It’s still a standardized test, and if he has severe test anxiety it couldn’t hurt to practice test-taking.
I took it in . . . '93, I want to say. So everyone reading - trust the experts and what is up to date.
Edit - I remember it being mostly pattern recognition, word puzzles, and creative prompts.
It is standardized, but it’s an IQ test, not an assessment of learned material.
This is out of my league professionally, but something I had to navigate as well.
My kids were in gifted programs when we lived where they had them. One of them took the SAT in 7th grade and I found out later that many parents provided prep for their kids. In high school we bought him a book, which was then available to the other kids, who ignored it. We had one National Merit Scholarship winner, one finalist, one perfectly respectable score, and one who didn’t take it. They’re all fine now in terms of adulting, but I will say that the eldest struggles with having “wasted” his potential because he didn’t get into a top grad school. He dropped out of a PhD program with a master’s and is now a data analyst making good money. I feel like when we were where you are, @SkyzykS, we put too much emphasis on it, though looking back I’m not at all sure. We were hearing “far and away the brightest student I’ve ever taught” and in high school he was winning math contests at the state level. One day he came home from school having decided to enter a pi contest the following day and with my help quizzing him, memorized 114 digits of pi. He figured the others would shoot for 100 digits, hence the extra 14. He did win, and it was a rhubarb pie, which I think sucks of the math teacher running the contest.
Anyway, I’ve been opposed to prep for my kids because these are measures of ability, and shouldn’t they be honest? But now I’m not sure that’s how the world works.
Despite my utter lack of confidence re my own choices, it’s wonderful that your son has been given the nod. I think that teachers see him as bright and capable is the real joy and benefit of gifted programs.
Lastly:
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Minus the cat - that costume hits hard…
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I was on the fence a bit. My thinking was that if he’s really special, it would be apparent to the people who need to know.
Then his science teacher, who runs the gifted program brought it up and the other teachers jumped in. Kiddo though, he just wants to go on their neat field trips.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with this. I’m at a loss with it, having had a lot of obstacles throughout school as we’ve discussed before. I’ve always been of the mind that it would be destructive to bring a bunch of adult expectations to bear on a young kid, but at the same time I know fully and well what happens when a sharp kid gets bored and loses interest because he isnt challenged.
So theres some ambivilance.
Edit: and I’m stealing that meme. Its too good to pass up. 
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Ha! That was me.
@SkyzykS re: gifted programme
Your son will do great. The bar is not very high.
The gifted programme, from my experience, was valuable for two reasons:
- Having teachers that understood that I cared about schoolwork
- Putting me into a group where I was more likely to make friends
I didn’t really benefit from the “enriched” coursework because I was in extracurricular academic classes. Your son might benefit a lot from the more advanced coursework, if nothing else, he won’t be subject to the abysmal dumpsterfire that “normal” US curriculum is
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Oh, well thanks!
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What’s the bestedest vegetabable?
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Bacon
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I was going to make a post about fennel, but you just won the internet.
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How do you guys manage the taste of your electrolytes? I’ll cramp occasionally while I’m lifting, especially if I’ve walked or hiked prior, and occasionally have trouble at night. I’m very good about drinking water, but am clearly needing something else, and the electrolytes do seem to be the solution. The problem is that it’s nasty, and I also experience mild reflux from them, particularly during any bent-over moves.
Do you LIKE the taste? And does (for example) “Orange Salt” (LMNT) not offend when you’re burping it during RDLs?
I use an unflavored electrolyte.
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Tbh i don’t do electrolytes because i haven’t had a need for them… i suppose that means i get them through my diet. Its not worth the calories spent on them for me right now.
When i do take electrolytes, i usually just use whatever form i find tastiest, but i also like to water it down. Like instead of using a gatorade packet in 16oz water, I’ll mix it with 32 as it makes me more inclined to drink the water and it suits my pallette more.
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Would fruit be better in your situation, banana, watermelon, cantaloupe
So is it just salty water?
I’m under the impression that the sodium is the main thing…?
Yup it also goes well in black coffee or unsweetened tea. The saltiness cuts out the bitter flavor
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I have heard of individuals putting salt on their watermelon
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Nooooo!
Potassium is the main one (that our body needs, but salt is cheap). Then sodium, magnesium and zinc. Especially zinc if you’re having lots of fun in the sun.
Easy button- Prime (they’re candy flavors). Any coconut water based drink(more adult flavored). Gourds, legumes, etc.
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Best of both electrolytes!
I discovered a ridiculous effect at a 4th of July party- after taking a big finger swab of some crazy ghost pepper or reaper sauce, i washed away all of the burning with some kind of mexican specialty store watermelon juice drink.
It was ridiculously effective. Like literally 3 sips and I was ready to do it again.