Lynne: My daughter is a senior and I just found out that her IQ is low 60’s. She has had an IEP since she was in the fourth grade. I had no clue that she scored this low, so I asked to look at her other testing results. While going over them, it showed that in elementary she scored in the 80’s and the middle school high 60’s. Now, she is low 60’s. I’m wondering is this something that should have been shared? I was caught totally unprepared and I wouldn’t have even known how low she was if I hadn’t insisted she be tested and specifically asked for the results.
It is extremely rare for an IQ score to change like that without some sort of trauma. Perhaps attention or motivation played a factor? If your child is under 18, you can request a new psychoeducational evaluation (it will be used to determine eligibility so they may try to talk you out of it since she is senior- but it is still your right). If your daughter has already turned 18 and you do not have guardianship, she will need to request it and sign the permission to evaluate.
It is my understanding that IQ’s do not change. My son had a 75 IQ ( supposedly) in first grade. We discovered that there is a test called a “nonverbal IQ test” that in my son’s case provided us with a more accurate IQ. With the non-verbal IQ test he scored in the normal IQ range. He is now 28 years old, graduated from high school and has a 2 year degree from college. I think the original IQ score was definitely incorrect.
Lynne –
Regarding school evaluations, in some states a student’s IEP Team is required to proactively provide a written report of the results to the parent. In most states, however, its up to the parent to ask for the written results.
At the very least, the results should have been shared with you verbally during a Team meeting and discussed. But that’s no guarantee that they would have stated outright “hard” scores such as the IQ.
It’s good practice for parents to ALWAYS ask for a written report of evaluation results prior to any meeting where they will be discussed, and to ask to view and make copies of student records at least every two years or so.