When Carol Horn, coordinator of advanced academic programs for Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, VA, identifies gifted children, she looks for quick learners with exceptional memories who can apply knowledge in innovative ways. In other instances, assessment may be based on a combination of intelligence test scores, creativity, and ability to focus on a task.īut many experts believe that a child's ability to learn is more important than test scores. Using a standard IQ test with a score of 100 as the "norm," those children who earn 130 or above are considered gifted 145 is profoundly gifted. By one measure, a child is considered academically gifted according to how well he does on an intelligence test. Ryan's story illustrates an issue many parents wonder about: How are we supposed to know whether our children should be tested for giftedness if we can't all agree on what makes a child gifted in the first place?ĭefinitions of "gifted" vary widely. Now 16, he's been happily enrolled in gifted programs ever since. A gifted program could provide just that, she thought, without the financial challenge of sending him to a private school where he might receive more individualized attention. She felt that Ryan was bored and unhappy in school and needed a change. Janette Boik decided to go ahead with the testing for practical reasons. She thought that Ryan was most likely high-achieving, not gifted, and she advised against testing. His first-grade teacher urged Ryan's mom, Janette, to have her son tested for giftedness- but by the following year, when it came time for the testing, Ryan's second-grade teacher disagreed. He also frequently asked in-depth questions and was reading at a fifth grade level. As the other 6-year-olds gathered around, Ryan proceeded to explain the principles of aerodynamics and to describe the differences between the way helicopters and airplanes fly.Ĭlearly, Ryan, who lives in Northville, MI, understood some advanced concepts. In first grade, Ryan Boik brought a toy helicopter to school for Show and Tell.
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