Learning experts agree that simple prep work, which deals primarily with skill building and familiarizing a child with the testing format, is most effective.
If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you know that I have long been an advocate for growing the best, most conscientious, socially and culturally aware, well-rounded humans and have frequently shared posts, studies, reports and other resources for parents who are interested in raising great humans.
There are endless opportunities in daily life to enrich, enlighten and essentially set up your child to have the best possible successful and happy life and future once you, as a parent, are ready to invest the time and effort.
It doesn’t even cost a penny or much either. Puzzles, online games and tools are plenty online. There are ways you can incorporate brain development in play, and through several of the methods I’ve blogged about here before.
I’ve shared insights, tips and suggestions about what the families that grow entrepreneurs and free-thinkers do differently, how to encourage your children to read more, tips to help your child who is struggling with homework do better, how to set up a boss homework station that gets things done, reviewed books on what Asian parents do differently, and my most popular post with a guide for helping a children go from a C to an A honor’s student.
Many wealthy families invest in paying hundreds and thousands of dollars annually to get tutors for their children.
And as I said before, you don’t have to be affluent either to make this happen even after you personally determine that you have a gifted child but before you have your child officially tested.
If you don’t have the resources of the super rich, you can invest in one of the many books out there that train and prepare children for taking the tests that the best and most elite and exclusive schools use to ascertain which children to admit.
One such tool is the series of test prep books offered by Reston, Virginia-based The Test Tutor. Among the bank of tests its books help students prep for are:
The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT®2) is a tool used to assess the general intellectual ability of children in grades kindergarten through 12th grade. While the NNAT-2 does not require reading, writing, or speaking to complete, the question types may be very different from any other test or schoolwork your child has experienced. Prep books start at $19.99
Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test (IAAT) is used to assess a student’s knowledge of basic algebraic concepts, as well as other math principles such as geometry and statistics. The purpose of the test is to assess how well a student understands these concepts, which are considered key for moving through grade levels. The test is administered in a group setting by school administrators/teachers. It contains 60 questions divided into four parts.
The Kaufman Brief Intelligent Test (KBIT) measures verbal and non-verbal intelligence in individuals from ages 4 through 90 years. It is commonly used as a guide for teachers, parents and students when quick assessment of intelligence is needed for gifted program placement.
The Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is used to assess intelligence in children between the ages of 6 to 16 years old. IQ tests don’t assess learned knowledge such as reading and math. Instead, they measure a child’s learning capabilities through verbal and non-verbal exercises. For this reason, they are a far better predictor of future academic success, especially in children who are not traditionally exceptional students.
The Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement are long-standing tests used to determine how well a student is retaining and understanding certain subjects. The subjects tested are specifically selected to reflect a student’s knowledge of “core” or very important topics. Information covered includes reading, writing, vocabulary, comprehension, editing and different types of math. The subtests have variations which make them applicable to students of any age, from kindergarten through college. In fact, the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement has norms that make it applicable to adults up to the age of 90. For this reason, it is also commonly used outside of academic institutions to assess the learned knowledge of adults.
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) is a test given to children 2-7 years of age to assess general IQ as well as verbal abilities, reasoning and processing skills, visual-motor skills, and comprehension of both verbal and visual information. The results from these tests are compared to averages and peer norms then analyzed for areas of weakness or strength. These results then aid parents, teachers, and other professionals in placing them in educational programs best suited to their needs and learning abilities. Although grouped as a single test, the WPPSI actually includes many subtests. Depending on the child’s age and on administrator choices, children may only be tested in certain areas.
Because a lot of these tests are not necessarily correlated to the what children learn in school, it is essential to get prepared and Test-Tutors books are boss for preparing your child to perform well on these tests. If f you want your child to perform at his best, you must expose him to the types of questions he will encounter.
Test-Tutor also sells some tools I used on my straight A. Deans list and honor roll kids to give them a boost. Tools like BrainQuest cards and more starting about $9!
There is support that their prep books get results too! The company gets loads of positive comments and reviews from parents who have purchased the books, use them and recommend them to others. I’ve gone through them and am impressed and excited to delve into them myself and start testing them out on my brood.
They too will be applying to limited enrollment academic programs and schools in coming months and years. I’m hopeful and optimistic that the Test-Tutor will get them properly trained to excel and crush these tests.
The price range is reasonable and significantly more cost effective than going with a $150 per hour tutor. That’s the going price range around where I live and I’ve actually paid for an expensive tutor before and did not get much results. It was a total waste of money. So I’m hopeful that Test-Tutor will be a wise cost-effective investment that will pay off!
I’ll keep you updated.
If you want to check them out yourself, check out the website at Theor follow them on social
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