Cognitive Ability Testing
Cognitive ability testing can assess a person's ability to think critically. Proper assessment can determine areas of cognitive capacity involving intelligence, verbal comprehension, memory, problem solving, reasoning an much more.
Cognitive assessment can be used as an indicator of future learning potential and can help guide parents to provide their children with the proper learning opportunities they may require.
Cognitive Function Test
Parents of bright and gifted learners often consider seeking a privately administered individual IQ test only when it appears that their child is out of sync with the typical learner, and the school system has not yet adequately identified or addressed the child's learning needs.
These children may appear bored or frustrated by the general education curriculum. Their academic skills may be well beyond their years and their overwhelming curiosity and passion for learning can make it difficult for a general education teacher to provide them with learning opportunities they require. These students may have social differences too - appearing not to "connect" with other children, or preferring the company of adults or older kids to those of the same age.
Private cognitive ability testing results can help parents in educational planning, help determine whether a child may benefit from some form of acceleration, offer insight into a child's behavior and learning characteristics, and help determine eligibility for a special school program. Most, but not all, school districts will consider private testing as part of the selection process for enrollment in gifted programming (e.g.: GATE programs).
Private testing may also be used to help a child gain access to outside gifted programming, including online programs and summer camps, that may provide some of the enrichment and acceleration a bright of gifted child may not be getting during the school day. Examples of nationally recognized outside programs that offer distance learning or summer programming for gifted learners include the Stanford Education Program for Gifted Youth, the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, the Summer Institute for the Gifted, and the Davidson Institute for Talent Development.
Cognitive Assessment
Cognitive ability testing by itself for the purpose of identifying giftedness is not a covered benefit with most insurance companies. However, if there is a question about coexisting psychological disorders, such as depression, anxiety, or mood dysregulation, then a cognitive function test is typically a covered benefit of most insurance plans.
