This means they may approach problem solving in unusual ways. Some students may become discouraged in traditional classroom settings because they are divergent thinkers. Without support in homework and studying for tests, some students will naturally fall behind those who do have these advantages. Some students might score well on IQ tests but underperform in a day to day classroom setting this might indicate dysfunction or a lack of support in a home environment. They provide an objective standard against which the student may be measured: How well do students of similar ages and educational backgrounds perform when presented with these same challenges? Identifying students who score well on IQ tests and watching them interact with other students as well as adults is a good way to learn who might be gifted. However, teachers can use these tests to perhaps signal that a child has at least the potential for giftedness. Students who are gifted in one area but do not perform well in a structured environment are at a natural disadvantage when it comes to such tests. Younger children can even underperform for trivial reasons, such as feeling tired or hungry. He or she is then placed at an immediate disadvantage if an IQ test demands use of these skills. For example, a child may be exceptionally gifted as a creative thinker, but have a learning disability where discerning spatial relationships is concerned. Placing a great deal of emphasis on a single test can create anxiety in the child and even work counterintuitively, causing the child to freeze up and underperform, especially if he or she is doubly exceptional. IQ tests can be useful when they are viewed as one tool in an educational system’s arsenal of identifying gifted children. But does this mean IQ tests are useless when it comes to identifying the gifted? The Value of IQ Tests Athletically gifted students or those who have unusual skill with animals won’t, either. Usually, however, they do not distinguish themselves later in life as particularly original thinkers.įor example, some students who are exceptional musicians, writers, artists, or inventors may not show to advantage in structured testing. High IQ students of this nature also usually perform well on such tests as the ACT and SAT. Their organizational skills and ability to fit in with clear expectations make them ideal employees, particularly in such fields as science and math. While not necessarily gifted, these students usually perform well in the adult world. Students who are “good at school” or who perform well on standardized IQ assessments are certainly bright, but they are also children who are also usually good at navigating through a structured system. These children usually perform well academically, but do not show the exceptional complex creative or cognitive thinking which is the mark of the truly gifted. Students who are good at structured testing or who can adapt their behavior easily may score well on IQ tests without actually being gifted. IQ & GiftednessĮducators now understand that placing too much emphasis on one IQ test is not a reliable way to designate who is gifted and who is not. Proper and authentic identification of the gifted can help parents and educators fend off behavior problems, develop learning strategies, and even prevent truancy or dropping out. This means that students who might once have been considered simply talented or even misclassified as autistic are, in fact, gifted. However, the definition of gifted has expanded exponentially as educators come to a broader understanding of what giftedness is and neuroscientists continue to develop ways of studying how the brain works and interacts with its environment. Formerly, all it took to be considered “gifted” is a stellar performance on a single test.
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