Evaluate whether your child is "bright" or "gifted." Bright students know the answers to questions, while gifted students ask the questions. Other differences include that bright students often work hard to get answers while gifted students find answers easily. Bright students tend to enjoy being around the same age students while gifted students enjoy being around older students or even adults.
Request testing. Testing for giftedness can be done through your local school or through a psychologist. The school district will have a referral form for both the parent and teacher that asks questions about the student's characteristics. Questions will include information about the student's learning style, strengths, weaknesses and other details about how the child learns. A psychologist will ask similar questions to get an overall picture of the student's academic skills.
Test the child. There are several different tests to assess a student for giftedness. The most widely used test is the Cognitive Abilities Test, which tests a student's verbal, quantitative and nonverbal aptitude. The Naglieri Nonverbal Assessment tests a student's nonverbal aptitude and is used with younger students, English language learners and students with special needs.
Analyze the results. Students who score in the 97th percentile or above on a test to assess giftedness are identified as gifted. Some school districts will consider other factors like standardized test scores, previous academic performance and creative endeavors. This rubric-based approach varies between districts and should be discussed with the administrator of the gifted program.