Gifted identification is the culmination of thoughtful consideration by a team of educators and administrators. Following are the procedures that are followed in our districts. While the assessment used might differ from district to district, the procedures remain the same. The following steps are followed for gifted identification in grades K-12:

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Step 1: Screening

All students in at least one entire grade are assessed using a cognitive screener. (The grade level varies by district. Please see individual district gifted pages for further details.) Students scoring within the referral range will be referred for further consideration. (Referral range varies depending on assessment given.) Other testing may be accepted, especially in the case of English Language Learners, to enable equal opportunity to all populations.

Step 2: Referrals

All students are included in the preliminary search for Gifted students. Classroom teachers refer potential candidates from their classrooms to the Gifted coordinator. Counselors, other staff members, an RTI team, parents, or students themselves may also initiate referrals. Referrals may be made at any time during the school year. Referrals should be made directly to the district's gifted coordinator.

Once referred, teachers and parents of referred students begin to gather a body of evidence to support the student’s nomination. The body of evidence may include cognitive test scores, grades, CMAS (or other state testing) test results, KOI inventory or other teacher questionnaire, district level testing results, classroom assessments, parent questionnaires, samples of student work, or other evidence as appropriate. (No single test will disqualify a student from identification, as identification requires a body of evidence to analyze.)

New students to our district, who have been formally identified at their previous school, will be automatically accepted into our program once documentation has been received, and there is evidence that the student meets the qualifying criteria. This review of documentation will occur within the first 45 days of the new student's attendance. Notification of acceptance or need for further evaluation will be communicated to parents within 60 days. Accepted students will proceed to step 4 to determine programming options.

Step 3: Formal Identification

Once all evidence has been gathered, a review team will meet to review the gathered data. This team may consist of the student's current and former teachers, principal, counselor, district's gifted coordinator, BOCES gifted coordinator, and any other relevant personnel. A review will be completed within 30 days of referral. Parents/guardians will be notified of a decision or a need for an extension of time. A student will be accepted to the program if he/she attains a score at or above the 95th percentile on three items in at least two of the following categories*:

· Nationally or state normed achievement test

· Cognitive ability test

· Gifted behavior characteristics nationally normed instrument

· Portfolio of work (or performance task) that shows outstanding performance in a subject/talent area at least two years above current age peers

* (Identification with a general intellectual ability may be done with only a cognitive score at or above the 95th percentile, but this is an unusual circumstance and requires additional rationale in the student's body of evidence to make the identification)

Identified students will proceed to the implementation stage. Those students who are not identified will be referred back to their classroom teachers for possible extension or enrichment within their classroom. They may also be added to a talent pool and reevaluated at a later time. Students scoring at/above the 85th percentile will be considered for a talent pool, where students may receive additional programming to build their current skills.

Step 4: Implementation

All identified students and their parents will then meet with the Gifted coordinator, their classroom teacher(s), and possibly the principal, counselor, or other invited staff member to develop an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP). The ALP will identify the student’s strengths, parental/student concerns, and outline a plan of services for the upcoming year which will best serve the student’s strength area(s). All ALPs will contain a standards-based academic goal for each identified area and an affective goal for the upcoming school year. These learning plans will be revisited at regular district grade reporting periods to determine the effectiveness of the student’s program, with updates communicated to both students and parents. ALPs may be adjusted or revised at any time during the school year with the participation of all relevant participants. A new ALP will be developed each year during the first quarter.