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One of the most commonly-asked
gifted program questions is, "How are students chosen
for the program?"
A referral
to evaluate a student for placement in the gifted program can be
made by completing a
referral form,
which should be returned to either Mrs. Edmonds or Mrs. Mayne.
Referrals are accepted from many sources:
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Classroom teachers, administrators, counselors
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Parent or guardian
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Peers of the student
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Students themselves
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Other interested adults (Pastor,
Scout Leader, etc.)
When a referral is made, the resource
teacher sends a letter to the parents asking for permission
to evaluate the student. Written permission is required before
the identification process can begin.
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During the identification process, the
resource teacher collects information in four areas:
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Aptitude test scores from
tests given by the resource teachers (The test given is the
K-BIT II for potential
START students and both the
CogAT and
NNAT for the potential
SIGNET students.)
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School achievement measures such as
current grades and SOL test scores
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Work samples
and student responses from an interview
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Information
from the parents and teachers given in
parent and
professional reports
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The resource teacher assembles this information in a student portfolio.
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A school committee of both
administrators and faculty from Ashland Elementary reads the student's portfolio
and rates the student's work as consistent with age
peers, exceeds age peers, or far exceeds age peers.
("Far exceeds" indicates two or more years above age
peers.) A similar method is used to rate the
information given by the parents and
teacher. |
The school committee
then
sends the file and its rating to a Division Level Committee,
which is comprised of administrators, classroom teachers,
guidance counselors and gifted resource teachers from around
the county. Each student portfolio is evaluated by four
people, and all of the ratings are then averaged. The
results of these ratings allow the Division Level Committee
to determine whether or not a placement is made.
County guidelines state that
for placement in the START program (grades K - 3), students
must rate "exceeds age peers" or better in all four areas of
evaluation. In some situations, a rating of
"consistent with age peers" in one area can be balanced by a
"far exceeds" in another. For the SIGNET program
(grades 4 - 5), students must receive a "far exceeds age
peers" rating in at least one area along with three "exceeds
age peers" or better in the other areas.
Parents are notified of the
committee's decision by letter. When a student is
placed in the START program, he or she remains in the
program each year through third grade. There is no
need to reapply. During third grade, all START
students are reevaluated for placement in the SIGNET
program. Participation in START does not guarantee
placement in the SIGNET program.
If you have any questions
about the process, please email Mrs. Edmonds at
edmondmm@pwcs.edu or Mrs. Mayne at
mayneka@pwcs.edu. We'd be happy to help you!
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