“Gifted and Talented Children” means those persons between the ages of four and twenty-one whose abilities, talents, and potential for accomplishment are so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their educational programming needs. Gifted and talented children are hereafter referred to as gifted students. Children under five who are gifted may also be provided with early childhood special educational services. Gifted students include gifted students with disabilities (i.e. twice exceptional) and students with exceptional abilities or potential from all socio-economic and ethnic, cultural populations. Gifted students are capable of high performance, exceptional production, or exceptional learning behavior by virtue of any or a combination of these areas of giftedness:

General or Specific Intellectual Ability:

What it is (definition): Intellectual abilities is exceptional capability or potential recognized through cognitive processes (e.g., memory, reasoning, rate of learning, spatial reasoning, ability to find and solve problems, ability to manipulate abstract ideas and make connections, etc.)

How we know (criteria): Intellectual ability is demonstrated by advanced level on performance assessments or ninety-fifth percentile and above on standardized cognitive tests.

Specific Academic Aptitude:

What it is (definition): Specific academic aptitude is exceptional capability or potential in an academic content area(s) (e.g., a strong knowledge base or the ability to ask insightful, pertinent questions within the discipline, etc.).

How we know (criteria): Specific academic aptitude is demonstrated by advanced level on performance assessments or ninety-fifth percentile and above on standardized achievement tests.

Creative or Productive Thinking:

What it is (definition): Creative or productive thinking is exceptional capability or potential in mental processes (e.g., critical thinking, creative problem solving, humor, independent/original thinking, and/or products, etc.)

How we know (criteria): Creative or productive thinking is demonstrated by advanced level on performance assessments or ninety-fifth percentile and above on standardized tests of creative/critical skills or creativity/critical thinking.

Leadership Abilities:

What it is (definition): Leadership is the exceptional capability or potential to influence and empower people (e.g. social perceptiveness, visionary ability, communication skills, problem solving, inter and intra-personal skills and a sense of responsibility, etc.)

How we know (criteria): Leadership is demonstrated by advanced level on performance assessments or ninety-fifth percentile and above on standardized leadership tests.

Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Musical or Psychomotor Abilities:

What it is (definition): Visual arts, performing arts, musical or psychomotor abilities are exceptional capabilities or potential in talent areas (e.g. art, drama, music, dance, body awareness, coordination and physical skills, etc.)

How we know (criteria): Visual arts, performing arts, musical or psychomotor abilities are demonstrated by advanced level on performance talent assessments or ninety-fifth percentile and above on standardized talent tests

(CDE Gifted Education, Chapter 3)

For specific information about Identification Procedures for each area/domain of giftedness, please see the following pages:

• Creativity or Productive Thinking

• Dance

• Leadership

• Music

• Psychomotor

• Visual Arts

Any student in grades K-12 may be formally identified at any time. Once a student has been formally identified, they are eligible for Gifted Education programming and services and will receive an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) that is developed with input from the GATE Facilitator, the student, the classroom teacher, and the student’s parent/guardian.

To be formally identified in one or more areas of giftedness, the “Body of Evidence”, which includes both qualitative and quantitative measures, is examined against qualifying criteria using various forms of assessment. The “Body of Evidence” may include the following types of assessment:

1. Cognitive Tests that measure a student’s general intellectual ability: qualifying score at the 95th percentile or above (ex: CogAT Full Battery, K-BIT2, Naglieri Non-verbal Ability Test)

2. Criterion- or Norm-Referenced Achievement Tests that determine a student’s exceptional ability in a specific academic area (including reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and world languages): qualifying score at the 95th percentile or above (ex: iReady, CMAS, other state level assessments)

3. Norm-Referenced Observation Scales that allow students to display their exceptional abilities and/or characteristics (including leadership, motivation, memory, reasoning, creativity and sense of humor) : qualifying score at the 95th percentile or above (ex: SIGS)

4. Performance Evaluations that allow a student to demonstrate exceptional talents that require a performance (such as art, music, theater, dance, psychomotor, creativity or leadership): qualifying scores judged as Exceptional/Distinguished/Advanced (ex: portfolios, student products, contests and competitions, and/or performance tasks judged by experts in that field)

See CDE's Guide for General Intellectual Ability: https://www.cde.state.co.us/gt/giapath-0

See CDE's Guide for Specific Academic Aptitudes: https://www.cde.state.co.us/gt/academicpath

See CDE's Guide for Talent Aptitudes: https://www.cde.state.co.us/gt/talentpath

Typically, students must qualify as exceptional in three of four assessments to be identified as gifted. In some cases, a range of other assessments that meet state gifted identification criteria may be used to gather a “Body of Evidence” to ensure multiple pathways to identification. Assessments are aligned appropriately for specific gifted areas/domains and require either scores above the 95th percentile and/or exceptional/distinguished ratings to determine exceptionality.

During the evaluation process, a student’s “Body of Evidence” for each of the three indicators is carefully evaluated and considered as a whole. The “Body of Evidence” includes both qualitative and quantitative data from multiple sources and multiple types. The GATE Identification Review Committee does not base identification solely on any one indicator; the student’s test scores and classroom behavior are evaluated by all members of the GATE Identification Review Committee, which includes at least one member trained in gifted identification and may include the classroom teacher, the GATE Facilitator(s), Administrators, and/or other district professionals as needed. During the Review Process, the committee provides opportunities for input from all teachers working with the student and from the student's parents. Upon completion of the review process, a determination letter describing the decision is sent to the parents and retained on file as part of the student’s records; the determination letter will assist parents in understanding the identification results, and, if applicable, how the ALP will be developed and reviewed.

Possible Determinations:

• Formal Gifted Identification

• Identify student for a Talent Pool

• Select new tools to collect additional data

• Determine data do not support identification at this time

• Determine a student may need to be referred for special education assessment in addition to his/her gifted identification (twice-exceptional students)

Once the evaluation has been completed, a determination letter indicating the results of the evaluation will be sent to the parents/guardians of the student. Prior to any changes in educational programming or services, parents/guardians will be notified.

Result of Identification

According to CDE, the "result of identification is programming" and the creation of a student ALP (Advanced Learning Plan). "Through the ALP, relevant academic and affective goals set the stage for developing academic academic and talent aptitude over time. The ultimate outcome of identification is that all gifted students attain postsecondary career and college goals, act with self-esteem and self-advocacy, and are creative, productive members of society" (CDE Chapter 3).

For more information about the Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) see our ALP page.