Gifted label

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:To the InView critic @ 11:43: (1). Ask a second grade teacher - the bulk of kids have never seen anything like this test before and it is not at all easy for them. (2). There are 5 sections, and you have to score 80%ile and above on 2 of them PLUS meet another criteria to earn the label. (3). It's universal screening - designed to cast a wide net.

Does it matter if they're a bit too generous with the gifted label when there are all these other measures of academic success, and a totally separate application process for the gifted education program?

Yes, because clearly a lot of parents take it too seriously, and there is so much angst over "My child was labeled gifted but didn't get into HGC. Now what?"

This is because too many parents don't understand that gifted is not highly gifted. It's not a Gifted Center. It's a High Gifted center. Very significant difference.

I think you have an undue amount of faith in that test, if you think that it's doing a good job of separating "gifted" from "Highly gifted".
I don't personally care, because a lot of what factors into the decision of whether an HGC is good for a child is what the home school is and what the kid's temperament is. For instance, I would have qualified for an HGC based on IQ (profoundly gifted). So, if the HGC test accurately replicated IQ, I would have gotten in. But it wouldn't have been good for me. I was a sensitive, intense, anxious kid. I needed to feel like I was at the top of the pack to feel secure. I grew out of that by college, but I just wasn't ready to feel like a small fish in a big pond of overachievers at that young age. My older child is similar. She may qualify, but she didn't want to take the test and I didn't have her do it. My younger child is much more naturally confident. She would feel good about herself and her intelligence in any setting.
I can't judge parents for getting caught up in the HGC thing, or the "gifted" thing. I have the luxury of a great home school where there's a large, very bright peer group. It would be different if we didn't have that.
But I also have the experience of knowing that "giftedness" doesn't mean nearly as much as emotional health and happiness. A number of highly gifted people in my family haven't achieved much because they had other struggles. No one paid attention to those struggles because they were high achieving in school and put a good façade on.

But I thought more went into the decision of whether a child got into HGC than just the test. Or is it mainly based on test scores?

No one really knows. It's a very opaque process. There are teacher recommendations, etc., but the word on the street seems to be that it's mostly the test.
Either way, I think that if you think that the process accurately differentiates between "gifted" and "highly gifted" based on a test and teacher recs in third grade, you have an undue amount of faith in the process.

I'm a NP.

Yeah, I wasn't accusing you of anything. I was just clarifying my previous statement in light of your question -- which is a totally reasonable question, in my view.