Online Gifted Assessment Tool
for Young Children, Part I

Evaluation Instrument for Parents, other invested individuals

Questions in Part I relate to children under the age of 7. 
Parents with records or memories of the relevant information can use this assessment on older children.

This assessment is intended to help parents and other concerned adults recognize gifted traits in a young child.  But "giftedness" is not a single entity. In this assessment, the expected response for most gifted children will be in the middle range of answers offered. Highly or profoundly gifted children would be expected to show occasional responses at the highest end of the spectrum. It is important to note, even a child with a 200 IQ will not always have the qualities listed below, nor will they have shown every particular ability at the youngest age listed.

Gifted children who have some mitigating factors, such as learning disabilities, emotional problems, etc., will show a more uneven pattern. Intellectual ability, creative ability, learning styles, and emotional health each run on their own continuum. Having strength in one neither compels nor precludes strengths or deficits in another.

In order to produce a meaningful score, please answer all questions. A guess will more likely produce a more accurate score than an unanswered question. If an accurate answer is impossible because the child hasn't yet shown evidence of a particular trait, (for example, the child is three-years-old, and hasn't completed a 20 piece puzzle yet) give it a guess as when you think it might happen (as in when the three-year-old is completing 16 piece puzzles already, then you could reasonably expect "age 4" to be a good guess for 20 pieces), or simply choose the oldest option.

The following set of assessment questions are adapted from a variety of studies. 
The tool as it stands, however, has not  yet been evaluated for validity or reliability. The resulting scores are not scientific. If you have any questions, please contact me at giftedassessment@shulamit.info

Instructions:

1.  Answer all questions as accurately as possible. 
2. If the correct answer is not available, choose the closest to correct.
3. If the child hasn't yet shown a particular trait yet, guess when it might show up, or choose the oldest age listed.
4. When all questions are answered, click the "calculate" button to see score. (This is a simple HTML program, and does not keep any records of the score.)
5. Read the score descriptions at the bottom of the page to get an idea what the score might mean.
6. Go on to Part II, to get a broader picture of the child's potential for being gifted.

You do not have to submit your scores to proceed to Part II, but your addition to the research data is much appreciated. No personally identifying information is collected by submitting. The process is entirely anonymous.

4.  This child seems to learn things quickly.    Select OneNeverSeldomSometimesUsuallyAlways

5.  This child is an excellent communicator compared to others of the same age.    Select OneNeverSeldomSometimesUsuallyAlways

6.  This child seems particularly observant.    Select OneNeverSeldomSometimesUsuallyAlways

7.  This child is extremely curious.    Select OneNeverSeldomSometimesUsuallyAlways

9.  This child has a vivid imagination.    Select OneNeverSeldomSometimesUsuallyAlways

10. This child shows a high degree of creativity.              Select OneNeverSeldomSometimesUsuallyAlways

11. This child recognized some letters by...    Select OneLater than that30 Months24 Months18 Months12 Months

12. This child knew the entire alphabet by....    Select OneLater than 48 months48 Months36 Months24 Months18 Months

13. This child could sight-read a book with one or two words per page by...    Select One6-years-old or older5-years-old4-years-old3-years-old2-years-old

14. This child could sound out simple unfamiliar words by...  .    Select OneAfter 5-years-old5-years-old4.5-years-old4-years-old3-years-old

15. This child solved a 20 piece puzzle (give or take a piece or two) by...       Select OneOlder than 55-years-old4-years-old3-years-old2-years-old

16. This child showed interest in time by...      Select OneLater than 36 months36 Months30 Months24 Months18 Months

17. This child could read the hour hand of a clock by...       Select OneOlder than 66-years-old5-years-old4-years-old3-years-old

18. This child could count to 10 by...       Select One5-years-old4-years-old3-years-old2-years-old1-year-old

19. This child shows a high degree of math interest or understanding.    Select OneNeverSeldomSometimesUsuallyAlways

20. This child is extremely interested in books.    Select OneNeverSeldomSometimesUsuallyAlways

22. This child is presently years and months old.

23. I am this child's  (for example, "mother" or "tutor" or "uncle," etc.)

24. I also think this child is gifted because...

25. I am interested in my responses becoming part of the research, and can be contacted  at this e-mail address:

Submitting results is only for the purpose of research. The information is entirely anonymous.

At the end of the series, there will be a form asking for other information. No personally identifying information is required. I encourage you to take a couple minutes and complete this survey. Adding your information and results to my database will help me refine this instrument in the future. 

What does this score mean?
Most importantly, it means you have A score on ONE part of a broad range of assessment tools.

It is best to utilize several different methods for assessing the gifted needs of a child. Most children (and adults!) who are gifted, are not gifted across the board. One method of identifying giftedness is always only one slice of a complex pie. So take a look at the score on this part, and then go on to Part II.  

A score below 35 suggests: 1. A possible false negative. This happens if the questions don't address the particular gifts of the child being assessed. 2. That more investigation into different parts of giftedness may be useful. 3. That maybe the child isn't gifted in these areas. And 4. That maybe the child in question may be a late bloomer. Not all gifted kids are highly advanced by Kindergarten! Some don't even learn to speak until they're three. Try the next section of the assessment.

A score between 36 and 45 suggests the possibility of giftedness, but without other assessments, the score doesn't stand on its own, for all the reasons stated above. Go on to the next section.

A score between 46 and 55 is unlikely to be a false positive, and would tend to suggest a potentially gifted individual. Further testing could be useful for the child in question. Go on to the next section, and see if that score helps point out the particular strength this child may have.

A score between 56 and 65 suggests the child is quite gifted indeed...at least in the areas described by these questions. As above, go on to the next section, and see if that score helps point out particular strengths, and if the child is gifted across the board, or only in specific areas.

A score above 66 suggests a particularly high level of giftedness, and one would expect to see obviously different emotional needs. The farther above 66, the more intense one would expect the emotional life of that child to be. Go on to the next sections, and see if those scores continue high, or if there are different levels of strengths in different areas.

Section II of Gifted Assessment
This link goes directly to Part II without submitting. Use this link if you do not wish the above responses to be used in research. Submitting responses is entirely anonymous.

Text copyrighted ©2003 by Shulamit Widawsky, All rights reserved.
All "Parts" and versions of the Online Gifted Assessment Tool (OGAT), are copyrighted by Shulamit Widawsky, and may not be copied or distributed in any form, without permission from the author.
Permission is granted to link to the homepage. For any other links, please request permission from the author.