It was my granddaughter’s birthday last Friday, and I took time off work to go have lunch with her at school. Before I did, her mom said she would check to make sure it was okay because if they’re testing, no one can come for lunch.
That got me thinking about testing and gifted kids, so I thought I’d share some of what I thought about at 2am when I was raging/thinking about it.
The Testing Irony
It’s so interesting that virtually every school assumes that gifted kids are going to blow testing out of the water. There’s actual research demonstrating that many gifted kids show up to school having already mastered the material for the entire upcoming year.
So why would testing be an issue for them?
In this article, I’m going to share a few facts about gifted kids’ relationship to testing and some tips for surviving/thriving during testing.
Gifted Kids and Testing
Thinking that because someone is someone is smart they necessarily love being tested is silly. I’d say it’s stupid, but I don’t want to get my folder signed for saying a bad word.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Gifted kids may not care at all about the testing. If they don’t care, they may not perform well. (See below for tips on this.)
- Gifted kids can have the same test anxiety as typical learners, and sometimes even more if they have a little imposter syndrome going on.
- Many gifted kids have an additional exceptionality that can hinder testing performance.
- Some gifted kids have a naturally low attention span for boring repetitive tasks and will lose interest in the test well before it’s done, or they’ll race through it, making silly errors.
- Gifted kids have figured out that all the threats surrounding testing are hollow and empty. They know that even though the testing is technically high-stakes (perhaps tied to grade promotion), there are 50,000 loopholes and they know how to find them. They sit in class with kids who clearly could NEVER pass the test, yet here they are.
- Testing days are horrible for gifted kids. Simply horrible. Just because you are capable of doing something doesn’t mean you want to do it or enjoy doing it. (See below for tips on this.)
- Kids are usually tested by grade level, not where they are actually working. For example, my middle son had to take the 10th grade state assessment in math even though he was in AP Calculus BC (three/four years ABOVE the testing).
- Gifted kids’ perfectionism can paralyze them when they encounter a question they’re not sure of the answer to. This is made worse by current testing models that ask questions such as, “What is the BEST first step in this problem?” Any gifted kid worth her salt could argue every single answer choice.
- Gifted kids’ critical thinking can detect errors in the test itself, causing a mental system glitch as they rage against the injustice of this with no way to lodge a formal complaint in federal court as the test so clearly deserves.
I could go on, but I think you get the idea. There’s a lot more going on than just answering some questions.
I’ve got tips for you, so have no fear! Well, maybe just a little fear. A smidge of fear.
Tips for Gifted Kids and Testing
Here are some things I’d suggest to make the most of the situation.
- Gifted kids should be given accommodations for testing that include being allowed to leave the room when finished. There should be a room for them to go and do something – anything – else. I will die on this hill. It is wildly unfair to expect them to stay in class for hours, literal hours, doing nothing while they wait for the rest of the class to finish. My kids’ school made them do this (they weren’t even allowed to read!!!!!), so every testing day, I went and got them and brought them back to my classroom. That made me *very* popular with the school, as you can imagine.
- Prepare gifted kids for testing by explaining that the test really exists to give information about the school as a whole, as opposed to just them. It’s the school, the curriculum, and the teachers being evaluated. Yes, they will get individual scores, but the data is aggregated. Show them the data so they can see what happens to the scores. For example, in my state (Texas), you can visit a portal and search for how every single school in the state is doing. When they understand the bigger picture, it becomes less individually pressured. This also allows them to see the purpose in it.
- Advocate for appropriate treatment of quick test takers on the days of testing. Be proactive about this. Antsy, frustrated, bored kids don’t help other kids in the class focus, so emphasize that it’s better for everyone if the gifted kids are appropriately treated. We have lots of kids with accommodations for extended time, and it’s reasonable to accommodate the kids with the opposite need. Not all gifted kids need this, as some have slower processing speed, but for those quick finishers, be prepared.
- While I’m opposed to complex systems of rewards (PBIS, I’m looking at you), rewards for low-level tasks (which is what testing is for gifted kids) are appropriate. Figure out some appropriate rewards for your students or personal children for enduring the horror of testing days. At my house this looks like favorite dinners, pancakes for breakfast, ice cream after school, getting to buy a new book, mom does your chores that day, you get an extra 15 minutes of screen time, etc. I reward the heck out of those days. As a teacher, I have other rewards I can give, so get ready to be like Oprah and be wildly generous with “You get a reward!”
- If you’re a teacher, become a master of your state test. What standards are tested most often? Which never are? Which types of questions are missed most often? Use this information to guide your instruction, of course, but also use it to prep kids emotionally. My students know (because I tell them almost every day) that they will be fine on the test because getting them ready for it is my job. I’m a Jedi master of the test, and if they will just be good little Padowans and do what I tell them to, they’ll do just fine. Whenever a student expresses concern about it, I remind them, “Hey, don’t you remember that they pay me the big bucks to worry about that so you don’t have to?” (And by big bucks, I mean like $5 an hour when you take grading into account…)
- Teach some emotional regulation strategies for during the test. Test anxiety is real, so really address it ahead of time. The mindfulness techniques my therapist best friend Patti created are great for this. You can download them all free on this page.
- Stop talking about the test all the time. My son just graduated from law school last year, and I guarantee you that the professors were not lording the Bar exam over their heads every day. That’s incredibly self-defeating. Schools should focus on strong instruction and go back to the days when kids showed up for school and found out there was a test that day (ah, the good old days), rather than having it be some big production in manner of a Taylor Swift tour. We are making it worse by making such a huge deal out of it. Kids don’t perform better because the adults are low-key freaking out.
This list isn’t exhaustive. Think of your students’/kids’ pain points with testing and brainstorm ways to mitigate those. Testing is here to stay, and it’s worth spending some time making it less horrible.
If you care about gifted kids, I’d encourage you to join the free email list (just below) and get tips, ideas, and freebies you can use at home or school.
