This is a clear, handy guide to the world of IQ assessment and gifted children. I recommend it heartily, but I must add a strong caveat that the author and I have already discussed: Palmer describes score ranges for different levels or degrees of giftedness that seriously understate the meaning of scores above 135 IQ, mis-stating how highly intelligent and different-from-others these children really are. For example, on pages 18-19, he uses outdated descriptions and score ranges that no longer hold merit, and this is a significant error. The most recent test to use such scores, the old Stanford-Binet (Form LM), was last updated in 1972 and has been replaced. That test is no longer considered valid, and further, the wide score ranges reported by that test seriously confuse those who would need to depend upon them today. Current valid group and individual tests (described nicely in his book) report scores on a normalized bell curve and tend to reach their limits at 150 IQ. Someone who scores at 144 on a current test, for example, is “exceptionally” to “profoundly gifted,” not “moderately gifted” and in need of few academic adjustments, as Palmer claims. A score of 144 is almost three standard deviations above the mean score, meaning a score in the top 0.2%. Such a child is not “moderately gifted” and will need learning adjustments. On page 82 he states, “Bear in mind that many children whose IQ measures in the moderately gifted range (130 to 145) can thrive in a general education program.” It is true in some academic settings, what I call a Type III School, that children at the low end of this range will thrive in the regular setting, but for children above 135–and certainly above 140–major adjustments are necessary. Again, this confusion stems from using a no longer valid test score range.

Most educators and psychologists are somewhat confused about how today’s scores relate to scores from older tests, resulting in many professionals overlooking level of giftedness as an important issue related to classroom and social adjustment. As the author of Riverside Publishing’s Use of the SB5 in the Assessment of High Abilities (2003), I encourage parents to read the free bulletin, available on the Riverside website, in order to fully understand the meaning of any gifted-level IQ scores.

All that said, Dr. Palmer covers every imaginable issue and question parents might have when they consider whether or not their child is gifted and whether or not to have their child assessed. I know of no other book or guide that covers these topics so clearly. Just be aware that his descriptions of IQ ranges and meanings of the scores are incorrect.
Rating: 4 / 5