Gifted Testing and Referrals

What should I do if I want to refer my child for gifted testing?

Contact your child's homeroom teacher or Annette Painter, Gifted Lead Teacher, to receive the Parent Referral forms. These forms must be turned in by mid-January.  As in any evaluation process, you will be asked to give permission for the evaluation to take place.

When are students tested for Gifted?

Dawson County students are tested during the months of February and March.

How do students qualify for Gifted?

  The "Multiple Criteria Rule" mandates that information be gathered in each of four categories: mental ability, achievement, creativity, and motivation. A student must meet criteria in any three of the four categories to qualify for gifted program placement, with at least one of the criteria being met by a score on a nationally-normed test. Any test score used to establish eligibility should be current within two years.

What tests are used to qualify students for Gifted?

  The following tests or checklists are used in Dawson County for the purpose of evaluating students for the gifted program:

Mental Ability - CogAt - Cognitive Abilities Test

Achievement - SAT9 - Stanford Achievement Test or ITBS - Iowa Test of Basic Skills or MAP Test

Creativity - TTCT - Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (Figural Edition)

Motivation - Renzulli/Hartman Motivation Behavioral Checklist (K-4) or Product/Performance

The following links may be helpful to answer your questions about giftedness and gifted education.

How to Spot a Gifted Student  https://www.teachersfirst.com/gifted_spot.cfm

"Bright Learners vs. Gifted Learners Checklist  https://www.verywellfamily.com/is-my-child-gifted-1449131