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Gifted

Evaluations for Placement in Gifted Program (Palm Beach County)

Requirements:

  1. Score of 130 or above (98th percentile) on an individually administered intelligence test
  2. Completion of form/checklist by child’s current teacher

Palm Beach County School District gifted program information

What does the gifted program emphasize

The gifted curriculum is not necessarily accelerated. It may be more hands-on, experiential, and emphasize critical thinking  

Testing Procedure:

I administer the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V) to children 6 and older and the Wechsler Primary & Preschool Intelligence Scale (WPPSI-IV) to 4 and 5 year olds. The Wechsler tests are considered the “gold standard” for individual IQ tests. Please understand that academic skills are not assessed by an IQ test. Your 5 year old may be reading at a 7 year old level, but this is irrelevant to qualifying for the gifted program. We could argue about the IQ test being the only criterion for qualification, but we have to play by the “rules”.

An entire evaluation and discussion of results takes about 75-90 minutes.The actual testing  takes  from 40-50 minutes. That leaves at least 30 minutes of discussion with parents. Typically, 4 and 5 year olds take less time than older children. I score the test immediately and then discuss the results with you. I will let you know if your child qualifies for a gifted program. We will also discuss your child’s strengths and weaknesses, school options and any other observations I make.  Some elementary schools will allow students who do not qualify as “gifted” to enroll in gifted classes if the school has an insufficient number of gifted students to justify a teacher.

You will receive a report via email in one to two days. My reports are accepted by the Palm Beach County School District. If your child qualifies, you can submit this report to your child’s current (home) school for processing. You must also have the child’s current teacher complete a form/checklist to be submitted with my evaluation.

What is the fee for a gifted evaluation?

The fee for the evaluation, scoring, consultation and report is $375 payable in cash, check, Visa/Mastercard/Amex/Discover.

Why do other psychologists tell me that testing takes much longer and costs much more?

Over the years, I’ve heard of psychologists who require 2 hours or more. Parents are sometimes required to come back for a second appointment to discuss results.  Fees can be higher than $500. In my opinion, this amount of time is unnecessary and the cost is excessive. The manual for the new WPPSI-IV states that the administration time to determine the “Full Scale IQ” for a “gifted” determination is 32 minutes for 4 and 5 year olds. Testing an older child takes about 10-15 minutes longer. If a psychologist is efficient and cost-effective with test administration, these tests can be administered in less than one hour.

Will the school district test my child for gifted eligibility? 

By law, school districts are required to identify and test children suspected of being “gifted”. The reality is quite different, however. If you can get a school to agree to test your child, they  will likely administer a screening test that takes about 20 minutes. This is usually the K-BIT, Kaufman Brief Test of Intelligence. A score on this test cannot qualify a child for gifted placement. Only if your child scores above 120 on this test will the school district proceed to administer an individual IQ test for eligibility. This usually takes several months.

Characteristics of gifted children

Characteristics & Behaviors of the Gifted

Read Dr. Cooley’s Palm Beach Post editorials on giftedness

“Gifted is just a number: Don’t get hung up on it”

“Re-evaluating how we evaluate gifted students”

When should you test your child?

Preschoolers must be tested after January 1 of their pre-k4 year.  Older students can be tested at any time. The Palm Beach County School District strongly recommends that evaluations be submitted by April 15 to insure ample time for processing students for placement in the fall. You might check with your child’s home school to see if they will process an evaluation submitted after April 15.

What should you tell my child prior to testing?

Please don’t tell your child he/she is being evaluated for the “gifted program”. I suggest you tell four – six year olds that “a man named Mr. Myles is going to do some work with you at a desk, kind of like school work, to tell what’s the best class in school for you to be in”. Try to avoid the word, “test” as this makes some children nervous. Also avoid the word, “games” as the child may expect to play games and not take the process seriously.

Why might you not want me to test your child?

If you’re looking for a psychologist to give your child a score that qualifies him/her for the gifted program because you want this result, I’m not the person to test your child. I’m embarrassed to acknowledge that there are psychologists who, for a fee and other reasons will “give” a child a qualifying score. This is unethical and not in the best interests of the child. My reputation has always been based on honesty and integrity. Your child’s score will reflect his/her actual ability.

IQ testing for     The Weiss School for the gifted

The K-8 Weiss School in Palm Beach Gardens requires the administration of an IQ test for admission.  The fee is $370.

IQ testing for     The Greene School

This school requires the administration of an IQ test to determine eligibility. I’ve been selected by The Greene School as apsychologist to conduct IQ tests for their applicants. The fee is $370. The required IQ score for The Greene School is approximately 120, not as high as the score for the gifted program. The school also requires that a questionnaire be completed by a child’s current or previous teacher. This questionnaire is available upon application to The Greene School.

IQ testing for The Bilgrav School

This is a new school located in downtown W. Palm Beach. It specializes in educating students with dyslexia, giftedness or both. An IQ score needs to be approximately 130, but the school is flexible and looks at a variety of factors. The fee is $360.