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“The parents know it’s done,” she said. “The teachers certainly know it’s done.”
Virginia Boone Principal Kim Rubin did not return messages left for her at the school, where last year 35 private evaluations were submitted and there were 257 gifted students.
Miami-Dade’s administrators point out that all private evaluations are reviewed by the student’s school, and a child must still meet additional criteria outside the minimum IQ and show a need to be placed in a gifted program. If a test is found to be flawed, it’s thrown out, though that rarely happens.
Suspicions have existed for years, if not decades, though there are few complaints to substantiate psychologists have their thumbs on IQ scales. A Palm Beach County consultant and gifted expert documented strong anecdotal evidence 15 years ago that the process was being abused and recommended the private tests no longer be accepted, but the district’s school board didn’t take action.
Last year, there were only five complaints against school psychologists, none of which was substantiated. A Department of Health spokeswoman said the nature of the complaints is confidential.
Terry Wilson, a past president of the Florida Gifted Network, says it’s unfair to stigmatize private evaluations. She said they provide a needed service considering school district psychologists are “overworked and underpaid” and have wider and often more pressing responsibilities than gifted testing.
“There are a handful of really poor private psychologists out there that likely help in giving some students higher scores. Why are they still allowed to practice? Districts know who they are,” she wrote. “I don’t believe we should prohibit private testing for gifted eligibility.”
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