Learning and Life Skills

What skills are assessed by the Otis-Lennon School Abilities Test (OLSAT)?

Part 2 in our series - How parents can put to use their child's scores from the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT). 

In Part 1, I discussed that parents can, indeed, help their children build and strength cognitive skills assessed on the OLSAT and encouraged you to request a detailed score report from your school.  Don't be satisfied with just the overall composite score and an indication of whether your child qualified or didn't qualify for the gifted-talented program.  Get the detailed scores by subsection - or cluster/item. 

What are the Cluster/Item Types on the OLSAT?

Depending on the age/grade of your child, the item cluster and item types will differ.  Refer to this table to see the make-up of the assessment by grade: (click on the image to see if full-size)

 

 

Notice how the skillsets being assessed change once a child reaches 3rd grade - moving from a heavy dependence on figure-based reasoning to more verbal-based reasoning tasks. Notice also that students are not assessed for quantitative reasoning until 3rd grade, as well.  This is the point at which children are thought capable of doing deeper types of reasoning, have developed a more extensive vocabulary and a greater facility with numbers.  Inferential reasoning is not assessed until the 4th grade and beyond.  All of the picture-based reasoning tasks are dropped by 3rd grade, with figural classification eliminated from 4th grade and up.

How parents can put to use scores from the Otis Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) (1)

Whether a child gains access to gifted and talented programs or not, results from the OLSAT (Otis-Lennon School Ability Test) assessment provide parents with a wealth of information they can use for the benefit of their children...if they are willing to engage.

The OLSAT helps us understand student learning abilities

Pearson Education, in their pamphlet - OLSAT - Assessing the Abilities That Relate To Success In School -  states: “... these tests have enabled educators to understand better the attributes that students bring to the task of learning.” 

 

Engaged parents can make a difference

So, what about us parents?  Couldn’t parents also gain some understanding about the unique potential of children by understanding the test results?  Is it possible that parents could engage thier children in activities that enhance a child’s cognitive abilities said to: “..relate to a student’s ability to learn in school.”  And, wouldn’t that be a good thing?  I say ‘yes’, emphatically!

The first step is  to request a detailed report of the test results from your child’s teacher or school test administrator.  Request results reporting scores by cluster and item type.  Then, ask lots of questions and be sure to read the rest of this series.  

Reasoning skills can be taught... even by parents!

Again, quoting from the OLSAT pamphlet: “Tasks such as detecting likenesses and differences, recalling words and numbers, defining words, following directions, classifying, establishing sequence, solving arithmetic problems, and completing analogies are included in OLSAT since they have been shown to be valid measures of an individual's ability to reason logically.”

Can parents make a difference in improving a child’s ability in these areas?  Yes.  Look at the Building Thinking Skills resources matched to your child's grade.

Does it make a difference in school success?  Yes.  

Would you like to understand more about your child and then take action based on this information?   

Next post - breaking it down - what are the cognitive skills on the OLSAT?

Then... how can parents work with their children to improve specific skills?

 

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In the meantime, be sure to check out these related posts about the OLSAT - Otis-Lennon School Ability Test:

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Resources to help your child with the OLSAT:

Find resources on our website: ThinkingToLearn.com

Or, use the information we have made available about the OLSAT assessment and resources for use by parents, tutors and teachers. 

Questions, suggestions?  Be sure to share your comments...

 

Recognizing Spatial Intelligence a necessity for talent assessment

 
Ninety years ago, Stanford psychologist Lewis Terman began an ambitious search for the brightest kids in California, administering IQ tests to several thousand of children across the state. Those scoring above an IQ of 135 (approximately the top 1 percent of scores) were tracked for further study. There were two young boys, Luis Alvarez and William Shockley, who were among the many who took Terman’s tests but missed the cutoff score. Despite their exclusion from a study of young “geniuses,” both went on to study physics, earn PhDs, and win the Nobel prize. 

via www.scientificamerican.com

Just as many young people who have grown up on farms, handling equipment and solving various and sundry problems that arise as they complete their chores, have gone on to be successful engineers.  Their abilities were developed and enhanced through their daily work with objects and the mechanics of equipment used on the farm.  These skills, while not included in 'gifted' testing, are spot on in terms of 21 century skills and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).   Another testament to the futility of determining the futures of our children based on a 'one-point-in-time' assessment. 

Parents must take the bull by the horns and engage their children in learning and developing skills that will serve them for a lifetime - regardless of the specialized programs the school systems will permit or not permit them to participate in.

Find resources for developing creativity, problem solving, critical reading and reasoning skills through my website: ThinkingToLearn.com. 

 

 

 

 

New York City... and the saga continues as "Parents Fret as Kids Seek 'Gifted' Status"

The number of incoming kindergartners who took the test to qualify for gifted programs in New York public schools shot up 13% this year over last, according to data released by the Department of Education Thursday.

It is no small thing to feel as if there is only one alternative for your child getting what he/she needs - the gifted program - and realizing that the one high-stakes test determines it all.   Parents need access to additional resources to use at home to help their children develop crucial 21 Century skills and cognitive abilities - like critical thinking and critical reading - regardless of whether those skills are taught at school.

What are you doing to ensure that your child stays challenged and growing in his/her learning?  Have you considered how to develop and build key skills - creativity, collaboration, critical thinking outside the school system?  If so, how are you making it work?

 

Why Don't the SAT, ACT, and GRE Include a Spatial Ability Measure?

 

"...over a half century of research on spatial ability has uncovered the significance it plays-in addition to math and verbal ability-In educational and occupational settings where it is essential, such as engineering, physics, math, and computer science.  Therefore this clearly begs the question: why is there no spatial measure included in these standardized tests?  Do we miss identifying a group of individuals who might be spatially talented but less mathematically and verbally talented?"

via www.psychologytoday.com 

Great article discussing this unmeasured talent so important to engineering and science.  Read to understand the definition, importance and the research examining whether spatial abilities can be improved with training.

Anyone in your family show an uncanny ability to manipulate shapes and images in their head? What gender is that individual?