Reply to Do Montgomery County HGC and magnet programs ever "counsel out" students who are struggling?

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Reply to "Do Montgomery County HGC and magnet programs ever "counsel out" students who are struggling?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=SAM2]I've been reading about these ES & MS programs recently, and I noticed that one of the primary paths to entrance seems to be tests like the WISC.  Many people on these boards regularly complain that those tests are not accurate indicators of IQ/giftedness.  If that's so, then it seems inevitable that some children who successfully test into HGC/magnet programs will find themselves unable to keep up with the highly accelerated pace.  (Indeed, if you believe the most vocal critics of these tests, then [i]most[/i] children in HGC/magnet programs won't really fit the profile!)

How do these programs handle children that are struggling to keep up?  Are they counseled out?  Are they permitted to remain, but just given a non-accelerated workload?  And do children that test into a magnet/HGC program have to re-qualify each year?  Or are they given the benefit of the doubt in later years once they test in?

Thanks in advance to those with first-hand info.[/quote]

It's not the WISC that is the test, but even so I think your premise is wrong.  While many people complain that tests like the WISC are inaccurate indicators of giftedness, the inaccuracy is mostly unidirectional -- that tests under-represent kids who are capable of doing "gifted" work (whatever the F that means).

Dumb luck may lead a child who should really score a 73 to get a 77 instead.  But dumb luck is not going to lead that child to score a 99.9.  However, there are many factors which could lead a very intelligent child at the 99.9 level to score a 73 (language difference, learning or processing disabilities, testing anxiety, test design accuracy, lack of exposure to what is considered the body of knowledge for the age group, etc.)

Thus, the likelihood of a child who is really not that smart, scoring so well as to get into the HGC is really slim to none.   (Not to mention also having great grades and teacher recs.)

Other complaints that tests don't measure giftedness go more to the definition of giftedness and what can accurately predict it, not that the tests over predict in terms of academic readiness. [/quote]

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