Recently, many young children pulled a small letter out of their schoolbag that sent their parents into a tailspin – the gifted testing season has begun.
Already in the first half of second grade, 7-year-old boys and girls find themselves facing a test that measures their abilities and categorizes them above or below their classmates. Some will be chosen as gifted or excellent and will receive (wonderful) enrichment programs, and others will not. Already in second grade.
A test of the parents’ ability, not the children’s
These tests could have been almost insignificant in our daily lives if they were carried out when children were older or more mature, or at an age where they could choose whether it suits them or not. And they could have been much less stressful if the parents themselves weren’t so stressed about them. But that is not the case. Do a quick Google search and see how much content and how many products exist for preparing children for these tests. It is almost inconceivable.
The second-grade gifted tests are in many cases a test of resources and means. There are parents who have the money and the spare time to send their children to preparatory courses – and there are those who do not. There are parents who can sit every afternoon and solve practice tests with their children – and there are those who cannot.
In practice, these tests examine the families’ socioeconomic status more than the children’s academic-intellectual potential. This creates an education system that perpetuates gaps instead of trying to overcome them.
A 7-year-old child is not supposed to feel inferior
And what do such tests do to our children? Many second graders are still not mature enough to cope with such stress, and cannot give their best in such a stressful situation. This is why many schools do not give tests at this age at all, certainly not numerical-score tests. But here there is a very clear test, with very clear results, and young children who receive a stamp – whether you are among the smart ones or not.
The second-grade tests are administered at school, in the classroom itself, and most children are tested. Parents can choose not to send their child to the test, but the overwhelming majority do. Of all the children who will be tested, only a few will get the coveted definition – according to data from the Ministry of Education and the Central Bureau of Statistics, only about 1.5–3% of the examinees are accepted into the gifted programs – and all the rest may feel disappointment.
For a sensitive 7-year-old boy or girl, such pressure and disappointment can significantly harm their self-esteem.
A child who is not emotionally mature – and at this age there are large gaps in emotional maturity – will not succeed in the identification test. A child who suffers from learning disabilities or attention disorders (which are often not diagnosed at such an early stage of school) may also fail the test, even though they have everything it takes. This too can lead to great disappointment and a sense of failure. And second-grade children do not yet have the tools to cope with such complex feelings.
All children deserve more, not only the gifted
Of course, it is understandable why parents so badly want their children to be identified as gifted. These children will receive enrichment programs and additional content, meaning they will gain a better, more challenging, more advanced education system. But should this right be reserved for a small percentage of gifted children? Don’t all the other children also need broadening of the mind?
It is perfectly fine for the education system to provide different responses for children at different levels. And gifted children certainly deserve stimulation and intellectual challenge at school. But this division should be done with much greater sensitivity, at a later stage, and with significant emotional preparation of the children by the educational staff.
In second grade, it is much more important to talk with the children about success and failure, about disappointment and jealousy – the tests that will force them to deal with these emotions intensely can be saved for a later stage. Giftedness is a wonderful thing, but sensitivity is also a skill that deserves nurturing. In second grade, before we check who is gifted – it is more important to check who is ready.
If you have decided to send your child to the identification tests, it is important to remember that this is not a test of who they are, but only of one small moment in time. It says nothing absolute about them – not if they fail, and not if they pass.
And it is also important to remember that children at this age do not yet understand what a percentile or an acceptance threshold is, but they definitely understand looks. They pick up on the tension, on the whispered conversations, on the “it’s okay” said a little too quickly. And when they sense that Mom and Dad are a bit disappointed, they immediately assume that the problem is them. They learn that “passing” means “being good,” and “not passing” is something to be ashamed of.
And this is perhaps the greatest damage – when success in a one-time test becomes an identity card. A seven-year-old child is not supposed to feel like they are less. They are supposed to feel loved, curious, important, and full of so much – even if no test has yet managed to measure it.
Yifat Sani is a certified parent counselor from the Adler Institute. An expert in early childhood and adolescence.