Gifted testing measures your child's IQ. IQ stands for Intelligence quotient, which is a score that summarizes one’s cognitive abilities. To obtain an IQ score, it requires a standardized measure to assess multiple areas of functioning, from verbal reasoning, to visual-spatial, to memory and processing speed.
Florida defines gifted students as “students who have superior intellectual development and are capable of high performance.”
Here is a Parent Guide to Gifted Testing in Palm Beach:
Palm Beach County School District offer a Gifted Education Program, which “provides appropriate instruction for eligible students by delivering effective and innovative strategies beyond the basic curriculum.”
In Florida, students must score an IQ of 130 or above on an individually administered cognitive test and place at or above the 98th percentile. In the Palm Beach School District, English Language Learner (ELL) or students who qualify for reduced lunch fall under Plan B, which entitles them to enter the gifted program with lower IQ scores (e.g. 115-120).
There are a variety of standardized cognitive tests that can be used to measure IQ for giftedness, though some are better at presenting an overall picture of student strengths and weakness, thus are preferred by well-known organizations and institutions. For example, the National Association for Gifted Children recommends either the Stanford Binet (L-M), Woodcock Johnson Cognitive Test, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children for children 6 and older or the Wechsler Primary & Preschool Intelligence Scale up to 5-year of age.
The Psychological Wellness Center primarily uses the Weschler Scales, as they are known for being the gold standard. Our office is also trained in administration of the Woodcock Johnson-IV as an alternative cognitive test. Both of these tests are accepted by Palm Beach County Public Schools.
Schools also look for certain characteristics that could be signs of giftedness. Think your child may be gifted? Palm Beach County School provides a checklist of gifted characteristic:
Uses an enriched vocabulary
Asks many thought-provoking questions
Expresses unusual ideas
Has a wide range of interests
Uses complex sentences
Acts independently
Displays curiosity
Possesses leadership qualities
Functions at high energy level
Has long attention span in areas of interest
Reads at an early age
Understands the concept of time
Engages in self-directed activities
Is sensitive to feelings of others
Has a keen sense of humor
Is able to conceptualize
Learn skills rapidly and without repetition
Retains and uses information effectively
Wants to know what makes things “tick”
Enjoys learning
Reasons well
Is a perfectionist
Prefers older companions or adults
Has facility with numbers
Ref:
Florida Department of Education. https://www.fldoe.org/academics/exceptional-student-edu/gifted-edu.stml
Palm Beach Schools. https://www.palmbeachschools.org/Page/903