http://www.vox.com/2014/9/24/6835643/gifted-education-classrooms-nber-study

1st grade is too young to screen accurately. Better to do so in 3rd or 4th

Anonymous wrote:Would you want your local public elementary school to perform free psychologist-led IQ tests on all children? (If it was an option, that is.) Ostensibly for the purposes of putting children into different groups and offering those with IQs of above a certain amount (let's say 130) to take part in special small group instruction?

I like the idea, but in a place like DC there's a huge potential for this to become a mess. Instead, I'd like to see a test-in AP classes starting in 1st grade.

IQ's can definitely change a lot over time.

If you damage your brain, your IQ score can go way down.

I would like this, if there's some flexibility. When I was in elementary around 2nd or 3rd grade, I got an IQ test for possible admittance to the gifted program. I was actually sick the day they brought in the person to administer the test, but my mom sent me to school any way knowing that I needed to take it to get admitted. I didn't reach the threshold - I believe it was 130 and I was in the 110s - but my teacher insisted that I should be in it based on my classwork, and my mom pushed for it because I was sick when I took the test. The school made an exception for me and allowed me in, and I benefited greatly and was valedictorian of my class and won a nearly full scholarship to college. So I think IQ can be one factor but should be the only one.

Anonymous wrote:IQ can change over time. In one study teenagers took an IQ test and had MRI's done. Four years later the tests were administered again. Some kids had increases or decreases of 20 points - and their MRI's changed as well.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203752604576641133332697322

Oh, hey... let's ignore all the data and only look at the outliers!

IQ can change over time. In one study teenagers took an IQ test and had MRI's done. Four years later the tests were administered again. Some kids had increases or decreases of 20 points - and their MRI's changed as well.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203752604576641133332697322

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't vary "considerably" - unless someone is doing something very very wrong when they administer the test, or the person being tested is having a very, very off day. The variation that one would normally see would be something like 125, 127, 122 from one year to the next... I wouldn't expect to see a change of 10 points no matter what - that would be a red flag that something is wrong.

I don't know if you can compare the different cog abilities tests directly, but trust me there was variation from high average to low gifted and the percentile change ranged over 15% from one test to the other. I don't have reason to believe the test administration was flawed. There is a wide percentile range from high average to low gifted potentially if you're coming out on the low end of high average on one test. Anyway, I don't think these things are the be all and end all. Furthermore, if you look on DCUM you'll see whole threads devoted to discussions of prepping for the WISC-IV so there are too many tested who've been exposed to the material. That skews the results.

Now you are talking about something entirely different: different tests. Trying to compare different tests is like trying to compare apples and oranges. On the SAME testing, you will see very little variation.

well, once DCPS has had their chance their is little you can do but alternative testing (cannot administer the same test twice between x many months). DCPS came out with high average, average, below average. (mind you sometimes average ranged from the 39th to 79th percentile - same kid, different part of test, both average. Our ped recommended Kennedy Krieger who did a "full neuropsych eval" and came out with a kid reading 3 grades above grade level (while DCPS said high average - single time they said that) and the rest ranged from the 98th to below 1st, indicating a specific type of problem and significant strengths that are in the superior range.

Am I going to continue to let the DCPS (HR) think my child is just below average intelligence? Hell no. And this is a kid who scored genius level on the WISC or whatever that was administered at Children's before dc could write - I guess when private schools test, as if it is not obvious, we have some medical issues that caused the testing not private school admission. Thank God for insurance..........

Just saying, for every conspiracy theory there is also a psychologist employed by DCPS incapable of properly administering the WISC...................