifted
• 2e Newsletter Provider Referral Database
• Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG) Directory of Mental Health Providers who may also be qualified to provided gifted assessment

Specialty Groups

While they may not directly provide testing themselves, local organizations or interest groups may be a way to connect to parents who can help you find a professional to evaluate for your child. Some organizations may even have a list of professionals they work with in the area. Also, families who have already gone through the gifted identification process may provide additional insights into any professionals they have worked with.
You try connecting with the following specialty groups to inquire about gifted testing:

• A state gifted association, such as the ones found on NAGC’s page “Gifted By State.”
• A regional special education advocacy group, such as Parent Training and Information Centers
• Local parent groups, such as your PTA or regional MENSA group

Online Assessments

Many test publishers and professionals are currently researching the viability of virtual assessments for gifted and twice-exceptional children. If you are unable to find an option near you and can’t travel, looking into online gifted assessments may be a good fit for your family. You can always inquire if a provider offers online services even if it isn’t directly advertised on their website.

In the wake of COVID19, some gifted testing centers have begun offering virtual testing options. At the time of publishing this article, the following testing centers offered various virtual services:

• The Summit Center
• The Gifted Development Center
• Belin-Blank Center
• Child Mind Institute

Financial Considerations

Assessment may vary in price and can be quite expensive. In large part this is because even professionals with advanced degrees must still pay hundreds and sometimes even thousands of dollars for additional education, training, and materials to administer cognitive abilities assessments or individually-administered achievement tests. Special knowledge in gifted and twice-exceptional children also requires additional years of training and experience, which is why so few individuals close to home may have the qualifications you seek. We wish we could point to one specific way to find affordable gifted testing, but the truth is this can be difficult to come by. However, here are a couple of cost-effective assessment options families may want to seek:

• If a group-administered achievement test can meet your needs, you may be able to access these from your school or find an option with financial aid through a Talent search program
• Start with your public or private school to see if they would be willing to administer an individual assessment for free
• Find a professional who offers services on a sliding scale or at reduced cost for low-income families. This information may be found on their website or obtained by explaining to them directly what your current financial situation is
• Some universities with counseling or testing centers offer assessment on a sliding or reduced scale. At universities, assessment may be administered by a graduate student under the supervision of a licensed professional as this is one way graduate students gain experience.
• Depending on your needs, you may try a patchwork approach. For example, a family may use their local school to assess for specific concerns like ADHD, take a locally administered PSAT to qualify for gifted services or summer program, and then consult the family doctor on cognitive developmental and related recommendations.

Things to Consider When Reaching Out for Gifted Testing

Parents may have many questions when it comes to researching potential professionals to work with their child: What should I look for in the person who is evaluating my child? What can I expect to receive after a gifted assessment? When should I have my child assessed? It is important to ask yourself why you are seeking assessment at this moment. Is the professional evaluation going to meet your needs, expectations, and goals? If you plan to share the results with educators or other professionals, you will also want to consider what information they will be able to utilize.

The following articles cover additional considerations and questions parents may want to ask a potential tester for their child:

• Tips for Parents: Intellectual Assessment of Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted Children
• Special Considerations in Gifted Identification and Assessment
• Tips for Parents: Individual Assessment of Gifted Children

Keep in mind, a professional that is a good fit for one family may not be the right fit for another family. It may take time to find the right professional for your child as it often requires several phone calls, emails, and meetings.

We understand this can be a daunting road to go down. You may find Lisa Van Gemert’s article, “8 Reasons You Should Label Kids as Gifted,” as a helpful source of motivation! We hope this quick guide has served as a starting point for your journey.

More Resources for Gifted Children & Their Families:

• Gifted Programs & Scholarships
• Gifted Testing & Assessment
• Gifted Characteristics
• How to Get Your Child Tested for Gifted Identification
• Special Considerations in Gifted Identification and Assessment

Is My Child Gifted? | How to Know if Your Child is Gifted

Determining whether or not your child is gifted is no easy task. As you have likely already discovered, there are a plethora of definitions, characteristics, assessments, theories – a virtual abundance of information. To help parents unravel some of the conflicting information, the Davidson Institute has put together this article summarizing gifted characteristics, the difference between tests and assessments, points to consider in having your child tested or assessed, different types of tests that can be utilized, and tips for locating a professional if you decide to seek a full assessment.

How do I know if my child is gifted?

There are many definitions of giftedness and equally as many ways to formally identify whether or not a child is gifted. Essentially, as NAGC defines in the article “What is Giftedness?”, “Children are gifted when their ability is significantly above the norm for their age.” Students can exhibit gifted abilities in various spheres – creatively, intellectually, musically, academically across the board or in a specific subject area such as math, language arts, or science. The Davidson Institute focuses on serving students with profound intellectual talents.

Signs of Giftedness in Children Include:

• an extreme need for constant mental stimulation
• an ability to learn and process complex information rapidly
• a need to explore subjects in surprising depth
• an insatiable curiosity, as demonstrated by endless questions and inquiries
• ability to comprehend material several grade levels above their age peers
• surprising emotional depth and sensitivity at a young age
• enthusiastic about unique interests and topics
• quirky or mature sense of humor
• creative problem solving and imaginative expression
• absorbs information quickly with few repetitions needed
• self-aware, socially aware, and aware of global issues

Gifted children may demonstrate some but not all of these traits; every child is different. To determine the extent of your child’s abilities, testing or a full assessment may provide some of the answers you are seeking. Because there are no federal mandates or national policies requiring gifted education, it is important for parents to review what gifted identification policies and procedures are in place in their area prior to seeking a test or assessment.

Should I have my child tested for giftedness?

Deciding whether you should pursue gifted testing or seek out a full professional assessment will be based on your overall goals and the questions for which you are seeking answers. 

In fact, you may find it helpful to jot down the specific questions that led you to seek information about having your child assessed. What do you hope to discover about your child’s abilities? Will you use the results to gain entrance into a specific program? If so, which tests do they accept? Will you share the results with your child’s school? Which tests do they find most informative in understanding a student’s learning profile? Do you have concerns about your child’s performance or behavior?
Educational placement and access to talent development programming are common reasons for seeking an evaluation. If you are looking for a cost-effective option or are seeking admittance to a specific program, such as a talent search or the Davidson Institute, you may opt for having your child take an above-level test such as the PSAT 8/9, ACT, or SAT. Another option is to speak with a testing professional about administering an individualized test – such as an achievement or intelligence test – without a complete assessment or full report. Choosing this path will not provide much, if any, information other than your child’s scores, but that may be enough to meet your goals.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a more complete picture of your child’s abilities, strengths, challenges, and needs, experts recommend a comprehensive assessment of the child’s abilities rather than simple testing. The rationale for assessment typically centers on the need for developing an understanding of a child’s relative strengths and weaknesses and how these relate to educational and social settings.

Learn more about the difference between tests and assessments in our article, Gifted Testing and Assessment.

In regards to when to have your child tested, testing is generally believed to be most reliable and most predictive between the ages of six and nine years old. Although many assessments are approved to be administered to children as young as two years old, the consensus among professionals is that there is rarely a need to test before the child is ready to enter school and that testing at younger ages may not provide reliable results.

In the end, remember that test scores or results of a full assessment don’t change who your child is. The results are intended to provide you specific words and tools for better understanding your child. How you use those words and tools is up to you.

There seems to be little consensus about which tests are most effective, especially when assessing exceptionally intelligent young people. Again, deciding which test is best for your child will partly be determined by your goals. If your child is assessed by a professional, the tester will typically discuss which tests will be used during the assessment based on their knowledge, training on specific tests, and their professional insight regarding the questions and concerns you have presented.

For academic planning, particularly if working with your child’s educators, you may want to find out which tests they are familiar with and will consider when determining how best to meet your child’s needs. Intelligence test scores, for example, may not provide as much information in relation to educational planning as an achievement test that delineates grade and age equivalents, or a proficiency test administered by the school. Parents can also read our article, Special Considerations in Gifted Identification and Assessment, to think through additional concerns and options. 

The most widely used intelligence tests have long been criticized by the GT community. These tests were not developed to adequately identify individuals at the extremes. By definition, scores in the profound ranges occur less than one time in a thousand. The statistical infrequency of these extreme scores makes accurate measurement difficult. For this reason, many experts recommend utilizing a variety of tests or test sections to get the best combination of skills assessments.

Above-level tests are particularly useful for bright students as they provide a higher ceiling, allowing for more accurate assessment of the child’s true abilities. The results of these tests can often be compared to other students of a similar age or grade through talent searches. The PSAT 8/9, designed for students in eight and ninth grades, can be taken by students in third through sixth grade. The SAT or ACT, designed for students in their junior or senior years of high school, can be taken by students starting in the sixth grade.

Out-of-level testing and the talent search model are addressed in the following Davidson Gifted Database articles:

• Eight considerations for mathematically talented youth
• Discovering highly gifted students
• The talent search as an identification model
• Talent Search Opportunities for Gifted Students

We recommend consulting with a therapist or psychologist to discuss and determine what type of testing or assessment might be best fit for your child and your goals. They will be better able to discuss the specifics of available testing and discuss any concerns or questions you may have about specific tests and your child’s profile.

Finding a professional to evaluate your child can be challenging, but there are several resources available. You can start by finding options through our Gifted Testers and Therapists List. Your state’s gifted association, a regional special education advocacy group, a local parent’s group, the state department of education, or your child’s school counselor, psychologist or social worker may also be able to refer you to a local professional. Websites such as Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG), the 2e Newsletter, and Hoagies’ Gifted provide lists of professionals that have experience working with gifted children.

For more information on where and who to go to for gifted identification, read our article on How to Get Your Child Tested for Giftedness.

The Davidson Institute has identified certain questions that can be helpful in identifying a knowledgeable professional to evaluate your child. If you receive answers that are not satisfactory to you, you may wish to seek a second opinion or continue your search for a tester. Ideally, you will encounter a very knowledgeable professional, whom you and your child feel comfortable working with, to conduct a comprehensive assessment of your child’s abilities and make specific recommendations. If you are unable to find a local tester, you will need to weigh the relative pros and cons of searching more broadly for an appropriate professional.

Credentials/Training

1. What is your training and background?
2. Are you licensed and/or certified to practice as a testing professional?
3. What do you consider your specific area of expertise to be?

Experience with Gifted Children

1. How much experience have you had in testing very bright or precocious children?
2. What is your experience in working with a child of this age and with children of advanced cognitive abilities? NOTE: The National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, has a list of licensed practitioners that includes their documented areas of expertise.
3. Are you licensed to make mental health diagnoses? Are you familiar with the ways in which gifted students can be misdiagnosed, as well as how mental health diagnoses often present in intellectually advanced students? NOTE: See Interview with Marianne Kuzujanakis on Misdiagnosis for more information on this topic.

About the Tests

1. What tests do you typically administer in the context of a comprehensive assessment? How do you decide which tests to utilize?
2. What is your practice when you don’t get the information you need from a standardized test; how do you gather other types of information about a child?
3. If a child reaches the end of a subtest or test, without reaching a ceiling, how do you interpret that and how do you indicate that in your assessment report?
4. How do you evaluate issues of underachievement in gifted children?
5. What is your experience with “out-of-level” testing?

Information about the Child

1. What is the array of tests and information you have or need to have to evaluate my child?
2. How much do you want to know about my child’s previous testing? NOTE: The parent should inform the examiner of previous testing the child has had and the results that were obtained, if these are known. If testing results are discrepant, you can ask for an interpretation of the conflicting results. It would also be helpful for the parent to share evidence of the child’s talents both within the educational as well as home and community settings.

How to Prepare Your Child 

1. How should I best prepare my child to be assessed?
2. How do you prepare my child?
3. How long should we expect the assessment to last?
4. How are break times determined?
5. Is there anything we should bring to the assessment to ensure my child is comfortable?

Using the Results for Educational Planning

1. Are you familiar with gifted program eligibility at the state and local level?
2. How would you decide if a child is a candidate for grade or subject matter acceleration?
3. Are your test reports accepted by local schools and programs for the gifted as part of their admissions process?
4. Pragmatically, how can the information you expect to gather be put to use in the service of my child?
5. Have you worked with students in my school system before? If so, how would you describe your effectiveness?
6. Are you available to explain the educational implications of the test results to school officials? Is there an additional fee for this type of meeting?

Follow-up

1. How do you suggest the results be explained to my child? Are you available for discussing this with my child, or will you advise us on how to do this?
2. If the results seem inconsistent with what was anticipated, what would be the next course of action?
3. What type of follow-up will we receive? Will you be preparing a written report for us? What will be included in this report? When will we receive the report?
4. What are your procedures for providing results to my child’s school? NOTE: Some psychologists will provide a “sanitized” report to the school that thoroughly addresses test results and recommendations but doesn’t include information that is unlikely to have a direct benefit for the child in the school setting. Information on family dynamics and labels, for example, is omitted so that parents have a choice of sharing the full evaluation report with the school.

More Resources for Gifted Children & Their Families:

• Gifted Programs & Scholarships
• Gifted Testing & Assessment
• Gifted Characteristics
• How to Get Your Child Tested for Gifted Identification
• Special Considerations in Gifted Identification and Assessment

How to identify a gifted child - features of work and education of gifted children, development of giftedness

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Who are gifted children

Gifted children have a high potential in any field of activity. American psychologist Joseph Renzulli believes that giftedness lies at the intersection of ability to do something, creativity and motivation.

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Gifted children are often called " geeks "( from the German "wonder child" ), but these concepts should be distinguished.

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Gifted children are distinguished by a high rate of development , that is, by a potential that can develop into talent or die out. Every fiftieth child is considered gifted in one area or another.

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Geeks, on the other hand, are ahead of developmental norms from an early age and demonstrate culturally significant achievements. For example, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart created his first piano works at the age of five, and the mathematician Blaise Pascal wrote a scientific treatise at nine. A child prodigy is born one in a million people. nine0003

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Giftedness is a set of abilities that can be applied to the interests of the child. By developing only one skill, you can not assume that you are improving the giftedness.

Elena Petrusenko, Psychologist "Home School of Foxford"

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Types of gifted

Unified Classification, but most often psychologists distinguish five types of giftedness:

• intellectual rewards0010 is characterized by increased observation, concentration and the ability to analyze information. These children have high IQs, strong critical thinking, and tend to excel in one subject.
• Academic talent means excellent memory. Such children easily learn school material, they can learn on their own, because the learning process brings them pleasure. As a rule, they are able to complete the program of several classes in one academic year. nine0056
• ‍ Creative giftedness can manifest itself in a rich imagination and out-of-the-box thinking. A special case is creative talent, that is, children's propensity for drawing, dancing, music, versification, acting and other arts.
• Social giftedness of lies in the presence of leadership qualities, a high level of empathy, intuition, and bright charisma. Such children can communicate easily with people of different ages and often have innate emotional intelligence - a receptivity to the feelings of others. nine0056
• Psychomotor giftedness implies physical development ahead of age. Such children from an early age show interest in outdoor games and sports.