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Gifted Students: Accelerated Classes or Grade Skipping?

2012-12-07T15:12:41Z

Skipping a grade has become a very controversial subject for gifted students. The public schools advocate that all children are taught at grade level and that alternative approaches to enriching the gifted student are preferable to advancing them to the next grade. Generally, it is preferable to provide new learning opportunities for your child at the appropriate level of developmental readiness. By providing your child enrichment opportunities, your child will learn more about the subject and gain a deeper understanding while the lesson is designed with age appropriate content. It is much more demanding to promote learning at a higher grade level where more life and learning experiences are expected.

The first step is to have your child qualified for the Academically Gifted Program (AGP) by completing an approved test of intelligence. Once qualified, your child will be homogenously grouped in a specialized gifted class. This means your child will be grouped with children of the same, or as close to the same ability levels as your child. Instruction will be delivered at a faster pace, and more enrichment activities will be provided to broaden the scope of the learning.

Often parents ask, “Why do are the public schools generally opposed to skipping a grade?” The answer is that on rare occasions a child may skip a grade, but only after all other accommodations have been made. Historically, when skipping a grade occurred in the past, these children often struggled socially and their school experience was made much more difficult by the stigma of being different.

Now the current approach is to provide gifted children an identity within a group of accelerated learners where they do belong. This approach protects the child’s self-esteem by allowing for success academically as well as socially. Gifted students learn to embrace their new identity as an AGP (Advanced Gifted Placement) student in addition to accepting more responsibility. The transition is made easier for them by the acceptance of children like them who are accustomed to learning like them and by a program designed for them. In conclusion, it is evident that the benefits of accelerated learning greatly outweigh the benefits of grade skipping.

For more information on this subject and on parenting Gifted children check out Barron’s Key’s to Parenting the Gifted Child, 2^nd edition by Sylvia B. Rimm, Ph.D. Dr. Rimm explores a range of issues that parents would like advice on. Her topics cover the full scope of academic ages from preschool to college preparation.

Lessons from the National Spelling Bee Champion

2012-06-03T02:27:48Z

According to the CBS News website, 14 year old Snigdha Nandipati beat eight other finalists recently to take home the National Spelling Bee Champion title and $40,000 in prize and scholarship money. The story goes on to describe how Snigdha hopes to use her winnings to pay for college.

What struck me about the story was the description of how Snigdha’s father, Krishnarao Nandipati, revealed the keys to her success. Snigdah reportedly has a collection of over 30,000 flashcards with the trickiest words and has been training since the age of four!

In the article her father described how he was instrumental in her success, reading out words from billboards during the drive to school for her to spell when she was in kindergarten. According to the news story, in the run-up to the Bee, Nandipanti studied 6 to 10 hours a day on weekdays and 10-12 hours on weekends.

What Snigdha’s father describes in the news story is a process of instilling self-regulated learning with his daughter. By definition, self-regulation is an integrated learning process, consisting of the development of a set of constructive behaviors that affect one's learning. These processes are planned and adapted to support the pursuit of personal goals in changing learning environments. Flashcards are a prime example of a self-regulated learning tool. A student can transpose all material that needs to be learned to flashcards, and carry these cards around wherever they go. This helps support their commitment to learning by having constant access to learning material, and they can easily track their progress and know when they have systematically learned all material necessary. In short, flashcards are a very effective tool!

Many researchers have agreed with the importance of self-regulated learning for students at all academic levels. In fact, Zimmerman (1990), an expert in this area, found evidence that the use of self-regulated learning strategies accounted for most of the success in school for high achieving students.

Self-regulation can be taught, learned and controlled. Developing self-regulation strategies tend to shift a student’s feeling of control over their life. In psychology we term this concept: “Locus of Control.” Locus of Control refers to an individual's perception about the underlying main causes of events in his/her life. Or, more simply: Do you believe that your destiny is controlled by yourself or by external forces (such as luck, teachers, or the environment)? Locus of control is conceptualized as referring to a continuum, ranging from external to internal:

As a student begins to master the self-regulated learning process, they develop an internal locus of control. No longer will you hear external control statements such as, “I made a bad grade because my teacher hates me!” Instead you will hear internal statements such as, “I got an A+ because I studied!”

Any student can be taught to become a self-regulated learner through the process of acquiring specific strategies. These strategies need to not only be successful in terms of teaching the student the material (such as the note cards and billboard practice sessions described by Snigdha’s father) but they also need to enable the student to increase their control over their own behavior and environment.

Research into the area of self-regulated learning has found that the best learning occurs when a student carefully observes and considers their behavior and acts upon the effectiveness of the learning strategy. In this respect, students who are self-regulated must learn to continually ask themselves "Does this strategy work for me in this situation?" Students who are effective self-regulators shift their focus from comparing their performance to peers to self-comparison, and they also shift focus from being reactive to being proactive learners.

Compared with low achieving students, high achievers such as Snigdha set more specific learning goals, use a variety of learning strategies, self-monitor more often, and adapt their efforts more systematically. While research has shown that gifted students frequently are good self-regulators, not all are. These students need to be helped and encouraged to self-regulate. Other students that can be helped through teaching self-regulation are those that are lacking in organizational skills, such as commonly seen with ADHD and learning disabled students, or for students with social or personal issues that may prevent them from self-monitoring regularly.

To help your student become a self-regulated learned, Please complete the Contact Form or call: (813) 454-1050. All inquiries are responded to in less than 24 hours, 7 days a week.

References

The Associated Press (2012 ). Spelling bee champion Snigdha Nandipati wins title with "guetapens"Nandipati. Retrieved from CBSNews.com on June 2, 2012.

Zimmerman, B. J. (1990). Self-regulated academic learning and achievement: The emergence of a social cognitive perspective. Educational Psychology Review, 2, 173-201.

ADHD and the X-Box

2012-02-29T03:14:39Z

Often, towards the end of an ADHD assessment when it is clear a child meets criteria for the disorder, I will ask parents, “How many hours does your child play video games? How do you think they will react to limiting their game time?” Parents sometimes seem shocked that I would know this is issue number one at home, or that this is even an issue at all if it was not previously disclosed. In some cases the child is playing hours upon hours of video games, and is sometimes the only means of social connection with others via collaborative play of war games on the X-Box or role playing games on the personal computer.

The question parents ask is, “How in the world did you know that our child is obsessed with video games!?!”

I think I can address this question by citing a research study I recently came across. According to research in Pediatrics, teens and young adults who play a lot of video games are more likely to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Does that mean it's time to confiscate your child’s video game system? It’s possible, but you need to see the complete picture, and understand how you might use video games as an incentive.

The research in Pediatrics which appears here was based on sample of 1,323 students assessed over 13 months by parent and child reported television and video game exposure as well as teacher-reported attention problems. Another sample of 210 late adolescent and early adult participants provided additional self-reports of television exposure, video game exposure, and attention problems.

The study found that exposure to television and video games was associated with greater attention problems. The association of television and video games to attention problems in the middle childhood sample remained significant when earlier attention problems and gender were statistically controlled. The associations of screen media and attention problems were similar across media type (television or video games) and age (middle childhood or late adolescent and early adult).

Among the middle childhood cohort, those who spent a median of 3.86 hours in front of a screen had an odds ratio for developing attention problems of 1.81. Among the sample of late adolescents and young adults, those with a median of 4.36 hours of total screen time, the odds ratio for attention problems was 2.04. Among the children, they found the median daily exposure to television was 2.99 hours and to video games was 0.66 hours, for a total of 3.86 hours a day of screen time. Those who were above the medians were significantly also more likely to have attention problems: The study concluded that viewing television and playing video games each are associated with increased subsequent attention problems in childhood.

There have been several studies which show that preschoolers who watch a lot of television are more likely to have ADHD, but a direct correlation has not been proven. In other words, these have been correlational studies, not causal studies, such as the research study referenced above. For information on why correlation does not imply causation, see here.

Mindless television (non-educational television) such as Sponge Bob, The Simpsons, etc doesn't help young children, and may be distracting them from what they really should be doing such as reading, studying, playing and interacting with people. Despite all the research and common sense objections to hours upon hours of video game playing, I have had parents tell me, “I don’t want to limit my child’s video game time, because it is the only time they interact with their peers!” or “This is my child’s only pleasure in life, and I won’t take that way!” My response to that is usually, “Your child is playing 4 hours of video games every day. When do they have time to go outside, play, and have normal interactions? When do they have the opportunity to find other pleasures in life, or to get other skills they can take pride in like riding a bike or throwing a ball? You’ve got to start limiting their video game time.”

Here are some straightforward suggestions to start limiting your child’s video game time, and using it in a positive way:

Adopt the 2 hour per day limit on screen time (all television, computer, handheld games combined) suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Two hours per day is the daily maximum, and not the baseline or average time.
Treat screen time as a privilege, not a right. Some parents reward good behavior with a small dose of television time or video games. Your child can earn screen time privileges by doing chores or reading books. Track your child’s screen time by using a kitchen timer. Then the timer goes off, so does the television.
Consider what your children are watching in terms of content. Many video games such as “Modern Warfare” or “Grand Theft Auto” are both violent and sexually explicit, even more so than late night shows on HBO or Showtime. There is plenty of research that these violent and sexually explicit shows have a bad influence on children's behavior and self image.
When your child has earned video game privileges, play the games your children play, and watch their shows. Not only will you be better equipped to make decisions on whether the content is appropriate, you can discuss it with them. Additionally, if you can explain to your children why you are bothered by violence on television it helps them understand why you're imposing rules, it helps them learn how to set limits of their own.
Set a rule in your house that homework must be done before the television goes on. If your child is getting bad grades, the television does not go on until grades are lifted.

It is possible to use video games in a positive manner. I personally have used Leapster Learning System games with my own children. There are games such as Math Blaster and several typing instruction games that we use in our home, and we currently are using Rosetta Stone software to learn a new language (not a game, but still a fun program). It is suggested that games for pure fun should be used as rewards for completing other behaviors. To read further on the topic of using rewards, please read my post on the Premack Principle or for more in depth information see here.

Habit Heroes!

2011-08-21T00:51:22Z

On a recent trip with my family to Innoventions at Epcot I was very pleased to see that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield are sponsoring a new attraction. According to the teaser posters displayed in the construction area, “Habit Heroes” is coming to Innovations East at Epcot which will take the place of the "Don't Waste It" exhibit.

Poster illustrating the power of a bad habit.

An online search doesn’t reveal much about the coming attraction other than some guesses posted on Disney discussion boards. It appears that the attraction is geared to teach children about the power of a bad habit and what it takes to make new, healthy habits. I certainly hope this is the case and I applaud Disney in this new endeavor.

As a cognitive behavioral psychologist, I am focused on behavioral change. Changing study habits, eating habits, or any behavioral change for that matter often follows a similar process. First the behavior you want to change must be identified, new behaviors must be targeted, and then your day to day behaviors must be measured in an effort to reach your new behavioral goal. Along the way motivation and commitment are bolstered along with establishing support and developing coping mechanisms for when things fall off track.

For example, if a student wants to raise their grades, a snapshot of the process could be:

1) Identify the Behavior to Change: For the purpose of this example let’s say it’s to reduce “screen time” while increasing study time.

2) Target New Behaviors: The student identifies that he will give up 30 minutes of TV and 30 minutes of video game playing per day for an extra 1 hour of studying. This goal is written down by the student and reinforced in a self reinforcement statement.

3) Self Monitor New Behaviors: The student will start a log of how many minutes they participate in “screen time” behaviors, and how many minutes they spend studying per day.

As you might be able to surmise, the process could very well be the same for changing other habits, such as to stop smoking, to stop using swear words, or to lose weight. However it all beings with an awareness and building the determination to do something about your bad habit. Also, it requires the belief that you are capable of changing your behavior and that changing behavior can help you reach a targeted goal. If this exhibit at Innoventions helps equip young people with the basic tools to change bad habits, then this is surely a good thing.

As a father to two young children and Disney season pass holder, I am often struck by the unhealthy food choices at Disney. In fact I am so bothered by it I started a blog on the subject here. In this regard Disney’s efforts to educate young people about establishing healthy habits is a step in the right direction.

One memorable experience I recently had was watching the “One Man’s Dream” movie and exhibit at Hollywood Studios. All of the photos in the exhibit and clips of Walt in the movie were taken from the 1960’s and early 1970’s. I was struck by how everyone looked so healthy and very thin. When the movie was over, the doors opened up and we went outside into the park and saw obese children eating oversized sugar treats and adults on mobility scooters too overweight to walk. The contrast from the 1960’s movie to present was night and day.

However food is not the only changes in our modern environment our children face. When I attended graduate school the subject of computer games, X-Box, Wii, and so on was never mentioned in class. In my practice I make it standard protocol to ask parents of children with learning disabilities or suspected ADHD how much time their child participates in gaming activities. There has been occasion where it was apparent that if the child would put the same amount of time, energy, and determination in their schoolwork that they do at X-Box, the parent might not even need the evaluation in the first place.

The point here is that we are living in a world full of temptations that we as parents simply didn’t face growing up. How many of us reading this post only had 3-5 TV channels growing up depending on the time of day or day of the week? And not only did you have to get up to change the channel, but the TV channels all went to a test pattern at a certain time of the night as if to say, “You kids have watched enough TV for today! Now go to bed!” I distinctly remember staying up to watch Saturday Night Live as a child at night, and after the show was over America the Beautiful played and the station pulled the plug until 6am Sunday morning. This was the same for all stations where I lived.

Now our kids have an endless supply of TV channels, and if nothing is on the DVR has recorded more shows than we could ever possibly watch. We have the internet, video games, our kids have Nintendo DSI’s, i-pads, cell phones, and the list goes on and on. We are truly living in a different environment; an environment full of limitless temptations, time killers, and unhealthy outlets for kids. As adults we need to make every effort to teach kids the process of instilling good habits- for their health, education, and financial independence.

If your child needs help in changing a habit and you are not able to correct it on your own, please use the Contact Form or call me at (813) 454-1050.

My Child Missed the AGP Cut Off. What Now?

2011-04-06T01:03:31Z

The most common requests I get for assessments include IQ assessments for determining a child's IQ, learning disability assessments, or to get a “second opinion” regarding an IQ assessment that was previously administered by a school.

Generally, IQ assessments I administer are for a child to be included in the Academically Gifted Program (AGP). It’s quite an honor to have your child included in the AGP and most of us as parents want every advantage for our child. So it’s not surprising that I get a lot of requests for outside or private testing for the Tampa area gifted programs when a child did not make the cut off when tested with the initial IQ screening.

What I commonly tell parents is that, “Yes, you are justified in seeking a second opinion.” There are many factors that could have influenced your child’s test score on any particular day. Really, their score is simply a reflection of how they were doing on the day they were tested. Could they have been caught by surprise? Did they think they would get into trouble for answering a questions wrong to an adult? Did the examiner take the time to build rapport with the child and put them at ease about the testing?

Here is a little known piece of trivia about the testing process for most Tampa area schools. In general, your child will not receive one IQ test to qualify for the AGP but two tests. The first test is generally the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test II (KBIT-2) and the second test is a more robust IQ test such as the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales which is published right here in the Tampa area by Psychological Assessment Resources. The Reynolds is an excellent test, and the Wechsler Individualized Intelligence Scale-IV is excellent as well.

But did you know that what is good enough to rule your child out of AGP consideration is NOT good enough to use as documentation for a learning disability at many Florida colleges? That’s right, the KBIT-2 can stop your child from further consideration for inclusion into the AGP but is not considered a worthy enough assessment for many area colleges to document the IQ score needed to diagnose a learning disability. See here to review the documentation requirements at the University of Central Florida which specifically lists acceptable and non-acceptable IQ tests:

Acceptable IQ Tests:

Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test (this is the full Kaufman, NOT the brief test administered in most public schools).
Stanford Binet 4^th Edition
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - III (WAIS-III)
Woodcock-Johnson III General Intellectual Ability (GIA)

Not Acceptable:

Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (KBIT)
Slosson Intelligence Test
Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI)
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - III (WISC-III)

I know what you’ve thinking, “You can’t be serious, a test not accepted at some state universities are the first line test used in the public school? How can this be?” Well, it’s simple. The KBIT-2 is a 20 minute screening tool. It’s not made to give an actual IQ score, but an ESTIMATE of an IQ score. There is a big difference here. You can read the test’s description for the publisher here. Remember, the key word used to sell the product is that you receive an IQ ESTIMATE.

Here is some relevant information about the KBIT-2 in the form of abstracts of articles from peer reviewed academic journals calling into question the validity and use of the KBIT-2. In a study titled, “A structural equation analysis of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised” it was found that:

The K-BIT Verbal Intelligence factor appeared to have a significant visuospatial component, calling into question the assumption that the WAIS—R and K-BIT provide equivalent measures of verbal intelligence.

In another study titled, “Relationship of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-Second Edition and the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence in children referred for ADHD” researchers found that:

Results of this study indicated the WASI to be a more stable measure of ADHD children's intelligence, that the KBIT-2 Vocabulary scores were significantly lower than the WASI Verbal score, and that there was significant variability within participants.

So there are obviously issues with the KBIT-2 as an assessment instrument. In fact, the authors, Kaufman and Kaufman (2004b) recommend that the KBIT-2 be used as a. “screener for intellectual abilities in situations such as identification of children who are at-risk for academic problems, as part of gifted and talented selection (although full-scale assessment may be necessary to fulfill state guidelines), as part of assessment procedures for job applicants, as part of test batteries where the intellectual profile is not the primary concern, for forensic purposes, for re-evaluations, and for various similar circumstances that do not demand full-scale assessment of cognitive ability.”

Most importantly, the test authors caution against using the KBIT-2 for the purposes of diagnosis or placement, as more comprehensive assessment would most likely be necessary for these purposes.

Believe it or not, I actually have the KBIT-2 and I do use it on occasion. It is important that we remember to use it as a screening tool, and not the be-all end-all measure of intelligence. Are the public schools justified in using the KBIT-2 as a screener for the AGP’s? Absolutely. At the same time, as a concerned parent, should you get a second opinion about your child’s IQ instead of settling for an estimate? Again, the answer is a resounding, “Absolutely!!!”

To schedule an assessment, please use the Contact Form or call Dr. Bishop at (813) 454-1050.

What is the Process for Enrolling My Child in the AGP?

2010-11-13T23:25:36Z

In this post I will review the typical steps taken for identification and enrollment of a child into the Academically Gifted Program (AGP). The process can differ slightly from county to county so I will write this post in as general terms as I can. If you have more specific questions about the process and how I can assist your child, please call me directly at (813) 454-1050.

Step 1: Identification

The first step in the process is for your child to be identified as potentially Gifted. Your child’s teacher can make this identification, or a parent can identify on their own and request that their child be evaluated.

Step 2: Testing

Testing in the Public Schools

Generally, if left to the school your child will be screened with an IQ test such as the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test II (KBIT-II) several weeks after they have been identified by their teacher as needing AGP services. If your child scores in the 98^th percentile or higher, they are then tested again with a more robust IQ test such as the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) or Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV). Again, your child will have to make an excellent score in this test. The cut off is 130, or two standard deviations from the mean score of 100.

Parents often complain about their child having to take two IQ tests. I have heard many parents complain that the current testing process subjects their child to “double jeopardy” in that they have to make the cut off required on not one but two separate tests!

Further, the KBIT-II is a poor instrument for measuring IQ at high levels. This is due to the brief nature of the test. If a student experiences test anxiety, or has focus or attention difficulties, or becomes distracted, their IQ score will suffer. The WISC-IV is a much more robust test and allows some flexibility if a child “bombs” a portion of the test. A child can more than make up for poor performance on one subtest on the WISC-IV with superior performance on other subtests. There are also two ways to score the WISC-IV if certain criteria are met. The WISC-IV can be scored with the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) or the General Ability Index (GAI). The KBIT-II is not built with this same level of flexibility.

Private Testing

Having your child tested by a private Psychologist is the preferred route many parents take. A private psychologist generally can test your child quickly and often can have your child’s test results back to you in just a few days after your initial call.

Additionally, if you go the private testing route you child can skip the KBIT-II as the prescreening tool. There is no double jeopardy with two separate IQ tests. Also, an experienced psychologist will take the time to match the student to the best test for them. Finally, parents often opt to have their child tested in their home which can potentially cut down on test anxiety and put the child at ease during the testing process.

Step 3: The Checklist

If your child scores a 130 or higher on the IQ test, the next step is usually for their teacher to complete a gifted checklist on your child. The teacher will be asked to identify traits in your child that are common to gifted students.

Traits on this checklist can include:

High levels of curiosity
Extremely verbal
Well-developed powers of abstraction, conceptualization, and synthesis
Quickly and easily sees relationships in ideas, objects, or facts
Fluent and flexible thinking
Elaborate and original thinking
Excellent problem solving skills
Learns quickly and with less practice and repetition
Unusual and/or vivid imagination
Enjoys learning new things

Step 4: Meeting with the Gifted Teacher

Generally the final step is for the parent or guardian to meet with the Gifted Teacher at your child’s school. During this meeting the Gifted Teacher will explain what your child will be learning in the program and will go over goals, objectives, and expectations of the program. Finally, you will be asked to sign a permission form allowing your child to participate and a confidentiality agreement.

If you are looking for written documentation that your child should qualify for your county's Academically Gifted Program, please use the Contact Form or call Dr. Bishop at (813) 454-1050. Dr. Bishop has completed well over 1,000 intelligence assessments and has qualified numerous children in Tampa for AGP services. Dr. Bishop can provide the testing, support, and guidance required navigate through the qualification process.

Considerations for Private Gifted Testing

2010-10-04T03:42:08Z

Recent studies have found that 84% of time in classroom settings is spent on activities where the entire class participates as a group. In other words, as little as 16% of time in your child’s day at school is spent receiving individualized attention catering to their specific level in any subject. That being said, the importance of gifted testing (gifted assessment) to determine if your child meets criteria for the Academically Gifted Program (AGP) is more important than ever.

The question for most parents is, “Do we wait for weeks to determine if our child meets criteria, or do we go ahead and arrange for private testing now?” There are many factors one might consider to make this determination. With the cost of a gifted evaluation running anywhere from $300-$650, often the decision comes down to finances.

Many parents ask, “Will I get a good return for my investment?”

Historically pull-out programs by focus area is the most common way to address the needs of gifted students at the elementary level. Conversely, the most utilized approach for catering to the academic needs of gifted students at the secondary level is special class grouping by subject. Special class grouping is one of the primary ways to deliver differentiated curriculum, and is an excellent way to prepare your child for more rigorous honors or AP classes later in their academic career.

Gifted instruction gives your child an opportunity to learn, grow, and be challenged in a way that is appropriate for their intellectual level. Additionally, gifted students benefit from classroom interactions with fellow students at similar performance levels.

Most teachers work very hard to challenge all of their students. However, The National Research Center on Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) found that 61% of classroom teachers had no training in teaching gifted students. Additionally, researchers at the Fordham Institute found that 58% of teachers have received no professional development focused on teaching academically advanced students in the past few years. The unfortunate reality is that not all teachers are able to recognize and support gifted learners.

It is not uncommon for gifted students to be so far ahead of their same-age peers that they know 50% or more of the curriculum for their grade level before the school year begins. This is especially true if as a parent you have been reading or working with your child over the summer. Boredom or frustration experienced by the child can lead to low achievement, despondency, or unhealthy work habits.

The bottom line is that waiting for weeks to place your child in a gifted program may have potentially negative results. Behavioral problems can result if a child is excessively bored in a classroom. Children can exhibit unwanted behaviors of daydreaming, poor attention to detail, sloppy work, working quickly and not checking their work, and poor effort if they are not challenged. These behaviors if not addressed quickly can potentially develop into longer term habits.

Don’t wait to have your child tested / assessed for the Academically Gifted Program. Have your child tested today.

The Flynn Effect: Are IQ's Rising?

2010-09-19T15:03:46Z

The "Flynn effect" is named after political scientist James Flynn, who has researched the environmental and cultural impact on IQ. Azar (1996) reports in the APA Monitor that the average IQ of a 20-year old in 1996 is approximately 15 points higher than that of a 20-year old 50 years ago. The article, titled, “People are becoming smarter—why?” postulates that the rising IQ scores do not reflect a change in the global intelligence purportedly measured by traditional tests. Azar hypothesizes that escalating scores are the product of more specific skills that allow people to excel on tasks like those included in these tests, along with improved socioeconomic status, better nutrition, and an increasingly technological society.

Most researchers agree that genetic factors account for about 40-80% of the variation in IQ test results. If this is true, then environmental or other factors must account for 20-60% - which is a large range.

Some environmental factors that have a large effect upon later IQ test results include prenatal ones, such as:

Whether or not, prior to the birth, mother drank large amounts of alcohol during her pregnancy (fetal alcohol syndrome).
The mother was exposed to large amounts of lead.
Schooling.
The quality of toys used.
The amount of external stimulus the child was subjected to.
Prolonged malnutrition also has a marked negative effect on IQ test.
In contrast, babies who were breastfed have IQs up to 10 points on average higher than those who weren’t

According to Azar, IQ scores gains differ somewhat, depending on the particular measure used to assess intelligence. On the Raven's Progressive Matrices IQ test, which emphasizes visuo-spatial skills, the increase has been dramatic. The maximum score on this test is 60 points; people (born in 1877) tested in 1942 scored an average 24, while people (born in 1967) tested in 1992 scored an average of 54! Because IQ is based on average score of a population, both were said to have an IQ of 100 in their respective generations. It should also be noted that these two samples were of substantially different ages when they took the test (65 and 25), but this difference is not likely to be the only cause of the IQ score discrepancy.

The increase in average IQ scores has not been as dramatic for traditional intelligence tests such as the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. These tests, in addition to testing visuo-spatial ability, also test more verbally-acquired, school-taught knowledge such as vocabulary, general knowledge, and arithmetic. The fact that scores on traditional tests of intelligence has not increased as dramatically suggests that the increases are the product of skills that aren't particularly affected by schooling. Researchers have argued that the rapidity of the increase does not have a genetic explanation. The increase must then be environmental.

What environmental changes might account for rising IQ scores? The article reports a number of possible factors. First, the technology boom seen since the industrial revolution has made people more adept at skills that are measured on IQ tests. Our society has become increasingly visual ever since the advent of movies in the 1920's. It is possible that this experience and practice with visual manipulation has led to an enhancement of these skills, and a corresponding rise in IQ. Some also cite the video game as a possible source of enhanced performance on visuo-spatial components of IQ tests.

Others cite improvements in social conditions as a possible cause of the Flynn effect. Better nutrition in industrialized countries has led to a decrease in low-birth-weight babies, and a decrease in cases of malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies.

Another likely factor driving increases in IQ is the level of parents education. Steven Ceci notes that the more education a parent has, the higher their child's IQ--from the mid-1970's to 1990, the number of parents who had attended college rose 70% for non-minorities, 350% for minorities.

Summary of Studies Into Factors that Influence IQ

Evidence of genetic influences:

Twin studies suggest that identical twins IQ's are more similar than those of fraternal twins (Promin & Spinath, 2004).
Siblings reared together in the same home have IQ's that are more similar than those of adopted children raised together in the same environment (McGue & others, 1993).

Evidence of environmental influences:

Identical twins reared apart have IQ's that are less similar than identical twins reared in the same environment (McGue & others, 1993).
School attendance has an impact on IQ scores (Ceci, 2001).
Children who are breastfed during the first three to five months of life score higher on IQ tests at age 6 than same-age children who were not breastfed (Reinberg, 2008).

The Monitor article also reports that gaps between achievement test scores of Whites and African- Americans in the U.S. showed a substantial decrease from 1971 to 1990. Researchers Robert Hauser and David Grissmer note that this is a period when the federal government was investing more money in educational programs directed at equalizing opportunity for minority children. Also, the greatest gains in IQ were shown by those with the lowest scores. These findings support the promising conclusion that environmental factors, such as improvements in the educational system, can produce changes in intelligence., The Flynn effect and its probable causes demonstrate that intellectual ability is not an immutable, unchanging characteristic.

If your child attends Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, or Manatee County Public Schools and you are interested in AGP assessment or Gifted assessment for your child, or if you just live in the Tampa area and want to know your child’s IQ score, please use the Contact Form to schedule an appointment of call Dr. Bishop at (813) 454-1050.

Ensuring Your Child Scores Well on the AGP Assessment

2010-09-19T14:53:30Z

In my practice I am frequently asked about gifted testing or AGP testing in Hillsborough, Pasco, or Pinellas County. One of the questions I am often asked is, “How can I ensure my child achieves their highest possible score on the Gifted Assessment?”

It is true that IQ scores especially among younger children can vary as they mature. Variability within one standard deviation (15 points) is to be expected. Factors that can influence your child’s IQ score on a particular day can include:

Motivation to do well on the assessment
Quality of sleep from the night before
Whether they had a good breakfast and are feeling well
Ensuring that they have any corrective lenses or hearing devices if required
Whether they are taking medication as prescribed, especially for children with ADHD
Test anxiety and rapport with the test administrator

To ensure that your child performs well on their gifted assessment, make sure that they are well rested going into the test. Make sure they have any glasses, contact lenses or hearing devices as required, and if they take medications make sure they are taking them as prescribed. If you child is taking an assessment where writing or working with blocks is required, they need to have full use of their hands and arms. In other words if your child has a broken arm in a cast then it’s best to postpone the test until they have fully recovered.

Discuss the test with your child and try to get them excited about it. Parents might phrase their explanation of the test to their child as, “You are going to play a number of games today, like working with blocks and answering questions. It’s going to be fun and challenging, so be sure to do your very best!”

It’s also a good idea to just take it easy the day before the test. In other words, don’t plan the test the day after a Disney World excursion. Make sure they are well rested and ready to go. Also, to help with motivation you might want to take them to their favorite restaurant or play area after they take the test on the condition that, “you try your very best on all items.” As there is no penalty for guessing on any item for many of the IQ assessments including the WISC-IV or Kaufman, children should know that it’s better to guess if you don’t know the answer rather than just saying, “I don’t know.”

If you are looking for written documentation that your child should qualify for your county's Academically Gifted Program, please use the Contact Form or call Dr. Bishop at (813) 454-1050.

"Gifted" Defined in Florida

2010-05-21T02:14:49Z

State Definitions of "Gifted" in Florida:

(1) Gifted. One who has superior intellectual development and is capable of high performance.

(2) Criteria for eligibility. A student is eligible for special instructional programs for the gifted if the student meets the criteria under paragraph (2)(a) or (b) of this rule.

(a) The student demonstrates:

Need for a special program.
A majority of characteristics of gifted students according to a standard scale or checklist, and
Superior intellectual development as measured by an intelligence quotient of two (2) standard deviations or more above the mean on an individually administered standardized test of intelligence.

(b) The student is a member of an under-represented group and meets the criteria specified in an approved school district plan for increasing the participation of under-represented groups in programs for gifted students.

1. For the purpose of this rule, under-represented groups are defined as groups:

a. Who are limited English proficient, or

b. Who are from a low socio-economic status family.

(Special Instructional Programs for Students Who Are Gifted - 6A-6.03019)

A state mandate with funding for identification and programming exists in gifted education. (Chapter 6A-6.03019 Special Instructional Programs for Students Who Are Gifted)
Students may be identified at any time when there is evidence that special services may be required.

Resources: