Designing Gifted Education Programs and Services by Scott Peters

Author:Scott Peters
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks

TESTING AND IDENTIFICATION

Fortuitously, the Arizona state gifted mandate has no requirement of advanced academic achievement for gifted identification. Due to the large number of English language learners (ELLs) and former ELLs in Arizona, the lack of academic achievement criteria for gifted identification allows for students who have high ability that is yet to manifest itself as high achievement. Arizona’s system of identifying giftedness based on ability alone encourages schools to identify giftedness based on potential and then work toward developing that potential.

REFINING TESTING PROCEDURES

The gifted testing procedure currently incorporated in the district has been completely revamped from the procedures employed in the past; in fact, we continue to refine our testing procedures every year. After we identify students as gifted, we determine if programming adjustments or curriculum and instructional modifications are needed to best serve those students. This responsive process requires that we continually enhance our existing programs to more inclusively serve the students we identify.

Paradise Valley provides a comprehensive identification process designed to identify all students with high ability and potential with special attention to those from diverse populations. The Arizona state mandate stipulates that schools test three times a year and establishes the gifted identification criteria as 97% or above in any one area (verbal, quantitative, nonverbal) on a state-approved ability or intelligence test. This encourages the schools to continually share information with parents, staff members, and administrators; a precursor to developing strong gifted programs.

QUALIFYING FOR GIFTED SERVICES: OUR TESTING SCHEDULE

The district’s testing schedule is made available to parents and teachers at the start of each school year, allowing all stakeholders to plan accordingly. The testing schedule involves the procedures described below and in Brulles (2014).

Fall testing:

• Test any student who may qualify for content replacement or honors classes (grades 4–8) using the CogAT and/or the NNAT2. The test used depends on previous test results and test dates. Students who score between 80%–96% on either test may test again using the alternative test.

• Qualifying students move into content replacement or honors classes upon identification. Some students scoring between 80%–96% may be “flexed” into gifted cluster classes and content replacements depending on school demographics and numbers of gifted students at each school (typically, this occurs in our Title I schools).

Winter testing:

• Blanket test students in certain grades in the Title I elementary schools (NNAT2).

• Blanket test all sixth graders in the feeder system of the middle school that houses the Nonverbal Honors Core, a specialized program for culturally and linguistically diverse GT students (NNAT2).

• Test ELLs and former ELLs at all schools (NNAT2).

• Schedule testing for students who reside outside the district’s boundaries or those who attend charter schools, private schools, or are homeschooled (CogAT).

Spring testing:

• Extensive testing, grades K–8, to identify students for fall classroom placements. Teacher and parent nominations are solicited (CogAT and NNAT2).

• Schedule testing for students who reside outside the district’s boundaries or those who attend charter schools, private schools, or are homeschooled (CogAT and NNAT2).

• Testing for the G/T Preschool for a nominal fee. School psychologists use the Stanford Binet Early Childhood Intelligence Test.

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