Defining "Giftedness"

The process for identifying gifted students begins by defining what “giftedness” means. In general terms, gifted and talented students are those students who possess unique talents and/or superior abilities that differ profoundly from those of their peers. By Virginia law, local school divisions are allowed to establish their own identification procedures, ensuring that they follow the guidelines provided by the State. Therefore it is possible that a student transferring into one school division from another may not qualify for that district’s gifted program even though he/she qualified for a gifted program previously at another school in Virginia. 

In grades K-12, Salem City Schools uses a global approach to identify its gifted population by assessing a child’s general intellectual aptitude. In broad terms, this means that the skills required to perform certain mental tasks—memorizing, pattern completion, creative thinking, vocabulary recognition, etc.—are assessed. Ability tests, for example, may measure a person's general intellectual talent by testing them on several of these factors. 

Regardless of the grade level or age of the student, Salem City Schools recognizes that there is no one indicator of giftedness. For this reason, Salem uses multiple criteria which, when viewed together, strongly indicate giftedness. Data to be examined may include: samples of student work; grades; standardized test results; parent checklists; teacher observation forms; and other significant data