Identification for OPT3

Beginning in grade 3, students are identified for inclusion in the OPT3 (Original Product/Type 3) Program.  Approximately ten percent of students in each grade level are identified using a modified version of the system detailed by Renzulli (Renzulli, Reis 1997) in The Schoolwide Enrichment Model. 

Students ranked at or above the 97th local percentile on any of the major subtests of that grade level’s standardized aptitude test are automatically evaluated for inclusion in the OPT3 pullout program.  Teachers are asked to evaluate these students using Renzulli’s Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students (SRBCSS). This scale rates behaviors typical of individuals who demonstrate exceptional abilities in a wide range of domains and is used to help create a composite profile of the nominated students. 

In addition, any Bedwell teacher, including the enrichment specialist, may nominate and complete a SRBCSS for a student who displays characteristics not easily determined by tests (i.e., high levels of creativity and/or task commitment, unusual interests and or talents, or special areas of superior performance and/or potential). 

Any parents who feel that their children would benefit from the opportunity to conduct in-depth independent research in an area of high personal interest, while  maintaining a level of excellence in their regular classroom work, are encouraged to nominate their children for OPT3 consideration as well. 

Standardized test scores, SCRBCSS values, information from a student’s cumulative folder, teacher input, and student responses to a task designed to measure the ability to identify a topic of high personal interest are used to generate a numeric score for each child representing the accumulated value of each of the items on the scale.  Scores in each grade are ranked in order to generate the OPT3 population, which comprises approximately 10% of the student body in each grade.   

Parents are notified by letter of the opportunity to include their child in the OPT3 program and are invited to attend an information session in the fall.  At that meeting, parents are asked to sign an agreement stating that by participating in OPT3 their child will be missing a certain amount of instruction that he or she will be held accountable for during the academic year.

OPT3 students are expected to approach their work in the enrichment room with an attitude of seriousness and  rigor and should strive toward excellence in the product they choose to create.  Students are reevaluated for inclusion in OPT3 at the beginning of each year based on their performance during the previous year. Students who cannot maintain an above average level of  achievement in the regular classroom will be reevaluated regarding the appropriateness of their continued participation in OPT3.  In addition, those students who, in the opinion of the enrichment specialist, are not using their time in OPT3 to their best advantage, will be encouraged to exit the program.

Renzulli, J.S., & Reis, S. M.  (1997)  The schoolwide enrichment model: A how-to guide for educational excellence. Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.