your school's "gifted" program

[oxfordcircus]

what year does it start and what test is used to qualify? what is taught in the class? my second grader is taking a qualifying test right now. i've never had any exposure to this type of thing and i'm curious what type of programs are being used and what they teach.

 

[simpilotswife]

My district bases their gifted program recommendations on a compilation of teacher recommendations, ability and OLSAT results.

Our programs starts in the 1st grade and goes through 8th grade. The 1st and 2nd graders meet in their home schools once every other week. The 3rd through 5th graders are bussed to one of the district schools one morning a week. The gifted program for the 6th through 8th graders meet every other day in their home schools.

The curriculum for our program is enriched not accelerated. The children are exposed at an early age to a variety of things that are not available to them as part of the general education curriculum.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Our school looks at the ITBS scores (Iowa test of basic skills), and the CoGat scores (cognitive ability tests-basically iq tests), in first grade.

If the kid's scores on those two tests are high enough they'll order two more tests that test creativity and motivation.

If they then score high on three out of the 4 total tests they're asked to be in the gifted program.

Then they need to maintain a B or better to remain each semester.

The gifted classes generally go into greater depth and detail on whatever particular subject they study. The teachers for gifted are certified to teach gifted classes and must maintain their gifted status by taking continuing education classes every year.

First graders do science, starting this february once the assessments are all in.

Second graders start right at the beginning of the year; they get language arts or math depending upon which is their stronger subject.

And so on...

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

Okay. My school district, in Jersey, starts the gifted program in fourth grade. Only a very small amount of sudents -- about 10 -- leave their normal class for about an hour once or twice a week. This lasts until fifth grade. The students (from what I can remember-- this is almost five years ago) would write creative writing assignments.

In the middle school; getting placed into the gifted class (advanced English, I guess you would call it now) depends on standardized testing scores. There are currently about 40 students in the gifted (it should be called honors at this point) program in my grade.

Students are taught and expected to write essays, etc. "above and beyond" what is considered average. (For example, it's required that we write with figurative language. For persuasive assignments, we need at least 5 paragraphs -- an attention-getting introduction, 3+ paragraphs for the body, and a strong conclusion.) It is also required that we maintain at least a B average to continue with the class.

Then again, I'm writing and comparing a middle school gifted program to an elementary school gifted program.

 

[my3kids]

COGATS are administered to children they select as candidates. One of mine started services in first (although they didn't give the COGAT until 3rd), the others were not tested until 4th. The district keeps lowering the offerings to high ability students in favor of devoting resources on the lowest quartile. All kids need what they need. It sounds like your system is on the ball to be considering differentiation by 2nd grade.

 

[leafette]

My daughter's gifted class meets all day on Wednesdays. It's at her regular school. She's in 2nd grade. She's in the class with 4 other kids. She LOVES it, and they do some really neat stuff. This year: a geography bee, a unit on fairy tales, etc.

 

[momsully]

Our program starts in second grade but they are moved from the neighborhood school to another school in the district. We decided we did not like not having the bus anymore and DS wanted to stay at school with his friends so his elementary school is not working with him instead.

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

Does your school have a website with info? Kids here are tested in 2nd grade and they break them out into gifted programs starting in 3rd grade. Probably TMI but here's our county's criteria from it's website:

To be eligible for Academically Gifted (AG) services, student must meet any of the three criteria established by the Board of Education.

Criterion 1: IQ/Aptitude. A full scale/composite score of 97th percentile or above on a group- or individually-administered, nationally normed IQ/aptitude test.
Criterion 2: Aptitude and Achievement. The sum of the percentile scores for the total battery scores on the nationally normed IQ/aptitude and achievement tests is equal to or greater than 186.
Criterion 3: Multiple Criteria. The student’s scores must meet the minimum standard on any two of the following criteria:

95th percentile on a nationally normed individual or group IQ/aptitude test; or
95th percentile on nationally normed individual or group achievement test; with
More than one year above grade level on the K-2 assessment (for rising third graders) or 93rd percentile on current End-of-Grade reading and math tests (for rising grades fourth and up).

Highly Academically Gifted (HAG) Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for HAG services, the student must meet any of the three criteria established by the Board of Education.

Criterion 1: IQ/Aptitude. A full scale/composite score of 99th percentile on an individually administered nationally normed IQ test (with a minimum of 95th percentile on an achievement test).
Criterion 2: The sum of the percentile scores for the total battery scores on the nationally normed IQ/aptitude and achievement tests is 198 (99th percentile on both tests).
Criterion 3: Multiple Criteria. The student’s scores must meet the minimum standard on any two of the following criteria:

99th percentile on a nationally normed individual or group IQ/aptitude test; or
99th percentile on a nationally normed individual or group achievement test; with
More than two years requirement above grade level on the K-2 assessment or 99th percentile on End-of-Grade reading and math tests in grades 4 through 8.

Here they do not have min grade requirements to stay in the program. Once you've tested well enough to be there, you get to stay. DS is in the HAG program and it's been wonderful. Kids from all over the county are send to a centrally located school where they are in their own HAG classroom, all day, every day with a teacher trained to teach gifted children. It's accellerated (ok, I'm not checking spelling) and enriched. He's gotten to do some wonderful things and from what I understand there aren't too many programs like this in the country (that breaks out the top 1%). Told DH we can never move until the kids are out of school

The kids in the AG program are serviced at their regular school for 1/2 day, every day.

Good luck!

 

[tar heel]

Children can be tested as early as K if teachers or parents recommend it. Qualifications before fourth grade, however, are very high. I think it's 98% on the test they give (sorry -- don't know which) as well as the various end-of-grade tests. In fourth grade, qualifications drop to 95%, so more kids get in. In K-3, it is usually a one-time per week pullout class for as little as 30-45 minutes. The class might include kids from multiple grades. In fourth and fifth grade, it's twice a week for an hour and half, and everyone is in your grade. For all grades, the classroom teacher has to list and sign-off on what she/he is doing to differentiate in the regular classroom.

In middle school, there are gifted classes in Language Arts and Math. A child might be in either or both. Requirements are like fourth grade. Language Arts is supposed to be more advanced and math works a year ahead -- eighth grade gifted does Algebra while the regular class does pre-Algebra.

In high school, it's AP and honors classes. You're supposed to have a B or better in the previous class, but it's easy to get a waiver.

 

[KelNottAt]

Our school system (Carroll County Maryland) administers 3 standardized tests to all students over the course of a school year: Maryland School Assessment (this is our NCLB barometer), Terra Nova, and ITBS.

A child must score at least 97 on two out of those three tests to qualify for the Extended Enrichment Program (EEP) in elementary. Once a child enters EEP (3rd grade) he or she is pretty much on the GnT track through high school.

There are some parents who campaign for their kids to be in the EEP program or the MS accellerated classes and they're allowed in. However, they must be willing to keep up with all the work and receive lower grades if their work is not at the gifted/accellerated level.

 

[SC Minnie]

Our district tests kids in 2nd grade. I am not sure which test is used. GT classes beging in 3rd grade with Math and Science. The kids basically change classes are math and science. These are the only 2 subjects offered in Elem. In Middle School kids in the GT program are in a block of classes- language arts, science, math, social studies. A child and opt out of any of these.

In our GT classes they cover the same material as the other class but they go into a little more depth. More projects etc.

I really do not like the label Gifted/Talented. These classes are basically the AP type classes when I was growing up.

 

[krcit]

My school starts the gifted program in 4th grade. The students are picked based on 3 things,1)Teranova scores from 3rd grade2)IQ test 3)teachers recommendation. My dd gets bussed to another school in the dsitrict once a week for about 2 hours. The program encourages them to 'think outside the box' They have various projects to do a few times a year. An example from last year is they had to pick an animal and adapt it to a new environment ie. another ice age, global warming. My dd seems to really like the program. Next year in middle school I think they are put into either a math or science program based on their strength.

 

[Nicolepa]

In our district we have a pull out (one day a week) enrichment program and a full time program.

My dd is in the full time program. It is at another school in our area. They are required to work at least one full grade above their current grade, and the lower grades are combined (1/2, 3/4, 5, 6). They are allowed to work as fast or as slow as they need to as long as they are working 1 full grade above their actual grade. It is an awesome program. They have done book reports, oral report, research projects etc. Her teacher doesn't believe in homework, so at most she gets 20 minutes a day. All work is done in the classroom. Most, if not all of these projects are done in a small group.

The pull out program is 1 day a week and you are bussed from your home school to another school (which is a different school than the full time). I don't know as much about this program because I do not have a child there.

To get into the program you need to have a 95 on the Iowa test of basic skills one grade level above your current grade in BOTH Math & Reading for the first round. If you get a 99 on one and a 94 on another you don't make it. For the second round it is the CogAT test and you must get an average of 95 (I think) for full time or an average of 92 for pull-out. This is an average. So you could get a 99 in Reading and a 93 in Math and you'd still qualify.

 

[oxfordcircus]

COGATS are administered to children they select as candidates. One of mine started services in first (although they didn't give the COGAT until 3rd), the others were not tested until 4th. The district keeps lowering the offerings to high ability students in favor of devoting resources on the lowest quartile. All kids need what they need. It sounds like your system is on the ball to be considering differentiation by 2nd grade.

I just read a 3 part series on education by Charles Murray, the controversial Bell Curve author. Maybe it was timed to coincide with national testing (?), but Murray's article yesterday advocates putting more money into gifted programs since folks with that intelligence are going to be running the country. It's an interesting series: http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110009541

 

[okeydokey]

Here in Florida they measure IQ using the WISC. Kids have to score 130 or above to enter the gifted program. my daughter (3rd grade) tested 126, which is better than 96% of the kids her age, so she didn't make it. Of 800 kids in the school, they have 5 or 10 in the program. Pretty tough to get in.

 

[wdw4us2]

My daughter was in Gifted from first through eigth grade. She was tested in Kindergarten at our request and on the recommendation of her teacher. At that time our school district used the KBIT (Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test) - I'm not sure what they use now.

In first and second grades, the gifted kids are pull-outs and spend about half their day in their regular ed class. In third through fifth grade, it's full time. At the middle school level reading, math, science and social studies are gifted or advanced. Everything else is regular ed.

 

[taximomfor4]

my dd had to have an IQ test from a qualified examiner, with IQ of 135+. Our district is pretty strict on it.

They get pulled out and grouped with others their grade once per week (they make up the work they missed, though, too). It is grades 3-8, but grades 7 + 8 only get pulled for half a day per week.

They do interesting things...independent study projects : they choose a subject, write up a' contract including duedates for each phase of the research and presentation of the project, and get that approved by teacher and parent.

Each year, they had a couple of units they focused on.One year, it was ancient Greece, and then goldmining. Another year it was algebra, then I forget what else.

DD only liked it because it was one less day per week she sat doing mostly nothing in the regular classroom.

Beth

 

[JVL1018]

Here they call it TLC (Thinking, Learning, Creating)-they have a max of 6 kids per grade and they pull them out once a week for an hour or so(at least in 1st grade).
My daughter is in the program, her teacher told me about it only after she was offered the spot.

There was a mix of teacher recommendation, last years teacher recommendation, test scores and DD had a meeting with the reading specialist who runs the program. They factor all that in when making the decision.