Using IQ Tests to Determine Giftedness
So, caution should be exercised when considering the results of an IQ test. When doing an Internet search for these tests, it is disturbing to see how many tests billing themselves as IQ tests are available for parents to purchase and administer to their children. Parents, unaware of validity and reliability issues, may be duped into purchasing one, giving it to their child, and then having unrealistic results and expectations. Even with recognized tests administered by trained psychologists,
there are issues with the different versions of the tests.
Another area of controversy is the magical IQ score that makes one “gifted.” IQ scores are rising so dramatically, say researchers who study intelligence, that a high proportion of people considered average at the turn of the 20th century would be regarded as significantly below average by today's tests.
Are people actually becoming smarter or do these rising scores mean something else?
Early College Entrance and Dual Enrollment
- Dual enrollment is admission to college courses while continuing to be enrolled in high school.
- Early admission is a program for gifted high school juniors who have exhausted their high school curriculum. Some of these students have met state graduation requirements by the end of their sophomore or junior year. Early admission programs allow these students to skip their senior year and go on to college.
- Early entrance programs offer the opportunity to start college or university work at an early age, some as early as age 12. These students might never attend traditional high schools.
Information is offered on specific programs along with articles and books on the subject.
Dual enrollment is useful for students who have exhausted the academic possibilities in a specific area at their regular school. For instance, once a student has taken all the higher-level math courses available at the high school level, she can move on and take a more advanced math class at a local junior college or university. Therefore, while taking most of her classes at high school, she takes the one math class at college. In some states, the law requires the school district to pay for these more advanced classes.
Early Entrance College Programs in the USA compares a variety of schools that accept groups of students taking college courses at least a year before they would typically go to college. Essentially these are programs that take bright students and accelerate them into full-time college studies while maintaining a supportive environment to help make sure they succeed. The students are not left on their own to fend for themselves. In order to be successful in these programs, students must be both intelligent and mature. While there are definite academic advantages to such programs, many students decide not to take this route because they want to be with their friends, and participate in high school sports and other activities such as band. A long list of testimonials (both positive and negative) can be found at the site. If entrance into one of these programs is something your student is considering, you will find much helpful information here.
Science for Gifted Students
Saturday, February 11, 2006 - by CFertig - 464 Views -
1 Comments - Category:
Science
Early Grades
Science is an often neglected subject, especially in elementary school. In the early grades, the controversy continues surrounding the best method to teach science:
direct instruction or discovery. When attempting to identify young students who may be gifted in science,
educators may find help at this site. By clicking on the menus on the right side of the page, you will also see examples for differentiating the science curriculum for gifted students within the regular classroom.
Since science is not usually emphasized in the classroom, parents should expose their children to the subject outside of school as much as possible through books, museums, nature centers, Internet sites, experiments—anything that exposes them to the subject.
Competitions in science are not readily available in the early grades. Note that ExploraVision listed below is the only competition listed that includes younger students.
Middle and High School
As one approaches middle and high school there are many more opportunities for advanced classes and competitions in the subject. The National Science Teachers Association recognizes that many kinds of learning experiences, including science competitions, can contribute significantly to the education of students of science. With respect to science competitions, such as science fairs, science leagues, symposia, olympiads, scholarship activities and talent searches, the Association takes the position that
participation should be guided by certain principles.
Some competitions that you many want to consider include
This is a multi-tiered competition designed to stimulate and promote achievement in high school chemistry.
This science essay competition is for students in grades 7-12 and provides prizes up to $5000.
ExploraVision is a competition for students of all interest, skill, and ability levels in grades K-12. The purpose of the competition is to encourage students to combine their imaginations with the tools of science to create and explore a vision of a future technology. Prizes include U.S. Savings Bonds and laptop computers.
This is the world's largest pre-college celebration of science. It is held annually in May and brings together over 1,400 students from more than 40 nations to compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and the grand prize: a $50,000 college scholarship.
This competition is intended to increase knowledge of the oceans on the part of high school students, their teachers and parents, as well as to raise the visibility and public understanding of the national investment in ocean-related research.
This is an academic competition among teams of high school students who attend science seminars and compete in a verbal forum to solve technical problems and answer questions in all branches of science and math.
This competition provides middle and high school students an opportunity to hone their skills as science sleuths by learning the scientific method employed by epidemiologists.
This national model rocket competition for U.S. high school and middle school students has a grand prize pool of over $60,000 in cash and savings bonds that is shared by the winning teams.
The American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Institute of Physics sponsor a competition each year for high school students to represent the United States at the International Physics Olympiad Competition.
This is a biology competition for high school students.
The YES Competition offers college scholarship awards to high school juniors and seniors who conduct outstanding research projects that apply epidemiological methods of analysis to a health-related issue.
This is an essay contest for students in grades 7-12. Essays based on studies conducted by a class, a summer institute, summer camp, pre-college student research program, or environmental program and are eligible as long as the student conducted his or her own research and expanded the investigation to include his or her own topic question.
Math Competitions for Gifted Students
Sunday, February 05, 2006 - by CFertig - 485 Views -
0 Comments - Category:
Math
One needs to plan well in advance to set up mathematics competitions. It is not too early to start planning for next year. Just choosing which competitions to participate in is a challenge. Many of the sites below list sample problems, so you can get a taste of what it’s like to participate. While most competitions are for high school students, there are a handful at the middle school/junior high level, and just a few at the elementary level. When a range of grade levels is listed, there are usually competitions set up for just one or two grades at a time (i.e., a test for each of grades 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8). Here are some competitions to consider.
High school students and some exceptional junior high students
High school students
High school students
High school students
High school students
Grades 4-12
Grades 4-8
Grades 6-12
Middle school
Grades 3-12
Middle and high school students