<p>We just received a letter from my d's high school that she has been "identified as gifted" in the state of Ohio due to "superior cognitive ability as demonstrated by...standardized test results". It references the Ohio revised code - which I looked up - and it states that once a student is classified as gifted, this label can never be removed. Does this gifted classification mean anything (other than she will be offered additional gifted student opportunities/enrichment)? Will this be on her transcript? Does this help at all when applying for a high school summer internship, etc? And it says gifted students need to be on a WEP (written education plan). I am going to call the Student Services Director in the morning, but does anyone have any real world experience with this? Can anyone please advise? Thanks!</p>
<p>It probably depends on the district. In our district (which is another state), it makes a student eligible for certain programs. Also, there is money tied to students who are identified as gifted. It’s not much, but a school receives a set amount of money for every student identified as gifted. That money, in theory, follows the student. In our district, there is a print-out that follows a kid from elementary to middle school and middle school to high school – and an identification of gifted or highly gifted will appear there. However, an official transcript usually only shows the grades earned and not the other information a district uses. It is not something to put on a resume, so it won’t help in getting a job or internship – however, some high school/college students do list SAT scores and GPAs under their academic achievements which is appropriate at that age. But it’s not, in my opinion, appropriate to disclose on a resume being identified as gifted. Your school may have a gifted coordinator – you should check with the Director of Student Services. That person may be able to answer specific questions. In terms of practical value, an identification of gifted means less in high school than in the earlier years, because high schools often offers honors and AP courses that those students can access whereas it’s harder to get differentiated coursework in the younger years and an identification can prove helpful.</p>
<p>My opinion would be to treat her just like any other kid and ignore the label. Or if you wish to read into it, treat her level of intelligence as guarded as you do your family income. You’d never disclose how much you have invested in the stock market, so I’d never discuss how your kid is smart or anything like that.</p>
<p>Eventually, we all grow up and have to work together doing essentially the same job whether “gifted” or otherwise. We hope that if your daughter is intelligent she will become a college graduate someday and have a full time job, but at that company there will be many talented and many not-very-smart people and they will all have to work together.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I don’t want my daughter labeled as this and she doesn’t either. She says she is a “closet nerd” and she wants to keep it that way! (She declined an invitation to Academic Decathelon). This is why we want to know if it is on the transcripts. Her grades and scores will speak for themselves on a college application. Also, this WEP has her concerned. She said that she doesn’t want this on her transcript either. She said what if a college that isn’t in Ohio thinks it’s some form of IEP (she doesn’t want a college to think she got special treatment in school). Also, the school enclosed a list of summer internship opportunites for their “gifted” students, so we didn’t know if this made a difference for these internships. We are curious and don’t want her school to think that we are ungrateful for this gifted program.</p>
<p>I am surprised that Ohio identifies gifted students in highschool. In California, they identify them at 2nd or 3rd grade. They call it GATE (Gifted And Talented Education). However, California does not do anything significant for GATE students because of the short budget.</p>
<p>I think you need to ask your school district. Each school district handle gifted students differently. Even the school does not do anything, it’s still good to know that you have a child that has a special need in learning and emotional support.</p>
<p>Our school starts identifying them in 3rd grade. However, you can be identified for this program through your junior year. From what I am gathering, it is automatic based on your test scores. There are certain tests on the Ohio Approved Assessment Instruments Chart and basically if you score a 95% composite or higher (National ranking) you are identified as cognitively gifted.</p>
<p>I don’t think being identified gifted is a negative thing. In some schools, the gifted kids are more welcome to take AP classes than the regular kids.</p>
<p>Having a WEP means that your daughters “giftedness” is being addressed by the school. Exactly how they are doing this is another story…every state and even districts within the state will handle this differently. </p>
<p>I can understand that your daughter does not want her gifted status broadcasted to her peers but I am not sure why she would turn down any and all opportunities that she could have. Being a “closet nerd” could mean a couple things…she is ashamed of her abilities and just wants to blend in or she does not like the idea that others may expect more from her than what she is willing to work for. Being gifted is not a guarantee that she will succeed in everything that she attempts. It just simply means that her I.Q has enabled her to have the potential to perform well at tasks that others may find more challenging. I would be careful in how you handle this with the school district. It could appear that you are making more out of this than is really necessary. By the way colleges will NOT assume that having a plan in place means that she was receiving special services. It should already be clear based upon her classes that she is not in special education, if that was your daughters concern. You can also tell her that colleges will get a report from her GC that will clearly state what track she was on.</p>
<p>When kids are talented and they throw away opportunties it is time to talk to them. That would be my concern as a parent, not the gifted designation. A gifted kid is earmarked for certain types of opportunites so I am not sure why they should be thrown away. She may like those opportunities when junior and senior year roll around and she could put them on her college resume.
It is not attractive to blend in or dumb down when you are naturally bright so I would wonder why any child would feel the need to do so. I agree that there are kids who are very bright, and as a result of being told over and over that they are very bright, are also very annoying but it is equally annoying to be self depricating. As a parent you may want to ask the district what exactly they will offer your daughter as a result of her high I.Q and encourage your daughter to accept the opportunities graciously.</p>
<p>I am also curious why it took your school district up until highschool to realize that your daughters educational needs should be addressed. Where were they all through elementary and middle school?</p>
<p>In PA, this process is much earlier on and made a tangible difference in what they did in elementary and middle schools: they were eligible for a variety of activities where they were taken out of their regular classes and participated in contests or other projects. At least in our school district, the impact in HS was a lot less, I think because it’s harder to miss days of regular school and the programs the IEP kids went to were also open to others who were interested.</p>
<p>Nothing was on transcript, but I recall at least one application (don’t remember if it was the common AP) where they asked if the student was identified as gifted. I don’t think it was a factor for internships. DS and DD got these based on work they had done in their science projects.</p>
<p>My hunch is that Ohio’s dtr crossed the threshold on a statewide standardized test for the first time. Her closet nerdiness (possibly reading a lot?) paid off. Personally, I’d be proud of dtr.</p>
<p>I would think that every state has these exams. My state gives them starting in 3rd grade, then every few years. The district gets extra money for gifted child. In elem and middle school, one is in the gifted classes. By HS, student will be in AP, gifted, or regular classes based on interest/ability.</p>
<p>Standards are different in every state, and even every school. Two of my kids were classified as gifted in our district because of their scores on certain tests. Both of their IQs are above 140 on the WISC. However, I’ve heard about other states where the cutoff is 125. Frankly, I don’t think being “gifted” means much about a kid’s future…it’s really what you do with it. (Sorry, but I do get tired of parents in my younger kid’s “gifted” classes going on and on about how they think their kid is more special than the next kid.)</p>
<p>Google the Davidson website for good information on education of the highly gifted. There are very strict criteria there as well.</p>
<p>P.S. I wouldn’t go nuts because she didn’t want to do Academic Decathelon. I have a friend whose kid is an amazing swimmer and is tired of swimming after all these years, so she stopped this year. I guess some people might tell my friend to push her, but she is smarter than that. It’s the same thing with academic talents; they will always be there and she will use them on what she is most interested in and when she is ready. (I say this not knowing anything about your school environment. Clearly if she was in a district where she was bored all the time that wouldnt be good, but if they are taking the time to classify kids then it sounds like she isn’t.)</p>
<p>That’s not good that she turned down Academic Decathlon because she didn’t want to let her intelligence shine. Yikes!</p>
<p>My freshman daughter is going to be tested for the gifted program. None of my kids were ever in GATE; I’m sure they all could have been but I never pushed it. (Didn’t see a whole lot of value in the program in our district) When asking around, I find that there are a few valuable benefits of having an IEP - being able to request certain teachers, and skipping some required classes or prerequisites. I found out too late that some kids in 8th grade went to the high school to take biology; my D would have liked to do that, and if she had been in GATE last year she would have.</p>
<p>In our state, the kids are identified between k-3
once the kids have tests scores etc that identify them as gifted, there are forms to complete etc…and then they get issued a learning plan that offers services and funding through the state.
In this state gifted is a protected status for the student with needs beyond a traditional/avg classroom.</p>
<p>There are far more benefits
and no reasons to not process the gifted status that I can think of right now.</p>
<p>In the end, regardless of being exceptionally bright, a gifted student is self motivated and ofet self taught in areas, he/she pursues MORE, even if its voracious reading of topics that fascinate them, or exploring some topic/skill etc</p>
<p>From one parent with students “lableled” this way,to another I have a caution…</p>
<p>To have that ability and not use it is a shame.
Just “showing up” and being bright, a student will not continue to be succesfull if they don’t dig in
…there have been many studies that have demonstrated how kids with high IQs often hit a slump in middle school as they have gotten by on raw IQ and when the pace picks up, the kids who had to work harder in the earlier years have better study skills, better stick-to-it-tivity so to speak and will often be more successful for that season.</p>
<p>We have a middle schooler who we have had to work with regarding this slump…</p>
<p>While I understand not wanting to “flaunt” the gifted label, I would be worried if my kid was “ashamed” of appearing smart.
Why does she want to remain “closeted” wrt her abilities? Is it “not cool” for a girl to be smart in her school?</p>
<p>I’d have the same concern as nngmm, too.
My S participated in Acadec, not because he really wanted to, but because he felt he could contribute to the team, as he indeed did.</p>
<p>Both sons were classified as gifted as were H and I when we were young.</p>
<p>Most of sons’ friends in high school and elementary school were classified as gifted. The same was true of my friends when I was in high school.</p>
<p>When it comes to colleges, the gifted label won’t mean anything. For the very top colleges, probably the overwhelming majority of their applicants are gifted. </p>
<p>What colleges care about isn’t one’s IQ, but what one has accomplished with one’s intelligence: grades, scores, ECs…</p>
<p>Having the gifted label may help one gain admission to some summer enrichment programs and some weekend enrichment programs offered by Duke’s TIP program (Google it. The programs are at various colleges, not just Duke, but Duke is the headquarters). Those programs may or may not be worth the money for you.</p>
<p>If your kid is one of only a few gifted kids in her school, she may not be getting the type of education that she would best flourish in, and she may not be getting much support from peers and teachers. If so, the summer programs could be an excellent investment, and could be the first time she was able to run with her intelligence and interests.</p>
<p>If she is in a school with lots of gifted kids, however, she may be getting plenty of support already, so – particularly if money is a concern-- she may be fine without your investing in summer programs.</p>
<p>Being gifted doesn’t mean that a kid doesn’t need to study or that they are equally good in all subjects. Gifted kids in general need less repetition to learn subjects that they are gifted in. The outlining, and repetitive problem solving that people need who aren’t gifted in a subject aren’t things that people need who are gifted in a subject.</p>
<p>Gifted people also tend to have an out of the box way of thinking – including connecting ideas that most people wouldn’t see the relationship between – that many people have difficulty following. The summer programs that really are for gifted students encourage this kind of thinking. They aren’t programs that give more homework, but are programs that may, for instance, teach philosophy by having students watch movies, act in plays, read law journals, have discussions in addition to reading articles about philosophy. This was how the philosophy courses were that my philosophy-loving younger son took in the TIP and CTY (connected with Johns Hopkins) summer programs.</p>
<p>H and I had no idea that S was interested in philosophy until S chose to take those courses. </p>
<p>Do be aware that some summer programs and some schools’ gifted programs aren’t really designed for gifted programs: They just provide more work including more of the same boring kind of work --like writing definitions, outlining, doing more math problems – that’s in the regular programs.</p>
<p>A lot of excellent info about giftedness is here: <a href=“http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/[/url]”>http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/</a></p>
<p>She has always been gifted- she is finally being recognized as such. There is an entire range of giftedness and definitions/identification cutoffs vary from area to area. Your D probably falls near the bright/gifted cutoff if her test scores just reflect this now. Denying giftedness is like like denying one’s racial heritage or skin color- it exists regardless of whether or not one recognizes it. Your D doesn’t need to do anything she doesn’t already do, by the time she is in HS students usually have appropriate educational opportunities available. Laws requiring schools to recognize giftedness and provide an appropriate education are necessary and good for children, especially in the early grades. Think of the Bell curve- the bright/gifted spectrum is the mirror image of the slow/■■■■■■■■ spectrum. Those at the extremes have the most needs while those close to average have the fewest. There are also the largest numbers near average, hence the shape of the curve. Your D probably falls into the best category- smarter than most so as to function highly in whatever she chooses and yet not so intellectually different so as to cause problems relating to the general population. It is strange that she was recognized in HS, but the Ohio law probably covers all children- ie until age 18. Your D was probably close to cutoffs for years and the last testing triggered the identification, having the law not consider HS students would probably hurt some students who need services. BTW, being gifted never requires that a student to choose academic extracurriculars- those should be interest driven.</p>
<p>Two of my three were “identified” in early middle school. It never really changed anything other than it opened up doors to various programs and it enabled them to skip some intro type classes in high school if they wanted to and take a practice PSAT in 9th grade and an ACT in middle school…probably a couple other things I don’t remember. Use it however it best suits your child. As late in high school as it is for you, it probably won’t change much.</p>
<p>You didn’t say why she declined the invitation to Academic Dec. At our school, it’s a class and my kids had other classes they were more interested in. She may have had a good reason for declining other than feeling embarrassed.</p>