At MCSCS we use multiple measures to identify students that will be included in the different tiers of gifted and talented supports. These supports are divided up into universal enrichment for all students,  and pull out services for a small group of students.

Students are assessed each year to determine what types of supports they may need in order to be successful.  Local norms are used to determine placement in the different tiers of support. This means that students' results are compared to other students in their own grade level within MCSCS, not to other students in other districts or states. This means that your student may qualify at another school but may or may not qualify in ours. Please know that we will still provide all students the support that they need to be successful! 

Universal Screeners allow students to be identified who may not be identified as gifted through traditional academic measures. MCSCS currently uses two different gifted screeners. The first screener is the CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test). This screener provides information about the students' verbal, quantitative and figural (nonverbal) reasoning. The second screener is the Sages-3, Screening Assessment for Gifted Elementary and Middle School Students. The sages is a norm-referenced test used to identify students who are gifted and/or talented in general intellectual ability and academic aptitude.

Traditional academic measures such as reading level, New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, and benchmark assessments are also used to help identify students who are performing at the top of their class in traditional academic assessments.

Parent and teacher collaboration is crucial to support all students in their academic journey at MCSCS. Therefore, all teacher and parent referrals are used in helping to support students' academic and social emotional goals within each school year.