Originally Posted by
rubiksoval
Now that's an interesting tangent!
Identifying kindergartners as gifted is a real stretch. In all likelihood, all that's being identified is how much education they've already received at home, or how much their parent knows about the system and can "game" it accordingly. "Parent recommendation"? Come on. This is pretty silly and the cause of serious equity concerns due to hos disproportionate minority participation is.
In Chesterfield, they don't administer the tests and identify the kids till 2nd grade. I don't know about Henrico. You can get the specifics through the links. They enter the program starting in the 3rd grade year. They take the test each year after that and can enter the program up until the 8th grade year. After they have the choice of applying for one of the Specialty Centers within the high schools. My oldest got tested in kindergarten because he was frustrating the teacher. He would sit in class bored and stare out the window until he had a few minutes left in class. Then he would do his work, turn it in and start staring back out the window. The school recommended he go directly to 2nd grade. His birthday's at the end of June. Doing that would have put him in with kids that could be as much as almost 2 years older. The program was a godsend for him. Most of the kids in the program are the same way early on. Bored and socially withdrawn because they are on a different level and don't fit in. Putting them together in a different, challenging environment does wonders for them.