The needs and requirements of gifted children in private school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would I be jealous when my children are in the same range? You can tell yourself this is exceptional but go to the private schools that are most often discussed here and it isn't unusual at all. PP asked where she could send her child to school and the answer is anywhere.

You are jealous, and your kids' IQs are nowhere near 150. Private schools (including the "big three") are NOT full of 150 plus IQ kids...No matter what you have read on DCUM. Statistically, 0.1% of the world's population has an IQ of 145 or above, the level required to be deemed profoundly gifted. That means that one child in about 2,000 has an IQ above 150 on the Stanford-Binet. There are no regular schools around here, or anywhere else, that are full of profoundly gifted kids--it is statistically impossible. I suggest that you look into the Davidson Young Scholars program and educate yourself about what a profoundly gifted child really looks like... and the very real challenges they face in regular schools (public or private). There is a big difference between a very bright, hardworking child, and a child who is profoundly gifted.

I'm glad you know everything, including my children's IQ scores. Since they attend privates that require them, they've been tested. Yes I know the results. They are excellent students, sure, and they are challenged. There are plenty of schools in this area that can do this. Their IQ is not something to be proud of nor is another child's IQ something to be jealous of. Its not an accomplishment. I love the way parents think they've achieved something because they have children with a certain IQ. You didn't do that and you have nothing to be proud of. Plenty of parents can blow it, actually, by telling their children how smart they are. This has been studied, and children who are told they are smart feel they don't have to work hard to achieve anything and when they don't meet whatever stellar levels they believe are expected of them, they feel like failures. I always praise effort, not intelligence. My children do not know their IQ scores. As a result, they work hard and have done well in school. That isn't because of their smarts, its what they do with it.

BTW, both me and my DH were tested as children and scored over 160. We were both successful students but by no means freaks of nature.

Its a number. What it conveys is very limited. Parents should not be looking for schools based on one number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would I be jealous when my children are in the same range? You can tell yourself this is exceptional but go to the private schools that are most often discussed here and it isn't unusual at all. PP asked where she could send her child to school and the answer is anywhere.

You are jealous, and your kids' IQs are nowhere near 150. Private schools (including the "big three") are NOT full of 150 plus IQ kids...No matter what you have read on DCUM. Statistically, 0.1% of the world's population has an IQ of 145 or above, the level required to be deemed profoundly gifted. That means that one child in about 2,000 has an IQ above 150 on the Stanford-Binet. There are no regular schools around here, or anywhere else, that are full of profoundly gifted kids--it is statistically impossible. I suggest that you look into the Davidson Young Scholars program and educate yourself about what a profoundly gifted child really looks like... and the very real challenges they face in regular schools (public or private). There is a big difference between a very bright, hardworking child, and a child who is profoundly gifted.

I'm glad you know everything, including my children's IQ scores. Since they attend privates that require them, they've been tested. Yes I know the results. They are excellent students, sure, and they are challenged. There are plenty of schools in this area that can do this. Their IQ is not something to be proud of nor is another child's IQ something to be jealous of. Its not an accomplishment. I love the way parents think they've achieved something because they have children with a certain IQ. You didn't do that and you have nothing to be proud of. Plenty of parents can blow it, actually, by telling their children how smart they are. This has been studied, and children who are told they are smart feel they don't have to work hard to achieve anything and when they don't meet whatever stellar levels they believe are expected of them, they feel like failures. I always praise effort, not intelligence. My children do not know their IQ scores. As a result, they work hard and have done well in school. That isn't because of their smarts, its what they do with it.

BTW, both me and my DH were tested as children and scored over 160. We were both successful students but by no means freaks of nature.

Its a number. What it conveys is very limited. Parents should not be looking for schools based on one number.

I don't know everything, but I do know that your children's IQs are nowhere close to 150 (and neither is yours or your husbands). Btw, many profoundly gifted children do NOT excel academically in regular schools (or even schools with a magnet program which are best for merely gifted kids--around a 130 IQ). The profoundly gifted are as different from a child with a 130 IQ, as that child is different from a child with an IQ of 100.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would I be jealous when my children are in the same range? You can tell yourself this is exceptional but go to the private schools that are most often discussed here and it isn't unusual at all. PP asked where she could send her child to school and the answer is anywhere.

You are jealous, and your kids' IQs are nowhere near 150. Private schools (including the "big three") are NOT full of 150 plus IQ kids...No matter what you have read on DCUM. Statistically, 0.1% of the world's population has an IQ of 145 or above, the level required to be deemed profoundly gifted. That means that one child in about 2,000 has an IQ above 150 on the Stanford-Binet. There are no regular schools around here, or anywhere else, that are full of profoundly gifted kids--it is statistically impossible. I suggest that you look into the Davidson Young Scholars program and educate yourself about what a profoundly gifted child really looks like... and the very real challenges they face in regular schools (public or private). There is a big difference between a very bright, hardworking child, and a child who is profoundly gifted.

I'm glad you know everything, including my children's IQ scores. Since they attend privates that require them, they've been tested. Yes I know the results. They are excellent students, sure, and they are challenged. There are plenty of schools in this area that can do this. Their IQ is not something to be proud of nor is another child's IQ something to be jealous of. Its not an accomplishment. I love the way parents think they've achieved something because they have children with a certain IQ. You didn't do that and you have nothing to be proud of. Plenty of parents can blow it, actually, by telling their children how smart they are. This has been studied, and children who are told they are smart feel they don't have to work hard to achieve anything and when they don't meet whatever stellar levels they believe are expected of them, they feel like failures. I always praise effort, not intelligence. My children do not know their IQ scores. As a result, they work hard and have done well in school. That isn't because of their smarts, its what they do with it.

BTW, both me and my DH were tested as children and scored over 160. We were both successful students but by no means freaks of nature.

Its a number. What it conveys is very limited. Parents should not be looking for schools based on one number.

If your kids are really at 150-160, they would already know they are different from the other kids. You wouldn't need to tell them. You would facing a whole different set of academic and social issues that you're apparently unaware of. In your search for answers, you'd already be aware of Davidson's, because several teachers would have made you aware.

[Anonymous]

Different poster. I agree with 7:22. Lots of smart kids in this area have high scores, comparable to what OP reported. I don't know whether the prevalence of high scores is because we're a cosmopolitan & transient area that attracts lots of smart people, whether there's "score inflation," whether it's the high SES level in the area, or some combo of all those factors. I just know there seem to be a lot of high scoring kids. Be proud of your child's smarts, but don't make the mistake of thinking they're unique.

FWIW, one of my kids scored 148, and the other scored 155. Both are smart and do well at their private school. But I think half the kids in each of their grades are just as smart as my own, and the other half are not too far behind, so my own kids are far from unique in their smarts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Different poster. I agree with 7:22. Lots of smart kids in this area have high scores, comparable to what OP reported. I don't know whether the prevalence of high scores is because we're a cosmopolitan & transient area that attracts lots of smart people, whether there's "score inflation," whether it's the high SES level in the area, or some combo of all those factors. I just know there seem to be a lot of high scoring kids. Be proud of your child's smarts, but don't make the mistake of thinking they're unique.

FWIW, one of my kids scored 148, and the other scored 155. Both are smart and do well at their private school. But I think half the kids in each of their grades are just as smart as my own, and the other half are not too far behind, so my own kids are far from unique in their smarts.

You are misinformed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are misinformed.

How do you think I am misinformed? I'm definitely not misinformed about my own kids' scores. I'm also pretty confident in my assessment of how they compare to their peers at school. Maybe you think you know my kids and their peers better than I do?

Perhaps it's best we just agree to disagree, and stop this exchange. I don't understand your point, and it seems likely neither of us will convince the other. Other people reading this thread will have the benefit of two opposing viewpoints they can choose between.

Good luck to anyone reading this.

[Anonymous]

There's a poster here who thinks she can read our minds and read our mail. Draw your own conclusions about your children, you know nothing of ours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are misinformed.

How do you think I am misinformed? I'm definitely not misinformed about my own kids' scores. I'm also pretty confident in my assessment of how they compare to their peers at school. Maybe you think you know my kids and their peers better than I do?

Perhaps it's best we just agree to disagree, and stop this exchange. I don't understand your point, and it seems likely neither of us will convince the other. Other people reading this thread will have the benefit of two opposing viewpoints they can choose between.

Good luck to anyone reading this.

Yes, let's just agree to disagree.

[Anonymous]

Seriously, your best place is in public. Nysmith has a lot of detractors - I don't think it's lived up to its mission statement (if it has one). By the time your child gets to high school, there are 20 AP courses in every subject at Langley. I know of one kid who got 15 AP courses (and these are real AP courses taught at college level - not just an honors class with the "AP" slapped on it) and a 4.6 and went to Oxford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a poster here who thinks she can read our minds and read our mail. Draw your own conclusions about your children, you know nothing of ours.

No, I have never claimed to be a mind reader. However, if anyone says that their regular private or public school is full of kids with 150+ IQs, I know that person is either misinformed or just lying. Once again: Statistically, 0.1% of the world's population has an IQ of 145 or above, the level required to be deemed profoundly gifted. That means that one child in about 2,000 has an IQ above 150 on the Stanford-Binet. So if there are roughly 100,000 kids (I’m just using this number to illustrate a point) in private schools in the DC Metro area, statistically only 200 of those children will have an IQ that qualifies as profoundly gifted (200 out of 100,000!!!). This means that Sidwell, St. Albans/NCS, etc. cannot possibly fill their seats with kids at this level. Many of you are mistaking very bright, hardworking students for children who are profoundly gifted—they are NOT the same. Calm down, I am not saying that profoundly gifted kids are better than the merely gifted/bright kids out there; they are just different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a poster here who thinks she can read our minds and read our mail. Draw your own conclusions about your children, you know nothing of ours.

No, I have never claimed to be a mind reader. However, if anyone says that their regular private or public school is full of kids with 150+ IQs, I know that person is either misinformed or just lying. Once again: Statistically, 0.1% of the world's population has an IQ of 145 or above, the level required to be deemed profoundly gifted. That means that one child in about 2,000 has an IQ above 150 on the Stanford-Binet. So if there are roughly 100,000 kids (I’m just using this number to illustrate a point) in private schools in the DC Metro area, statistically only 200 of those children will have an IQ that qualifies as profoundly gifted (200 out of 100,000!!!). This means that Sidwell, St. Albans/NCS, etc. cannot possibly fill their seats with kids at this level. Many of you are mistaking very bright, hardworking students for children who are profoundly gifted—they are NOT the same. Calm down, I am not saying that profoundly gifted kids are better than the merely gifted/bright kids out there; they are just different.

Oops, I typed too fast. The odds are even worse. Actually, only 50 kids out of 100,000 will qualify as profoundly gifted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a poster here who thinks she can read our minds and read our mail. Draw your own conclusions about your children, you know nothing of ours.

No, I have never claimed to be a mind reader. However, if anyone says that their regular private or public school is full of kids with 150+ IQs, I know that person is either misinformed or just lying. Once again: Statistically, 0.1% of the world's population has an IQ of 145 or above, the level required to be deemed profoundly gifted. That means that one child in about 2,000 has an IQ above 150 on the Stanford-Binet. So if there are roughly 100,000 kids (I’m just using this number to illustrate a point) in private schools in the DC Metro area, statistically only 200 of those children will have an IQ that qualifies as profoundly gifted (200 out of 100,000!!!). This means that Sidwell, St. Albans/NCS, etc. cannot possibly fill their seats with kids at this level. Many of you are mistaking very bright, hardworking students for children who are profoundly gifted—they are NOT the same. Calm down, I am not saying that profoundly gifted kids are better than the merely gifted/bright kids out there; they are just different.

Oops, I typed too fast. The odds are even worse. Actually, only 50 kids out of 100,000 will qualify as profoundly gifted.

I suspect that the population that the DC metro area private schools are pulling from skews high in terms of IQ, so it's probably not really 50 out of 100,000 but the point remains that it's a very small number. I also wonder how many of these scores are from early WIPPSI tests which have shown to be be heavily influenced by an early enriched environment. In other words, early childhood IQ scores are often inaccurate, and a kid that scores in the 150's on the WIPPSI due to favorable early childhood conditions can often score much lower on the WISC later on in life once IQ scores actually stabilize. I'd be shocked if these scores were coming from a WISC-IV on 10+ year olds.

[Anonymous]

NP here and I'm in complete agreement with the other posters. I've done a lot of statistics in my life, and it's virtually impossible that the elite DC privates would be filled, even partially filled, with kids with IQs of 150-160, even allowing for the superior genetics of us, their brilliant parents.

The point about the WPPSI being inaccurate for 3-4-year-olds may explain what some of you are seeing.

I can definitely believe that some schools have lots of kids in the 120-130 range.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kids are really at 150-160, they would already know they are different from the other kids. You wouldn't need to tell them. You would facing a whole different set of academic and social issues that you're apparently unaware of. In your search for answers, you'd already be aware of Davidson's, because several teachers would have made you aware.

New poster. Really? I didn't know I was different until I got my PG score in 7th grade. How about you other people upthread? Did you know you had the golden halo of gifted and were somehow more special than all the other kids before someone told you that you were profoundly gifted? I knew I was good at school but that was it. I think the gifted label causes problems (as another poster alluded to) because of the potential for work ethic problems, so my kids will not be told their scores and I will not be doing gymnastics to get them into a "special school". Regular private works for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your kids are really at 150-160, they would already know they are different from the other kids. You wouldn't need to tell them. You would facing a whole different set of academic and social issues that you're apparently unaware of. In your search for answers, you'd already be aware of Davidson's, because several teachers would have made you aware.

New poster. Really? I didn't know I was different until I got my PG score in 7th grade. How about you other people upthread? Did you know you had the golden halo of gifted and were somehow more special than all the other kids before someone told you that you were profoundly gifted? I knew I was good at school but that was it. I think the gifted label causes problems (as another poster alluded to) because of the potential for work ethic problems, so my kids will not be told their scores and I will not be doing gymnastics to get them into a "special school". Regular private works for us.

I'm the PP with an IQ over 160 and I didn't think I was "different". I knew I was bright but I went to school with quite a few bright kids, and quite a few who were more successful students than I was but I don't think I had a great work ethic.