How To Find Out Whether Your Child Is Academically Gifted

Monday, 29 March 2010 23:06

The IQ test has been on the nose for a long while now, although in the not-too-distant past it was held to be the only sure way to assess academic giftedness. One of the issues confronting IQ tests when their respect began to unravel, was that they can only measure academic ability and not other forms of giftedness.

Another issue was that they did not cater for the non-English speakers and those who are culturally diverse. Then there was the Flynn effect, the increase of about 3 points per decade in IQ scores, requiring their occasional re-norming in order to maintain the average score at 100. At one point in time there were ugly racial questions raised about which race had the highest IQ, as IQ tests were not culturally sensitive. Such issues weakened the trust people had in IQ tests. There was also the issue around what type of intelligence was being measured - was it chrystalised intelligence, based on the general information children learn, or was it fluid intelligence, which is, according to some experts, the 'real' native and non-learnt academic intelligence. Others again argue that everything being tested has had to be learnt to some extent, and that it does not make sense to separate chrystalised from fluid intelligence. However, new tests based on fluid intelligence were soon created, and then the exodus away from IQ tests was only a matter of time. Not only were the new tests claiming to assess fluid intelligence, but they were also cheaper, their reliability was on par with IQ tests, and they could be administered by non-psychologists, e.g. teachers. Today we have a confusing number of assessment tools available, including 'screening' tests, such as the Slossen Intelligence Test, which are supposed to test whether it is worth testing a child with the more extensive and expensive IQ test, but is now more often than not used as the ONLY tool! Unfortunately, according to some research (Clark, 1987), these screening tests may be quite unreliable, meaning that the results may be many points different than what would have been obtained by IQ tests. In the meantime, what has not changed is that, based on much research, the IQ test is still the most reliable indicator of school and employment success. Additionally, although non-verbal 'fluid intelligence' tests are indeed more culturally inclusive, verbal ability is a very important aspect of cognition that should not be minimised (Lohman, 2006). Finally, you can depend on IQ tests to identify specific domains of cognition such as verbal fluency, spatial visualization, mathematical skill and memory (Gottfredson, 1998). So if you want to find out whether your child is or is not academically gifted, and if the child is gifted, then exactly how gifted, then the IQ test is still the most reliable instrument of all.

 TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (3)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/hide comments

A.S.: ...

I have 2 kids diagnosed with Autism. S, my 9 year old, has Asperger's syndrome , and A, my 3.5 year old, has Autism yet to be defined (as he is too young yet). S is very intelligent and is the only one getting extension work in her class and is the first finished all her work. She gets 100% nearly every week on her spelling tests and is able to do times tables beyond her peers. She also has an excellent memory, a thirst for knowledge and learning and a huge creative streak (she loves beading , painting and embroidery). And yet her IQ score is only 102 as she has a large difference (almost 50 points) between her verbal comprehension and her processing speed, which is common in Autism. So it is very frustrating to prove that she is bright or gifted when she seems average.
My son A is not yet 4 and he can read to a level 5 school level , he can count and recognize numbers in the 1000's, he can do most of he times tables, he can operate a computer, he sleeps very little for his age as he mind will not shut down and constantly needs to be learning and stimulated. I am getting both of the kids assessed in September, but what is the best test that can show what these kids are capable of as the IQ test clearly does not work for them?

1

• report abuse
• vote down
• vote up

00:26 20 Jul 10
Votes: +0

Mimi: ...

Hi A. S.
When there is a large discrepancy between the scores, such as the one you referred to, the full scale IQ should not be worked out at all. This is quite common, and it is also quite common that gifted children's processing speed is slower than other children's. So the report should focus on strengths and weaknesses rather than the full scale IQ, and recommendations should be made which can be used by the school, e.g. that S. should be provided with extension work and projects when she completes her class work before others, and that curriculum compacting should be practised in the areas of her strengths. Equally, the report should make recommendations about S's weaknesses. So, as you can see, the IQ test correctly identifies strengths and weaknesses and a capable psychologist should be able to make useful recommendations based on the results. With regard to your little one, I recommend that you get a reading test done as well, so that the report can clearly set out those strengths.
Kind Regards, Mimi

2

• report abuse
• vote down
• vote up

11:02 20 Jul 10
Votes: +0

Ali: ...

Hi Mimi,

I have just read your blog and was hoping you may be able to answer a question for me. I realise that this blog is quite old but hope that you still read it nevertheless.

Our son recently undertook the Wechsler intelligence test at the age of 4 years and 9 months, administered by a Psychologist. His preschool had recommended that we look into testing for giftedness and after a lot of consideration, we ended up going ahead with the test. He also has behavioural issues and is a defiant little boy and I was hoping that testing may indicate whether his behaviour was connected with his intelligence. His score was just in the "very superior" range (130+).

I am confused as to the difference (if any) between "very superior" and "giftedness". Our son has since started school and school policies relate to children that are "gifted". I am hoping you can shed some light on the this.

Thanks kindly

3

• report abuse
• vote down
• vote up

04:57 23 Feb 11
Votes: +0

 Show/hide comment form