GT Referrals & Testing

New to TISD Students- Fall Testing Window (1st-4th grade)

The fall testing window is available for any 1st-4th grade student who has recently enrolled in Tomball ISD for the first time. Parents may opt to have their student tested during the spring testing window as it will allow your child more time to acclimate and feel secure with their new environment. Parents need to be aware that if their student is tested in the Fall semester but does not qualify, then their child may not be tested again until the Spring of the following school year.

Please note that if your child is New to TISD and has testing data from a prior school district, we will review the data, but it may be necessary for us to complete additional testing in TISD in order to follow TISD GT qualification guidelines.

Kindergarten Screening & Testing

Kindergarten screening for Gifted & Talented services will be conducted automatically from November-January. There is no action required on the part of Kindergarten parents. Results of the screener will be sent home.

If your Kindergarten student meets the minimum criteria on the screening tasks, parents will be notified in writing that he/she qualifies for further testing, and parents will receive required permission to test forms.

Parents will receive results from this testing after assessments have been completed on all students, no later than March 8, 2024. At that time they will receive a parent permission to place form, allowing us to begin GT services. Qualifying students will begin GT services after parent permission to place forms have been returned.

Current TISD Students- Spring Testing Window (1st-4th grade)

The spring testing window is available for any 1st-4th grade student who has not received GT testing within the last 12 months. The deadline to refer students for Gifted and Talented testing will be released soon (it is usually the Friday before spring break).

*Referrals will not be accepted following the deadline of March 1, 2024.

Referrals

Parents, teachers, or the student may refer a student for testing. Once a student is nominated for testing, the parent must complete both a Permission to Test form and Parent Inventory form that can be received from your campus GT Specialist. Please allow 6 - 12 weeks for the testing to take place and for the Campus and/or District Selection Committee to make decisions.

If you would like your student to be tested, you may email claudialozano@tomballisd.net at any time and they will be added to the list of testers for the spring testing window.

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Practice for Testing

It is important to know that you cannot teach or train a student into being truly gifted, it is something they innately exhibit. We do not recommend bribing students to do well or try harder on their test as it can send the wrong message to students. Under these circumstances, if they do not qualify for the program, they may feel they didn't do their best or they aren't good enough and that is not the case. It is possible to be highly intellectually capable and highly successful while not being gifted.

We do have materials you can use to familiarize your child with the types of questions they might encounter on the ability portion of our testing process. We recommend using the questions from each section with your student to ensure they understand the process of HOW to think through and solve these types of questions. You can access these familiarization activities here.

What does GT testing consist of in TISD?

Your student will take what is known as an ability test. TISD uses the CogAT, which is designed to "collectively assess the ability of students for each grade level". Their total score is "considered to be the best overall indicator of school learning ability." In Tomball ISD, a student must first obtain a 126 or greater on the CogAT to continue testing.

If your child continues in the testing process, they will take an achievement portion of testing. TISD uses the IOWA test. Your student needs to obtain a 95% or above in at least one of the following subjects in order to be considered for gifted and talented services in Tomball ISD: Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies.

As per the Gifted Plan for the State of Texas, we also collect information from other sources besides formal testing. We collect data from your child's teacher and from the parent. This information is compiled with the student's test scores and brought before school and district personnel who are certified to teach gifted and talented students in Texas. The committee works together to make the best placement decision for the student based on the information presented.

Receiving Testing Results

Results will be reported to parents after the test results are complete, reviewed, and approved by the GT campus committee, and the GT district committee. Test results are delivered in writing to parents. Please keep a copy of your students results for your records. If you ever transfer districts these may come in handy. Results may be reviewed with the campus GT specialist by appointment.

Beginning of Services

All students who qualify for gifted and talented services will receive a "permission to place" form with their results. This "permission to place" form may result in a change of homeroom teacher in order to be placed into a GT trained teacher's classroom and clustered with other GT students per the state plan. These teachers have received a foundational 30 hours of training and take update hours every year. With the support of the GT specialist, these teachers differentiate daily instruction to meet the individual needs of each child.

GT Specialists may work with GT students in their content classrooms and/or pulled out into their classroom. Their focus is to provide depth and complexity to the district curriculum to help foster the enrichment of the gifted students.

Fall services begin immediately after parents return the "permission to place" form. Services for identified kindergartners begins March 1st. Students who are identified through spring testing will begin services the following school year.

Appeals

If you wish to appeal the Selection Committee’s decision, you will need to complete the appeal form found on your results letter, no later 15 business days from the date on the results letter and submit it along with any additional data to TISD's Director of Advanced Academics, Dr. Ashley Schlafly at 310 S. Cherry Street Tomball, TX 77375.

In addition, please notify your campus Advanced Academic Specialist so they can gather data on your child.

Results of the appeal will be emailed and mailed back to parents from district offices immediately following the district selection committee decision day.

Retesting after Qualification

If your student has previously qualified for GT services in Tomball ISD, there is no need for them to retest. Once they are accepted into the program they keep that status as long as they remain in Tomball ISD. Though a student may be identified in various areas (reading, math, science, and/or social studies), a student may be retested for additional areas of achievement identification once a year as a teacher/parent deems appropriate/necessary.

If your student previously qualified for GT services in another district, their testing scores must be reviewed to determine if they are automatically accepted into Tomball's GT program or if further testing is needed.

Similarly, if your student leaves Tomball ISD they may need to retest in their new district (per that new district's policies and protocols). If you did not retain a copy of your students test results, reach out to your GT specialist before leaving to obtain a copy which may come in handy in your new district.

Retesting after DNQ (Did Not Qualify)

If your student has not previously qualified for GT services, they are able to test once within each calendar year. This will be in the Spring semester. It is important to know that you cannot teach or train a student into being gifted, it is something they innately exhibit. We do not recommend bribing students to do well or try harder on their test as it can send the wrong message to students. Under these circumstances, if they do not qualify for the program they may feel they didn't do their best or they aren't good enough and that is not the case. It is possible to be highly intellectually capable and highly successful while not being gifted. We refer to these students as "high achievers". These students can grow and improve academically through in class differentiation and extensions.