OLSAT and Gifted Programs

The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) measures abstract thinking and reasoning ability in students between the ages of 5 and 18.
Gifted Child
Q
My six-year-old daughter has skipped a grade into second grade. The school uses the yearly standardized test from second grade, and the OLSAT, to determine if a child will enter the gifted program in the fourth grade. Is the OLSAT score correlated with chronological age or grade level?
A
The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT) is a widely used measure of abstract thinking and reasoning ability appropriate for students between the ages of 5 and 18. The test includes both verbal and nonverbal items. The OLSAT does provide scoring comparisons both by age and grade and it was standardized on a large representative sample of the U.S. school population. It is typically administered in a group setting and may take 60-75 minutes, depending on the grade level of the child. Younger children are sometimes administered the test in two settings.
Rita Culross is Associate Dean, College of Education, and Adjunct Professor of Psychology and Curriculum and Instruction at Louisiana State University. Culross has served as the consulting school psychologist for a public school elementary gifted program, and has written a book and several journal articles on gifted education.

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