Gifted Assessments

What is a Gifted Assessment?

The gifted test is specifically designed to determine whether a student may be eligible for identification and placement as a “gifted” student. Aside from indicating whether the student is a candidate for the gifted program at a particular school board, it will also briefly assess academic functioning in addition to intelligence to provide a learning profile and strategies for academic success. Giftedness testing is not as involved as a Psychoeducational Assessment, as it only considers intellectual ability and thus cannot determine the presence of a learning disability.

Every school board has slightly different criteria for testing and formally identifying and placing gifted students.  Most model the Toronto District School Board’s procedures. Gifted testing usually involves the administration of an intelligence test. With few exceptions, in most school boards, gifted students must score in the top two percent of students their age (98th percentile). 

What is the process of a Gifted Assessment?

Before the first session, we will send you a background questionnaire to complete prior to your assessment. Other elements of the assessment include:

• The gifted assessment usually takes about three to four hours to complete. It involves a test of cognitive ability and basic academic skills such as reading, spelling, and numerical operations. 

What is the outcome of a Gifted Assessment?

• An understanding of your child’s learning strengths and needs

• A brief report indicating the results of the assessment and whether the results meet the school board’s Gifted Identification criteria (please note that only the school board itself can make the final decision regarding identification and placement).

Following the assessment, the psychologist meets with parents to verbally review the results, recommendations, and next steps. This meeting typically lasts about half an hour.

We have discontinued providing stand-alone Gifted Assessments unless the child is directly referred to us by the school board. Giftedness can still be examined through a psychoeducational assessment.