TALENTED & GIFTED PROGRAM

RIDGEVIEW CHARTER SCHOOL

Talented & Gifted Teacher: Ms. Brown (E) Browns12@fultonschools.org
Gifted Endorsed Teacher: Dr. McCaffrey
 WHAT IS TALENTED AND GIFTED
(TAG)?
The Fulton County Schools TAG program/policy provides enriching
experiences for the intellectually advanced and exceptionally creative
student.
The Talented and Gifted program is an opportunity for gifted students
to interact with intellectual peers as they participate in classes that
extend and enrich the basic curriculum.
Specially trained educators guide the gifted student in ways that
maximize the childs unique learning characteristics, interests,
personal needs, and capabilities.
Through participation in TAG classes, students will develop advanced
research, advanced communication, critical thinking and creative
thinking skills.
 Georgia Eligibility Criteria for TAG
State Board Rule 160-4-2.38 states: The Georgia
State Board of Education defines a gifted student
as one who demonstrates a high degree of
intellectual and/or creative ability(ies), exhibits an
exceptionally high degree of motivation, and/or
excels in specific academic fields, and who needs
special instruction and/or special services to
achieve at levels commensurate with his or her
abilities.
 REFERRAL AND TESTING PROCEDURES
AT ELEMENTARY LEVEL
I. Automatic Screening At the beginning of the school year, TAG
teachers review previous years test scores
I. Standardized Test 4th 5th grade students must have a minimum of a 90th
percentile in one of the following areas: Total Reading, Total Math or
Complete Battery
II. CRCT scores are set by TAG department each year
I. Kindergarten 1st grade students must be identified using Acceleration test

II. Classroom Screening Local schools select a two week period in

January to screen all students in their schools
I. Classroom teachers use Characteristics Instrument for Screening Students
(CISS) to identify students with superior abilities in five or more areas.
 REFERRAL AND TESTING PROCEDURES
AT ELEMENTARY LEVEL
III. Supporting Data - Students meeting either the Automatic Screening OR
Classroom Screening criteria AND have supporting data gathered from
test history, products and/or advanced content levels are referred for
gifted testing.

Once referred for testing:

Parent receives Parent Notification for Testing Consent Form
Student tests for the gifted program
Parent receives test results
If state eligibility is determined, and parents consent to placement,
students are placed into the TAG Program.
 STEP 1: CHARACTERISTICS INSTRUMENT
FOR SCREENING STUDENTS
Motivation
Evidences an intense desire to achieve
Strives to satisfy a need or attain set goals
Students may be
Persistent, a self-starter, enthusiastic learner

Interest intense (unusual interests)

Students may:
Demonstrate unusual or advanced interests in a topic/activity
Be beyond age-group
Pursue an activity unceasingly
Demonstrate perseverance in pursuit of an interest
 Communication Skills
Highly expressive and effective use of words, numbers, or symbols
Students may:
Demonstrate unusual ability to communicate
Use particularly clever examples, illustrations or elaborations
Problem-Solving Ability
Effective, imaginative strategies for recognizing and solving problems
Students may:
Invents strategy for solving problems or change the strategy if it is not working
Create a new design, invent
Understand what questions to ask to solve the problem
 Memory
Stores a lot of information
Ability to remember and retrieve information
Students may:
Need only 1 2 repetitions for mastery
Knows a lot of information
Pays attention to detail

Inquiry
Questions, experiments, explores
Seeks in-depth knowledge, understanding or information
Students may:
Ask unusual questions for age
Plays around with ideas
 Insight
Quickly grasps new concepts and makes connections
Sudden discovery of the correct solution following incorrect attempts
Students may:
Demonstrate exceptional ability to draw inferences
Appear to be a good guesser
Be a keen observer
Possess capacity for seeing unusual and diverse relationships
Integrate ideas and disciplines

Reasoning
Logical approaches to figuring out solutions
Forward looking, goal oriented thought
Students may:
Make generalizations, use metaphors/analogies, think things through logically
 Creativity
Originality
Problem-solving through non-traditional patterns of thinking
Students may:
Show resourcefulness in using everyday materials
Exhibit wild, silly ideas
Produces ideas fluently/flexibly
Be curios

Humor
Conveys and picks up on humor
Students may:
Exhibit sense of humor gentle or hostile
See relationships and create jokes or puns
Sensitivity to feelings of others
Use inappropriate humor (class clown)
 REFERRAL AND SCREENING
ALL STUDENTS ARE SCREENED TWICE A YEAR
Automatic Screening
August: At the beginning of the school Classroom screening (CISS) January

year, TAG teachers review previous 5 of 10 criteria on CISS

year
CRCT Reading & Math Scores (4th-5th) Plus one piece of supporting:

Qualifying scores for Fall 2012: 85/90 combo on ITBS

Reading 868+ CRCT scores
Math 880+ Above grade level as determined
PLUS one piece supporting information: by system
90% standardized test
Former mental ability score at the
Above grade level as determined by
96+%
system
 STEP II: TESTING
Students are tested in 4 areas:
Mental ability
Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)
Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Testing (NNAT2)
Achievement
Standford Achievement Test (STAT-10)
Kindergarden 2nd grade
Creativity
Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT)
Motivation
Gifted Rating Scaled Motivation (GRS M)
 WHAT HAPPENS AFTER TESTING:
ELIGIBLE OR INELIGIBLE?
Eligible
Met the criteria for 3 out of 4 test
Your child will begin TAG classes

Ineligible
Your child met the less than 3 out of 4 test
Your child will not begin TAG classes
Child may come up in testing process again