proud daddy has to brag .....

[sammyg2]

My 8 year old son just finished 2nd grade. He goes to a private school which is a bit advanced when compared to the local public schools.
Near the end of every school year, they administer the Iowa standardized test to all students.
That's the one where the student's score is ranked against all students in that grade in the nation.

Last year the results stated that he scored higher than 99% of all 1st graders in the nation.
I knew he was smart but figured it was a fluke or something.
This year's results?
He scored higher than 99% of all second graders in the nation. Two years in a row aint no fluke.

I checked into the test a little bit, near as I can tell the score he recieved is the highest score they give out. For all I know he could have gotten the highest test score in the nation.
here's a quote from the web site:
"Percentile Rank (PR)
A student's percentile rank is a score that tells the percent of students in a particular group that got lower raw scores on a test than the student did. It shows the student's relative position or rank in a group of students who are in the same grade and who were tested at the same time of year (fall, midyear, or spring) as the student. ............... Percentile ranks range from 1 to 99."
http://www.education.uiowa.edu/itp/itbs/

The school has suggested that instead of third grade next year they put him in 5th to see if he can handle it. I said nope, not yet. The risk would outweigh the reward.

Now, which is better; MIT or Caltech? No liberal arts for this kid.

[the]

It sounds like he is advanced.

Also that he should be moved up a grade. At 8 years old, he must be one the oldest kids in second grade.

(Also, who else, other than your school, and apparently the iowa public schools, take the test?)

[sammyg2]

Not sure how many students take the test, but here's something about it:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) are a set of standardized tests given annually to school students in the United States. These tests are given to students beginning in kindergarten and progressing until Grade 8 to assess educational development. In Grade 9, the students are examined using the ITED program.

The ITBS was designed by the University of Iowa's College of Education, as part of a program to develop a series of nationally accepted standardised achievement tests.

The ITBS covers numerous areas of educational knowledge, including English language use, math concepts and problem solving, social studies, science, geography and map use, and source use.

The ITBS is used in the majority of schools in the State of Iowa, both in the public and private education sectors. The tests have been widely used in other regions of the United States.

A quick google search didn't tell me exactly how many tak it, but it is used in illinois, Washington, South Carolina, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, at least parts of Texas, Georgia, etc.
It appears it is a nationwide test, and has pecome much more popular due to the "no child left behind" act. Here's a snip of what I found:

Annual test now has impact beyond just student scores
BY MIKE BUFFINGTON AND ANGELA GARY
If the power of the pen is like a sword, then the power of a No. 2 pencil held by a third-grader is a Sherman tank. At least that's a prevailing view of many school administrators as students begin taking the annual Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS).
This week, students in local elementary and middle schools began taking the test, which has in recent years become THE standard by which many have come to judge schools and school systems. As a nationwide test, the ITBS forms a comparison of students to their peers from all states, a result that is more accurate than many other tests, say some school leaders. And because parents now place such importance on standardized test results, education leaders have begun to emphasize the ITBS within their schools.

[bigchillcar]

8-years does sound old for 2nd grade, +1. congrats on your son, sammy.

[sammyg2]

His birthday is in August so he is in the right grade for his age, but if he was one month older he would be a grade higher.
I think the cut off is The second week in september.
I might let them move him up one grade, but not two.

I've always tried to make sure that he knows he is a good kid, but not different. Telling a young kid that he is not the same as other kids is a bad idea IMO. He'll figure it out for himslelf eventually, and hopefully by that time he will handle it without any issues of self conciousness.

[kaisen]

Keep him old for his class. It's a guy thing. Better to be bigger and older than younger and smaller. Once he's in, say, 8th grade it can be a big deal. Take it from someone who skipped a few grades and graduated at 15.

[masraum]

I used to score the same way on standardized tests, all through school. I'm not saying that your boy isn't bright. I'm sure he is smart, I sure am. I commend you on your choice of schools. I went to an advanced private school from the 5th - 8th grade and I'm sure it made a huge difference in my academic life. Keep him in it and he will go far.

[jrdavid68]

Originally posted by the


(Also, who else, other than your school, and apparently the iowa public schools, take the test?)

Just those schools that aren't afraid of the results - yes, I grew up in Iowa. Schools that participate in grade inflation will continue to use the STAR testing.

We weren't planning on having kids, but the wife and I had our first together in December. The plan now is to relocate to Iowa when jr. is ready to start school.

[Jims5543]

The funny part is your sons private school probably spent the week prior prepping them for the test, whereas the Public Schools spend the entire school year prepping so they can get their money.

Yet, I am willing to bet all the kids in your sons private school, with minimum preparation did better, on average, than the public school kids.

My 14 y/o took standard tests here in Florida in his private school, he scored in the 95% in reading writing and 80% in Math, he sucks at math but has improved a lot this last year since leaving public school, we hope to see more improvement next year, his first full year in private school.

My 3 y/o will never step foot in public school.

[Wickd89]

Great. Sounds like he should skip a grade......

[masraum]

Originally posted by Jim Cesiro
The funny part is your sons private school probably spent the week prior prepping them for the test, whereas the Public Schools spend the entire school year prepping so they can get their money.

When I was in school, private 5th - 8th, then DoD 8-10, then public 10-12, we took standardized tests, but I've never been prepped that I remember.

[sammyg2]

Jim, you peaked my interest so I went to the school's website and found this:

"At our elementary campus we have our Kindergarten through Eighth grades. The school is supported by the members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and is in direct association with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Academically, St. Paul's has a proven track record with the performance of the Standardized Achievement Testing. The past ten years, St. Paul's has averaged as a school in the mid to upper 70th percentile. We offer art, music, choir, and band classes, foreign language in grades 5th through 8th, student council, and competitive and intramural sport programs. Our facilities include 28 classrooms, two Pentium™ computer labs, 9,000 volume library, music/multimedia rooms, sports field, and gym/fellowship hall on our church campus. "


Part of the credit has to go to the school, but also to the parents. This school is not cheap so the parents who send their kids there tend to be more active participants in the education.
Most of the kids to come from upper middle class families, which also helps.
To gain admission the student AND the parents must submit a resume and pass an interview to make sure they are serious about the education process and are willing to be good mentors and supporters, not only scholastically but spiritually. Basically the school can pick and choose so Johnny with the criminal record and who can't read doesn't get in, neither does the kid who can't speak english. that gives this school a big advantage over the public school system.
Plus if a student isn't behaving or doesn't perform to his or her ability, they give them a talking to and another chance. After that they get the boot.
With a two year waiting list, it isn't fair for a problem kid to drag down the rest of the students when other good students can't get in.

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by masraum
When I was in school, private 5th - 8th, then DoD 8-10, then public 10-12, we took standardized tests, but I've never been prepped that I remember.

Neither did I when I was in School, but then came along that awesome "no child left behind" campaign and now schools MUST score a certain score or else loose funding.

Do you really think they are still not leaving kid behind? If nothing else it has taken down the entire school as they work towards getting that passing grade. Oh, and they ARE leaving kids behind, the really stupid ones that need the most help are labeled "Learning Disabled" and tossed to the side since their test scores will not count anyway.


Sammy - my 14 year olds school is non-religious and only has 30 students. There is a waiting list this year to get in and it is a Montessori school. One of the first things I had to do when he started was buy him a laptop, all his work is done on the laptop then he can either e-mail his assignments to his teachers or print them out and hand them in. Sort of like.. ummm the "real" world.

He takes music classes, in gym he has learned Tai Chi, kayaking, competitive vollyball, raquetball and who knows what is in store next year. He science teacher is a scientist and all their lessons involve hands on interactive assignments. It is night and day compared to public school.

The best part? My son is no longer verbally and mentally abused by mean sprited, tenured teachers who seem to take delight in beating him into the ground.

So now his self esteem is out of the gutter and he thinks he is a person, his personality has exploded these last few months and he is turning into a great young man. Before he was depressed and introverted, he is a much happier person now. That alone is worth all the money in the world.

[Stutzdriver]

My son is the product of one of the top public school systems in Ohio. he was identified as one of the top kids in 2nd grade and the system bent over backwards to keep up with him. He took honors Algebra 1 in 7th grade and Honors Geometry and Spanish 1 in 8th grade all for High school credit.

His Junior year was all AP classes as will be his senior year, he will enter most colleges as a sophomore. His interest is in Chemestry with aspirations of medical school to be a clinical pathologist.

He scored ofer 2100 (out of a possible 2400) on the SAT and a 34 out of a possible 36 on the ACT. The big name colleges are beating a path to his door.

We kept him with his peers and just kept him working at the top of his abilities. We had friends who pushed their child up to a higher grade with poor results and alienation by the other kids.

Good luck with you son, it's quite a ride to try to keep up with them!!!

[Jeff Alton]

Wow, and he is your kid?

Just kidding, I could not resist.

Good for you for putting him into an a school where he could excel. That is commendable. Not many folks would bother to do that.

Keep him challenged to learn and he will continue to do very well. You may find that even at his current school he is not challenged enough, so be prepared to do take over some of this yourself (if you are not doing this already)

BUT, remember to let him be a kid and have fun and do stupid and goofy things and screw up lots. (I am sure you don't need that advice but some do).

Cheers

[nostatic]

my son will likely be a brilliant underachiever who will eschew college to go on the road with his band or be creating games and drawing comics.

And if he's happy, I'm happy.

oh, and Sam, Caltech over MIT...but for grad, not undergrad. Send him to a good liberal arts college to get a well rounded undergrad education.

yeah, I know. Just what you wanted to hear. Worked for me though

[sammyg2]

LOL, he plays baseball and soccer so he has the competitive training, he loves building stuff with his legos so he has more than enough creativity training, no liberal arts though.
He and I get along pretty goood and if he studied liberal arts it would screw that up

[the]

bush hates liberal artists.

[sammyg2]

Rightfully so, and he isn't the only one!
seriously, we need liberal arts majors. Someone has to ask us if we want to supersize it