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Testing and Assessment for the Gifted Child

When a parent suspects their child is gifted or sees gifted characteristics in their child, there are many follow-up questions and concerns around the gifted identification process. Some parents may need to pause for a while until they decide if testing or assessment is right for them. Some may be ready for the process, but not sure where to begin – the Stanford Bin-what??

It may be confusing for parents, even parents who went through their own version of gifted identification, to make heads or tails of which evaluations do what. Parents may assume that yearly school testing covers gifted identification; after all, what are all those tests for? However, because there are no national policies outlining gifted education practices, identification is highly dependent on the state, school district, and the local school. If you are interested in gifted identification for your child, you may first want to consult the Davidson State Policy Database to see what practices are in place for your area.

The main options for gifted identification are primarily standardized achievement testing or a professional assessment of their abilities. Achievement tests include a wide range of options, but often focus on demonstrating student skills in common school subjects. Abilities assessments, sometime referred to as an intelligence quotient or IQ tests, may cover a range of cognitive abilities and problem-solving skills. The motivation behind seeking gifted identification will greatly affect which option is right for your child. You may need an achievement test if you desire to have your child attend a summer program or be accelerated in school, but you may want an assessment to better understand the child's strengths and weakness. Each school, program, or service will have their own requirements that should be clearly explained to parents. While both tests and assessments are used to help parents, educators, and professionals identify giftedness, the two have many key differences.

Achievement tests features:

• Often evaluates the child's knowledge in a subject area
• Often are standardized by the publisher and updated through the publisher
• May be provided through school, sometimes free of cost
• May be available through Talent Searches and related programs
• Often delivered to students as a group
• Require the test administrator to be trained to proctor the test and follow a verbal script
• Test is given in a specific format, which includes restrictions on time, testing availability throughout the year, or the location
• Results are often given in a number format
• Often used to determine eligibility for a specific school, program, or service

Ability assessments features:

• Often evaluates the child's cognitive abilities
• May be re-evaluated by professionals and updated as new editions become available
• Often privately obtained
• Often paid for out-of-pocket by parents
• Often delivered one-on-one to the student
• Require the assessment administrator to have a specialized degree and/or license, often from fields such as psychology, social work, or education.
• Often given at private offices through a scheduled appointment
• Results are often given in both numbers and written descriptions of the administrator's evaluation and interpretation of the results
• Often used to provide insight into a student’s learning profile and make recommendations for school and home

In her article “Assessing Gifted Children,” Julia Osborn summarizes the differences between testing and assessment:

Good test administration should be the same from person to person; that is, it should be independent of personal experience and personal viewpoints. Assessment, especially clinical assessment, is highly dependent upon training, theoretical orientation, personal experience, research knowledge and clinical experience. In good test administration, the person administering the test should not have a major impact on the test results; in assessment, the person doing the assessment does have a major impact on the final result. For these reasons, assessing children is part science and part art. The science part is straightforward and largely concerns testing. The art part is difficult to describe, difficult to teach and essential.

Testing and assessment practices are continually reviewed and may change throughout your student’s K-12 experience. You may also find that your school or private tester has other recommendations for your child. Many states administer their own achievement tests in schools, and many abilities tests include additional elements, such as behavior checklists or inventory forms for other skills. Often a combination of abilities, achievement, and qualitative information will help develop a more complete learning profile of your gifted child. However, we hope that knowing more about these options may help empower your family to find the right option for your child.

List of Gifted Identification Tests and Assessments

Below you will find a list of commonly used test and assessments for gifted identification. This is not an exhaustive list, but we hope parents may use this as a starting place to familiarize themselves with some of the choices available. The Davidson Academy and Young Scholars Program accept a number of these options. Please check with individual programs for their list of accepted tests and admissions criteria.

Note: Numbers or roman numerals next to the test abbreviation indicate the most recent edition of the test available.

Ability Assessments

Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) – A K-12 group-administered test that measures student problem solving and analysis skills in a multiple-choice question format. Often given in school to determine eligibility for gifted services.

Differential Ability Scales (DAS-2) – An assessment used by psychologists to provide insight into how students age 2.6 – 17.11 process information. Often includes suggested interventions for parents and educators.

Nonverbal Ability Tests

• Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (CTONI-2) – An individually administered test to measure several areas of reasoning in students age 6 – 89. Often used for students with diverse linguistic backgrounds or motor impairments.
• Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT-3) – A K-12 group administered test to measure a student’s general ability. Often used for students with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
• Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Scale (UNIT-2) – An individually administered test to measure reasoning, memory, and quantitative skills. Often used for students age 5 – 21 with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds or hearing impairments.

Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT 8) – A K-12 group administered assessment of student’s verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative ability. Different levels of the OLSAT are available which correspond to grade level.

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales

• Stanford-Binet 5th edition (SB-5) – An individually administered test to measure cognitive abilities in ages 2 to 85+. Includes up to 10 individual subtests to assess areas of cognitive strength and relative weakness.
• Stanford-Binet Form L-M (SB L-M) – An older version of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales test last normed in 1972. Due to it emphasis on abstract reasoning with high scoring ceiling, it is sometimes still used by gifted professionals to provide supplemental information about a student’s reasoning abilities.

Wechsler Intelligence Scales

• Wechsler Preschool Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-IV) – An individually administered test designed for young children ages 2.6 – 7.7. Often used to screen for gifted and talented at a young age.
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V) – An individually administered test for psychologists to measure a student’s cognitive abilities in several areas. Often use to identify the possible presence of giftedness or learning disabilities.
• Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) – A brief test provided to ages 6 – 90 to screen for intellectual giftedness or disability and evaluate the need for additional evaluation.
• See also under Achievement Tests

Woodcock Johnson Tests

• Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-IV Cog) – An individually administered test for ages 2 – 90 made up of 18+ subtests which can be used as standalone tests or in conjunction with one another to measure a student’s relative cognitive strengths and weaknesses.
• See also under Achievement Tests

Davidson Academy - Online and Reno Campuses The Davidson Academy offers two educational options specifically designed to meet the needs of profoundly gifted students – an online campus for those living anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, and a school on the University of Nevada, Reno campus for local residents. Both options are centered on a rigorous academic environment where students thrive among their intellectual peers. Academy classes are grouped by ability rather than by age, providing profoundly gifted students an educational opportunity matched to their abilities, strengths and interests. For more information, see the How to Apply and Qualification Criteria pages.

Achievement Tests

American College Testing Program Exams

• ACT – A standardized test that measures academic skills in math, English, reading, and science reasoning. Often used for college admissions.
• Explore – A multiple-choice test to gauge student strengths in the areas of English, reading, math, and science. Often used to determine student eligibility for gifted programs.
• Pre-ACT. The preliminary test for the ACT that simulates the ACT test in an abbreviated format.

College Board Exams

• SAT – A group administered standardized test that measures academic skills in reading, writing, language comprehension, and math. Often used for college admissions.
• PSAT 8/9 – A preliminary test for the SAT that is designed for students in 8th or 9th grade.
• PSAT 10 – A practice SAT test available to students in the spring of 10th grade. Does not qualify students for the National Merit Scholarship program.
• PSAT/NMSQT – The preliminary test for the SAT that also counts towards a student’s eligibility for the National Merit Scholarship. Students may take the PSAT once a year in the fall of 10th or 11th grade.
• SAT Subject Tests – A test designed for students to demonstrate their strength in a specific academic area. Sometimes one or more Subject Tests are required for entrance into specific colleges.

Iowa Tests

• Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test (IAAT) – A group administered test that assesses a student’s readiness for Algebra I. The test is designed for grades 7 and 8 but is often used for accelerated students in lower grades.
• Iowa Assessments Exam – A K-12 test that measures student achievement and growth in core school subjects. The test is designed to better align with Common Core and state standardized tests.
• Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) – A test for students in K-8 grades that measures a student's academic skills in Language Arts, reading, math, science, and social science. An older version of the Iowa Assessments that is still sometimes used for determining student eligibility for gifted and talented.

Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA-3) – An individually administered achievement test for students ages 4 - 25. Measures academic skills in reading, written and oral language, as well as math. Often used to identify learning disabilities and/or achievement gaps.

School and College Ability Test (SCAT) – A standardized above-grade-level test used to measure quantitative and verbal skills in grades 2 - 12. Sometimes used by organizations, such as Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, to determine eligibility into their gifted program

Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-III) – An individually administered achievement test designed to help professionals screen for academic abilities and/or learning disabilities in eight areas for ages 4 - 50.

Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement (WJ-IV Ach) – An individually administered achievement test for ages 2 – 90 made up of 18+ subtests which can be used as standalone tests or in conjunction with one another to measure a student’s relative academic strengths and weaknesses.

Check out the following articles for additional information on gifted testing, assessment, and identification:

• Tips for Parents: Intellectual Assessment of Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted Children
• Special Considerations in Gifted Identification and Assessment
• Tips for Parents: Individual Assessment of Gifted Children
• Private vs. School Evaluations: Pros and Cons
• The On-going Dilemma of Effective Identification Practices in Gifted Education

Davidson Young Scholars - FREE Services for Profoundly Gifted Students The national Davidson Young Scholars program provides FREE services designed to nurture the intellectual, social, emotional, and academic development of profoundly intelligent young people between the ages of 5 and 18 (students must be between the ages of 5 and 16 when applying). Benefits of the program include: Consulting Services An Online Community In-person Connections Community Service Endeavors Summer Programs (fee-based) Applications are due the first of each month. For more information, see the How to Apply and Qualification Criteria pages.

Permission Statement

This article is provided as a service of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people 18 and under. To learn more about the Davidson Institute’s programs, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org.