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GATE 7350
Fall 2019
9/29/19
Week 7: Assignment: Project A- Description and Analysis

Program and Identification Description and Analysis In Your World

This week I sat down with our Gifted and Talented Coordinator, Ms. Laura West,

and discussed the Gifted and Talented Program for our school district. There is a lot

more to the program than I was aware of and she is still working to improve many

aspects of the program.

In order to first be considered for the Gifted and Talented program there is a

referral process. This referral can be from a teacher, parent, peer, or the student

themselves. The referral goes to our gifted and talented coordinator to be reviewed and

taken to the next step. Next, the coordinator sends home a consent to be tested form

and a parent observation form. The parent observation form has the parent rate their

child in a variety of areas by placing an X in the box that best describes their child. The

boxes are labeled very little, some, and often. At the bottom of the form there is a place

for the parent to tell about an interest, talent, or concern of their child. The permission to

test form explains that their child has been referred for the program, but testing does not

mean they will be automatically placed in the gifted and talented program. The teacher

is also asked to fill out an observation form and a Hope Scale form. The observation

form asks the teacher to complete a checklist by numbering, 4- you almost always have

observed these behaviors, 3- you usually observed these behaviors, 2- you occasionally

observed these behaviors, or 1- you have not observed these behaviors. After the

checklist, there are a couple questions asking if the teacher has noticed any talents of
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the child or anything else the committee should know. Then the process continues with

testing.

After the gifted and talented coordinator receives all data, she starts the

assessment process. Our district uses two assessments in this process. These tests are

the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT), published by Pearson NNC and the

Williams Creativity Packet. Once all the testing is complete, the coordinator pulls the

students ACT Aspire scores. If for any reason the student does not have prior testing

scores, this part of the data form is left empty. Next, the coordinator pulls the students

grades for literacy, math, science, and social studies. Once all data has been pulled, it

is organized into one folder by the gifted and talented coordinator.

Now that the data is all gathered and organized it is taken to the committee to

determine whether the student will be placed in the program. The committee consists of

the gifted and talented coordinator, the principal, the counselor, the teacher, and one

other person who would be considered important in the consideration of this particular

student. According to Arkansas state requirements the data must include two

objectives, grades and test, and two subjectives, observations. When the committee

reaches a decision on the placement of the student, a letter is sent home to parents

stating whether the child needs gifted and talented services.

Our district is unique in the fact that we are the only district in the state that has

IB (International Baccalaureate) kindergarten through twelve grade. Depending on the

school the child is enrolled depends on how the services are offered. All of our

elementary teachers, grades kindergarten through second grade, are trained in the

Talents Unlimited Program. Our district consists of four elementary schools, a junior
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academy, and then high school. One of the elementary schools, the junior academy,

and the high school are our IB schools. The kindergarten through sixth grade are

considered PYP (Primary Years Programme), seventh through tenth are considered

MYP (Middle Years Programme), and eleventh and twelve are considered DP (Diploma

Programme) which are all part of IB. These schools receive their services inside the

classroom. If the student attends one of the other three elementary schools, they are

pulled out once a week for a two-and-a-half-hour enrichment class. Grades seventh

through twelve are pulled during their advisory period, 30 minutes a day and are

grouped according to their skill and need. They are also pulled out once a month by Ms.

West for an enrichment class. Staff members from each school meet with Ms. West

every Wednesday after school to discuss and plan for gifted and talented instruction.

Second through twelve grade attend a variety of field trips are learning based. The

program helps with academic, social, and emotional portions of the student’s life.

Components of standard seven in the Gifted and Talented Program Approval

Standards.

 7.01 The process for identifying students has several stages.

 1. Nominations are sought from a wide variety of sources to ensure

that all potentially gifted and talented students have an opportunity to

be considered.
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o A student can be nominated by a teacher, parent, peer, or

themselves. A student could also be nominated by a community

member.

 2. Data are collected (on the nominated students) to aid in making

decisions for selection of students who are in need of special

education services.

o Data is collected in various forms on each nominated student.

These forms include parent observation and testing consent

form, teacher observation and HOPE form, grades, and ACT

Aspire scores. (some are attached)

 3. Placement of students is made in an appropriate program option.

o Once the committee meets and reviews all data, the committee

makes the final decision on whether or not the student is in

need of gifted and talented services.

 7.02 Identification procedures are clearly stated, uniformly implemented,

and communicated to the entire school staff.

 Staff members from each building meet every Wednesday after school

with Ms. West, the gifted and talented coordinator for collaboration and

to keep teachers up to date on any and all new information.

 7.03 A committee of at least five members chaired by a trained specialist in

gifted education and including administrators, teachers, and/or counselors

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collects and analyzes data, maintains appropriate records, and makes

professional decisions on placement of students. This committee can be

per campus within the district and/or district level with representatives of

each campus involved.

 The committee at our district consists of the coordinator, counselor,

principal, teacher, and one other member that is determined to be of

importance for that particular student. Each member signs the data

collection sheet stating they were part of the placement decision.

 7.04 The identification process yields information obtained through a

variety of procedures and from multiple independent sources.

 1. Procedures for obtaining information about students include at least

two objective assessment methods such as group and individual tests

of ability, achievement, and creativity.

o Each student is assessed using the ACT Aspire, the Otis-

Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT), and the Williams Creativity

Packet.

 2. Procedures for obtaining information about students include at least

two subjective assessment methods such as checklists, rating scales,

biographical data, product evaluations, auditions, interviews and

grades.
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o When a student is referred, an observation form is filled out by

the parent of the child and by the child’s teacher along with their

grades.

 3. Information about students is obtained from multiple sources which

may include teachers, counselors, parents, community members,

peers, and students themselves.

o Information is gathered from parents, teachers, and whoever is

the referring person.

 7.05 Student placement decisions are based on multiple criteria. No single

criterion or cut-off score is used to include or exclude a student.

 The student’s placement is based on multiple criteria including

referrals, parent ratings, teacher ratings and HOPE Scale, ACT Aspire,

the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT), SAI, the Williams

Creativity Packet, and grades.

 7.06 Procedures used in the identification process are non-discriminatory

with respect to race, cultural or economic background, religion, national

origin, sex, or handicapping condition.

 The procedures used in the identification process are non-

discriminatory. The decision is made depending on the need of the

student.
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 7.07 Instructionally useful information about individual students obtained

during the identification process is communicated to the appropriate

members of the instructional staff regardless of final placement.

 Once the coordinator gathers all the data on a student it is placed in a

separate folder and is then reviewed by the appointed members.

 7.08 Written identification and placement procedures include parental

involvement.

 1. Parents grant permission for individual testing.

o Once the student has been referred, the coordinator sends a

consent to test form home for parents to fill out and sign. Then if

permission is given, the testing begins.

 2. Parents are informed of the criteria for placement in a program for

the gifted.

o All information is present on the permission to test form sent

home for parents.

 3. Parents give written permission for child’s participation in gifted

program.

o Once students are nominated the parents must sign a

permission to test form which also gives them the option to

participate or not.

 4. Parents may appeal a placement with which they disagree.

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o After the committee makes its decision on whether the child is in

need of services a letter is sent home to parents regardless of

the decision and gives all information on how to contact the

coordinator and that they can appeal the decision.

 7.09 Identification of gifted and talented students is an ongoing process

extending from school entry through grade twelve.

 1. Opportunities are provided for students to be considered for

placement in gifted/talented programs throughout their school

experience.

o At any time a student can be referred or re-evaluated for the

program. Our district offers PYP at one of our four elementary

buildings and pull-outs at the other three. Our district offers MYP

for students seventh through tenth and DP for eleventh and

twelve grades.

 2. A review of students’ placement in the gifted/talented program is

made at least annually.

o An annual review is done at the beginning of each school year.

The students who graduated are pulled and placed into a

separate folder and students currently in the program are

reviewed. Ms. West pulls current grades and ACT Aspire scores.

She then decides if any changes need to be made.

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 3. Written policies for exit from a program are developed and

implemented.

o Students may exit the program with signed parental consent or

by the decision of the committee, using the same criteria for

placement, two objectives and two subjectives.

 4. Records of placement decisions and data on all nominated students

are kept on file for a minimum of five years or for as long as needed for

educational decisions.

o All student data collected is locked in a file cabinet in the gifted

and talented coordinator’s office.

Conclusion- I was unaware of most of this information therefore this was very

beneficial for me. Ms. West took over our gifted and talented program only a couple

years ago and has made tons of needed changes, She has redone most, if not all the

forms and has now included all of our elementary schools in the program and not just

our IB elementary. This is a huge success for me because I teach at one of our other

elementary schools and I have seen the program benefit several students since the

change. She now has 281 students placed in the gifted and talented program and 31 of

those are not part of the IB schools. I know she is still in the process of making changes

and stretching the program even more and I cannot wait to see the impact it has on our

district and students.

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I am attaching a few Google Doc links of forms.

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/18JcTpWTZHGezBACuZP105-

x8hEWra3VEqYElLhpXFWU/edit?usp=sharing

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/10F1TF1TPl04OUZpfzjZEL63j88Xfyh

2ITEubPFrurME/edit?usp=sharing

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/14UwwPkmkHt_2z8C9wUgCNrHy8C

rCnV3X0dzqWkeixsI/edit?usp=sharing

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/16ELjv7gdI9E2vMBsnjIjpg-

81edvq5oFbIwHUL-a6po/edit?usp=sharing

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cVWXOTPlBfoEsmjLDXDUSMmtdC

5IXqW0yKcg-NzSJg8/edit?usp=sharing

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LuDB8QHmEOtDUXwkiWcbZIvaDX

hl2eGvhz_aRZq_WLk/edit?usp=sharing

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vJee-

eSCyOWm5Lq7OVS8lRd2HpB8C2XU6Ry9WXvb8Fc/edit?usp=sharing