IQ Testing: Intellectual Evaluation for Level and Profile of Intelligence and Academic Potential

I give individual ability assessments and provide a great deal of information and support regarding children's giftedness level and profile and the best options for meeting their academic, social and emotional needs now and in the future. I see children whose parents simply want to know where their child “fits” in the ability spectrum, and whether or not the child is “gifted” is not the real issue. The issue is whether or not the child is in the best learning environment for him or her, one that will nurture academic, social, and emotional growth.

I charge a flat fee for the intake information (the intake form, Developmental Milestones, emailed to the family ahead of time), the testing session (1.5 to 3.5 hours) and materials, and the scoring and detailed written report mailed to you within a few days. The length of time necessary for the session increases with the child’s (or adult’s, if we are testing an adult) age and ability level. The fee is related to the estimated time necessary. I administer the Stanford-Binet 5, an untimed test with 10 subtests in both the verbal and nonverbal domains, and I am a specialist in its use and interpretation with bright individuals. My reports are very clear and take away any score confusion for both the parents and the school because I explain how scores from this test compare to other tests that the educators may be more familiar with.

To make this as useful and long-term helpful as possible, I strongly recommend that all family members take the personality assessments I can mail to your home for completion and you mail back for scoring and the printed feedback (8-15 pages depending on type). You may return those to me on the day of assessment, if the time is short. The fee is per person. The adult version is the Myers-Briggs Type Preferences®, so if the adults already know their types, there is a small fee for the same family and personally oriented information rather than the full fee. The children’s version is correlated with the Myers-Briggs Type Preferences® and is called the Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children®. I do not recommend this for children younger than five or six because they aren’t quite ready for this. Parents may help with the completion so long as they keep “poker faces” throughout and do not react to any of their children’s answers. This is the part that sounds unnecessary to the family just starting out trying to figure out what this will all cost and how useful will it be. Please ask someone on my website under References and Testimonials so that you feel comfortable about this. It is surprisingly valuable.

Appointments are set up for weekday mornings for the assessment, and the starting time is selected so we can finish by lunchtime. Traffic is rarely bad by 9:00 a.m., and that is the preferred earliest starting time. I do not provide snacks, so parents may wish to give their child something to eat in case of hunger. I do provide water and ample breaks in order to keep children comfortable. Once the date has been set, I email a confirmation that details what we’ve agreed to, the fees involved, and how to prepare your child for that morning. Bring the completed Developmental Milestones form, a photo of your child – perhaps the whole family – so I can easily recall, and picture, all of you when you contact me later with additional questions or concerns. If the child has had school achievement tests, medical evaluations for possible disabilities, or previous private intelligence or achievement testing, bring copies of those results and reports for my analysis and file. The cost of the file analysis is included in the flat fee for the intellectual assessment.

The next step of the process is every bit as important and valuable, and that is the follow-up consultation - your personalized "Crash Course" on giftedness. There is a separate hourly fee and the consultation generally takes 1.5 to 2.0 hours. Only the parents attend that and I give you a rather intense education on intelligence, how your child fits on the intellectual continuum and compares in the real world, how schools are set up, what sorts of options are likely and how effective they are (or are not) and all sorts of other factors related to your child's future adjustment in school, at home, and in life after school. I'll give you a stack of articles relevant to your situation, and you may purchase books I have available from a variety of authors (if you want).

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