2024-2025 Referral Date Deadlines & Testing Dates

Kinder Referrals Accepted: October 31st - November 14th

Kinder Testing Dates: December 2nd - January 31st

Notification Letters will be emailed: AFTER February 14th

1st - 5th Fall Referrals Accepted until: October 2nd

1st - 5th Fall Testing Dates:  October 7th - November 8th

Notification Letters will be emailed: AFTER December 10th

1st-5th Spring Referrals Accepted until: February 12th

1st - 5th Spring Testing Dates:  February 18th - April 11th

Notification Letters will be emailed: AFTER April 28th

       ***All forms will be automatically submitted upon completion .***

Identification of students is conducted, not to label students as gifted, but rather to locate students who have specific needs which can be more effectively met through differentiated instruction in the EXPO program. Students may only be referred once during a 12 month period.

The identification and selection of students for participation in the program is determined by a three-step process:

1. Referral/nomination

2. Assessment

3. Selection

The final placement decision is made by the District G/T Selection Committee.

The campus EXPO specialist will accept nominations for students in kindergarten in November. Those students nominated will be tested in January and February.

Referrals for students in grades one through five are an on-going process. Nominations will be accepted at any time. In grades one through five, testing will be done throughout the year as time permits. EXPO specialists will test approximately 15 students per testing session. If there are more than 15 referrals, they will be tested the following testing session on a first come first served basis.

The first testing session will be reserved for students transferring into Denton from a gifted/talented program in another school district.

The second testing session will be reserved for testing of students in grades first through fifth.

Kindergarten students will be tested during the third testing session.

The fourth and fifth testing sessions will be reserved for testing of students in grades one through five.

Nominations may come from faculty, parents, or community members. Persons nominating students must complete a general Referral Form and submit it to the school office or the campus EXPO specialist. This will begin the process of data collection from various sources regarding the child's ability and potential. After the referral is received at the campus, a packet of information will be sent to the parent.

All referred kindergarten students are considered for assessment by the EXPO program and will be involved in assessment activities conducted by the EXPO specialist during the fall semester. At the end of the general assessment period, these referred kindergarten students will take part in further assessment.

Transfer Students

Students transferring to the Denton Independent School District from a gifted and talented program in another district will be assessed to determine if placement into the EXPO Program will be the best way to meet educational needs. The campus EXPO Specialist will assess all transfer students within six weeks of enrollment and written notification of participation in a district's gifted and talented program. Information requested from other schools includes qualitative data showing placement into their gifted program and the years served in the program. Transfer students must meet the criteria set by the Denton Independent School District's Gifted and Talented Program. If the district criteria are not met, the student will not be placed into the EXPO program.

Testing

Student Numbers - There is no enrollment cap for the number of students that can enter the EXPO program. If a child meets the district's criteria for placement, they may enter the program regardless of how many students are already in the program. Therefore, if a student does not place into the program, they can test again 12 months after their last assessment.

Once a student has placed into the program, they do not need to be tested again. They remain in the program until high school graduation.

Test Results - Every parent is welcome to review their child's specific scores and ask questions about the results by scheduling an appointment with the EXPO teacher.

Testing is not the same as EXPO Class - Many of the younger students mistakenly believe that coming to the EXPO classroom for an assessment means that they are already participating in the EXPO program. This is not the case. Actual placement and services will begin only after the scores have been approved by the committee and parent permission has been granted for the student to begin class.