Edmonds School District Highly Capable Program Assessment and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Edmonds School District Highly Capable Program Assessment and Selection Process

November 14, 2017

Mark Madison, Director of K-12 Highly Capable Programs Edmonds School District

Agenda

• The Highly Capable Student
• The Highly Capable Program Continuum
• The Assessment and Selection Process
• Important Dates and Deadlines
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Questions from the floor

The Highly Capable Student

Highly Capable or Gifted Student

Definition – Students Who Are Highly Capable

• Students who have a preponderance of evidence from multiple

criteria that show they are among the most highly capable. There is evidence of clear need for highly capable services when compared with others of their age, experiences, or environments.

• Perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced

academic levels when compared with others of their age, experiences, or environments.

• Outstanding abilities are seen within students’ general intellectual

aptitudes, specific academic abilities, and/or creative productivities within a specific domain.

Edmonds School District Board Policy 7330-R states that efforts will be made to identify highly capable students from under-represented populations.

Additional Attributes

• Demonstrate capacity to learn with unusual depth of understanding,

to retain what has been learned, and to transfer learning to new situations.

• Demonstrate capacity and willingness to deal with increasing levels
• f abstraction and complexity earlier than their chronological peers.
• Demonstrate creative ability to make unusual connections among

ideas and concepts.

• Demonstrate ability to learn quickly in their area(s) of intellectual

strength.

• Demonstrate capacity for intense concentration and/or focus.

WAC 392-170-035; WAC 392-170-036

The Highly Capable Program Continuum

Highly Capable Program Attributes

• Different pace, complexity, and instruction with

emphasis on higher level thinking and problem solving skills.

• Curriculum is accelerated and taken deeper.
• Not a private school/not a self-paced program. Class

size numbers are the same as regular education.

• All types of students are in gifted classes, including

those with special learning needs.

Challenge Program at T errace Park Grades 1-6

 Terrace Park becomes new home school.  Students in class with other gifted peers who understand

them.

 Transportation provided from neighborhood school to

Terrace Park and back to neighborhood school.

• Note: Students will not be able to ride the school bus between

their home and their neighborhood school and arrive in time to catch the bus to T errace Park Challenge.

 School hours 9:00am – 3:30pm  Parent volunteers greatly appreciated.

Highly Capable MS Program Grades 7-8

 Brier Terrace Middle becomes new home school.  Students are with gifted peers in:

• Science
• English/Social Studies block

 Students are placed in appropriate level math classes.  Students have access to various elective classes.  Transportation is provided from student’s neighborhood

middle school to Brier Terrace Middle and back to the neighborhood middle school.



Note: Students will not be able to ride the school bus between their home and their neighborhood middle school and arrive in time to catch the bus to Brier T errace Middle School.

High School Options Grades 9-12

Students select one of three accelerated options entering 9th grade:

• 1. Accelerated options at the student’s home high school:
• Honors coursework
• Advanced Placement
• College in High School
• Running Start
• 2. STEM Magnet High School Program at Mountlake Terrace HS
• 3. International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program at EWHS

Important: No Transportation is provided if a student chooses an option other than their neighborhood high school.

The Assessment and Selection Process

The Cognitive Abilities T est, Form 7 (CogAT)

• Commonly used and accepted assessment for use

in Highly Capable Student identification

• Measures students’ learned reasoning abilities in

the three areas most linked to academic success in school:

• Verbal Reasoning
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Nonverbal Reasoning

Cognitive Abilities Test is published by Riverside Publishing for grades K-12, by David F. Lohman and Elizabeth P. Hagen. For more information, visit www.riversidepublishing.com

Characteristics of the Cognitive Abilities T est

For students currently in grades K -1:

• The subtests are

not timed.

• Students bubble

answers in the same booklet as the questions.

• All parts of the

test are read to the students.

For students currently in grades 3-7:

• All parts are timed.
• Students answer

questions on a separate answer sheet.

• Students read all

parts of the test themselves.

For students currently in grade 2:

• All parts are timed.
• Students bubble

answers in the same booklet as the questions

• Students read all

parts of the test themselves.

Additional Information Used in Selection Process

Academic Assessments K 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

Gr 2 Fall Reading X Gr 2 Math X Gr 2 Spring Reading X Prior Year SBA ELA X X X X Prior Year SBA Math X X X X Gr 5 MSP Science X X

Other Information K 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

DIBELS X X Fall Sight Words X K Spring Comprehension X Fall Independent Reading Levels X Gr 1 Spring Comprehension X Student Report Cards X X X X X X X X Parent Supplied Information X X X X X X X X Teacher Supplied Information X X X X X X X X

The Multi-Disciplinary Selection Committee (MSC)

 Includes a classroom teacher, a gifted program teacher, a

psychologist and or counselor, and a gifted administrator from the district.

 Considers all information, including the application and other

requested information in determining most highly capable students.

 Emphasis is on preponderance of evidence from CogAT and

• ther available data that the student is among the most

highly capable and needs highly capable services.

ESD General Qualification Criteria

CogAT* Overall Composite SAS CogAT* Overall Composite National %tile MSC Determination 129 and above 97th and above Qualifies As Most Highly Capable 126 to 128 95th – 96th May be qualified as Most Highly Capable with support of additional measures and information 125 and below 94th and below Does Not Qualify as Most Highly Capable

* Cognitive Abilities Test Form 7

Note: The MSC recognizes limited English proficiency as a mitigating factor in student identification

Important Dates and Deadlines

Referral for Assessment

How does the Referral Process work?

• Students must live in the Edmonds District service area to be tested.
• See age requirements for kindergarten and first graders.
• A parent, teacher, anyone may refer a student.
• Referral must be complete and MUST be signed by parent.
• Attach most recent report card (exception current Kindergartener)
• Referral forms are available in your school’s main office or on the

districts Highly Capable Programs website. Referral MUST be received by November 30th deadline at: Edmonds District, Highly Capable Office 20420-68th Ave. W., Lynnwood, WA 98036 (next to Edmonds Community College) Can email referral packet to CassB@edmonds.wednet.edu or fax to 425-431-7089

T esting for 2018-2019 Placement: Grades K-4

 Testing Referral Deadline – November 30, 2017  K-4

T esting – Saturday, January 6, 2018

• Terrace Park School – Testing Starts Promptly At:
• Current Grades K-1 8:30-11:45a.m.
• Current Grades 2-4 1:30-4:30 p.m.
• Allow ample time for parking on street or in last two rows of

Pavilion parking lot.

• Testing will take approximately 3 hours. Doors will remain

locked until all classrooms have finished testing.

 Make Up

T esting due to illness on test day – must leave message for the Highly Capable department by phone or email on the day of testing to arrange a make-up testing appointment.

 Decision letters mailed out between January 30 – February 1.

T esting for 2018-2019 Placement: Grades 5-7

 Testing Referral Deadline – November 30, 2017



Current Grades 5-7 – December 9, 2017

• Edmonds School District Administrative Center –

Starts Promptly At: 8:30-11:00 a.m.

• Allow time for parking and check in
• Doors will remain locked until all classrooms have finished testing.

 Make Up

T esting due to illness on test day – must leave message for the Highly Capable department by phone or email on the day of testing to arrange a make-up testing appointment.

 Decision letters mailed out between January 30 – February 1

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Should My Student be T ested for the Highly Capable Programs?

• If you aren’t sure, ask your student’s current teacher for

their opinion.

• Have any of your child’s previous teachers talked to you

about Challenge/Gifted testing?

• Testing requires 3 hours of focused concentration with

minimal breaks for students. Please consider your student’s strengths and maturity level especially for K-1st graders.

• If your student is happy, doing well, and thriving in school,

they may just be in the right place to be successful.

Frequently Asked Questions

My Student Doesn’t Qualify? What Next?

• Student can take the CogAT test again another year, up to four

times in grades K-7.

• If either of the following conditions apply, an Appeal may be

submitted:

• An extraordinary circumstance occurred during testing that may

have negatively affected the validity of the test results (i.e., traumatic event or an illness preventing completion of the test) Note: The Highly Capable office must be notified immediately on the day of testing of the extraordinary circumstance).

• A misapplication or miscalculation of the assessment data

due to an incorrect birthdate or grade level used in calculating the student’s score.

• We will not accept outside testing or evaluations for placement
• r appeals.

Frequently Asked Questions

My Student Qualified for Challenge. What Next?

• Students who qualify for Challenge and their parents will be

invited to a meeting/tour at Terrace Park Elementary on Monday, February 12th to learn more about the school and curriculum.

• New Students Entering Grades 1-2

9:15 – 10:15 am

• New Students Entering Grades 3-6

2:00 – 3:00 pm

My Student Qualified for Gifted Middle Program at Brier T

• errace. What Next?
• There will also be a parent/student meeting and tour on

Thursday, February 22nd at 6:00 pm in the BTMS Cafeteria.

What if my student qualifies and declines placement?

• If a student qualifies and declines placement in Challenge or the

Gifted Middle School program, efforts will be made to meet the needs of your child at the local school, but gifted programs cannot be replicated.

• If you ask for placement another year, you will need to submit a

new referral and your child will need to test again during the winter testing cycle in the year prior to requested placement.

Frequently Asked Questions

General Information

Check district website for questions or referral forms.

• www.edmonds.wednet.edu, click on Programs, Highly

Capable & Gifted Programs. Links to the referral form and information are found at the top of the Welcome Page.

We are unable to discuss specific individual student questions/concerns at this time. If you

have questions or concerns about your student, call or email:

• Highly Capable Specialist at 425-431-7157 or

CassB@edmonds.wednet.edu

General Questions

Middle School? Challenge Program?