Gifted Screeners

& Identification

In accordance with the Operating Standards for Identifying and Serving Students Who are Gifted, public school districts in Ohio are required to identify students in grades K–12 as gifted. Districts must conduct whole-grade screenings once in the K–2 grade band and once in the 3–6 grade band to evaluate students for giftedness in superior cognition, reading, math, and creative thinking. Additionally, districts must offer Fall and Spring windows to test students who are recommended for gifted testing by their teacher, principal, or parent.

To help districts identify these student populations, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) provides lists of approved assessments for the prescreening and identification of gifted students. The HCSD Gifted ID and Service Plan Gifted and Talented Evaluation outlines the assessments (selected from the state's approved assessments) and procedures our district uses to identify and serve gifted students. Below are the state-approved assessments that the HCSD used to identify gifted students:

Grades 2-8 Reading and Math Gifted Whole Grade Screeners

NWEA MAP Assessments are used to screen students for gifted identification in the areas of Reading and Math in grades 2-8 and to prescreen students at grades K-1. These assessments are administer three times per year in grades K-9, and in addition to being a gifted screener, these assessments also provide valuable information that helps teachers and parents measure student growth.

Grades 2 and 6 Cognitive Ability and Creative Thinking Whole Grade Screeners

The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, Third Edition (NNAT-3) is a standardized, 30-minute assessment used by school districts to evaluate general cognitive and problem-solving abilities in students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Because it relies entirely on abstract geometric shapes and patterns without requiring any reading, writing, or speaking, the test measures innate reasoning rather than language proficiency or prior schooling.

Alternate Screener

CogAT assessments help educators determine if a student is a superior cognitive gifted student, and it also serves as the first assessment in the process of identifying gifted creative thinkers. Students meeting the creative thinking score threshold on the CogAT will have a follow-up creativity scale/survey sent to their classroom teachers to complete (Scales for Rating the Behavior Characteristics of Superior Students (SRBCSS) – Part II Creativity). If the students meet the qualifying scores on the CogAT and Creativity Scale outlined in the HCSD Gifted ID and Service Plan Gifted and Talented Evaluation, they will be identified as a gifted creative thinker.

Gifted Testing Based on Recommendation

HCSD accepts recommendation forms for gifted testing in the Fall Semester from August 1- September 30 and for the Spring Semester from January 1 - February 28 each year. K-12 Students may be recommended for gifted testing by a principal, teachers, or parent in one or more of the following areas:

Superior Cognitive Ability *
Creative Thinking *
Reading *
Mathematics *
Science
Social Studies
Visual Art
Music/Vocal Performance
Dance
Dramatics

Recommendation Forms for Gifted Testing

* When filling out a Recommendation Forms for Gifted Testing, please remember that Reading and Mathematics MAP Assessments are administered 3 times each year and all second and sixth graders take the NNAT-3 assessment.

Report abuse