Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Program

All second grade students and any students who are new to Ocean View School District are given the opportunity to be tested each year. The test will only be administered with parent permission; written consent must be on file at the school in order for students to be assessed. 

Students may be re-tested by parent request. Please speak with your teacher and request re-testing during Fall parent conferences. GATE Testing occurs during January at students' home school. Testing times and exact dates are scheduled by the school site. Please contact your school office for information regarding testing dates and times.

If you live within Ocean View School District boundaries, you may contact our office to have your child assessed during the designated testing period at their home school site. You will need to complete the Testing Permission Form, the Student Information Form, and submit two proofs of address to our office prior to testing. Your home school site will set the testing schedule and will contact you regarding exact date and time for testing.

Students must have an Age Percentile Rank of 89% on a norm referenced test or above to be considered for GATE placement.  

This is a personal decision. Students may be re-tested by parent request.

If the student scored between the 89th and 95th percentile and did not qualify due to achievement levels on State Testing and the parent wants to retest to see if the student will score at the 96th percentile or higher for Intellectual Placement, they should consider that their child could score LOWER the next time. When considering a student for GATE identification, we use the most current assessment results.

Parents may request that a student be re-tested after one calendar year. Example: If student took the test in January 2018, he/she could not retake the test until January 2019.

The OVSD criteria for GATE includes the GATE assessment score (89%ile and above) and standard exceeded achievement levels on both Smarter Balanced Assessment English Language Arts and Mathematics. For students in second and third grades, only Age Percentile Rank on a norm referenced test is considered for qualification (89%ile and above). For Specific Ability qualification (grades 6-8), criteria includes GATE assessment score (89%ile and above) and standard exceeded achievement levels on either Smarter Balanced Assessment English Language Arts or Mathematics for two consecutive years. 

Trial placements are made only for students who qualify for GATE (or other gifted program) in another school district.  We only accept testing measures from previous school districts, not outside sources.

Students who have previously been identified GATE in another district will be assessed at the end of their first year, using OVSD GATE criteria. A school site committee will make a recommendation about permanent GATE placement.

Please contact the OVSD GATE Office at 714-847-2551 x 1351. You will need to provide proof that your child was identified GATE. If you do not have this information, you should be able to get it from your previous district or our office will request the paperwork from your previous district.

Once we have confirmed that your child was GATE identified, you will receive paperwork to sign and return for your child to enter our Magnet Program or the GATE Cluster/Honors Program at your home school on a "Trial" basis (up to one year) until we can confirm that it is an appropriate placement for your child. Trial GATE students will be assessed at the end of the probationary period for permanent GATE placement using OVSD GATE criteria and school site committee recommendation.

GATE identification is made based on the review of multiple assessment measures for students in grades 4 and above. The GATE Office does re-evaluate students who have scored above the 89th age percentile rank, but have not qualified due to achievement level performance on Smarter Balanced Assessments. Please note if you decide to re-test your child, we do use most current performance on a standardized norm-reference ability assessment. If the score is lower than the previous time, the lower score will be used. 

Students who score above the 89th on the GATE assessment, but do not qualify for GATE are monitored for one year after they are initially tested. If you think your child might qualify, please do not hesitate to contact the GATE Office.

In most cases, after a period of adjustment, most students thrive in the GATE program. Contact the GATE Office to re-submit paperwork and discuss placement options. 

No, students and parents of those who qualify for the District GATE program may choose to participate in either the Magnet or Cluster/Honors program. Contact your child's teacher or the principal at your home school site to learn more about how the curriculum is differentiated for GATE students in a cluster program. 

GATE program participation is a personal decision. Unless a parent has grave concerns about his/her child's ability to keep up in the GATE program, it is recommended that the students give it a try. While there may be a period of adjustment, most students thrive.  If later a parent/student decides that participation in a GATE program is not appropriate for the the student, the parent may request in writing for his/her child not to participate.

The magnet schools offer Parent Information Nights in February of each year for parents and students to learn more about the GATE Magnet program. You may contact your home school site for information about GATE Cluster/Honors programs.