Our bright child makes careless mistakes...

[Ivorytickler]

Originally Posted by gimme it

We never referred to her as gifted, but she did take the Stanford-Binet test that many kids in our city take the year before starting K. She was in the 96th percentile, but she went to a general-ed school where it just so happens that the majority of the kids are very bright. How did she go from testing so well to being below average in some areas?

I agree with what you said. There was a time when she was saying she was "stupid" because of all of her math mistakes. I used to think she panicked and checked out in some way.

Some kids are more schooled before school starts than others. Being taught early isn't the same as being bright.

I'll give you an example. Dd#2 had a friend who started reading at 3. She was reading on a 3rd grade level entering 1st grade. Dd#2 didn't start reading until half way through kindergarten. She also started 1st grade reading on a 3rd grade level. Both girls tested the same at the beginning of the 1st grade. One because she was taught early and one because she's bright. They were both in the same place but for different reasons. Dd's friend did not keep up with her. She's now pretty average while dd#2 is anything but average.

[tribecavsbrowns]

Originally Posted by gimme it

I need advice. Our child is in 4th grade, and is reading well above her grade. By all accounts she is very bright and tested as "gifted" when she was around five yrs old.
She has struggled with math last year and this year, but she seems to be getting it with lots of practice. My concern is that she just had an assessment in math and did poorly on things she knows. She has the upcoming state tests that are very important in our city. She had to do reading comprehension assignment for homework and she got 4 out of 10 wrong when the answers were clearly in the story she read.

I wonder if there is a learning disability, but she is so quick at math when she seems focused. She has amazing focus when she does something she is interested in. My dh thinks she might have anxiety when it comes to the testing. Her school makes a huge deal about this upcoming test, because middle school placements are based in part on how the children do on these tests. The kids obviously feel the pressure.

Sometimes I think she is lazy, sometimes anxious, sometimes tired or distracted. What can we do? She is doing so much better lately, but today took us by surprise when we saw her math assessment and her responses to the reading comp. assignment. Help? I forgot to add that she makes careless mistakes in math, and she never, ever checks her work. She rushes and hardly ever really takes the time to think about a problem. How can one help with this kind of style?

Think about what the word "careless" means, and you'll find your answer.

"Careless" means she doesn't care enough about getting the problem right. Therefore, the solution is to help her learn to care.