Gifted Program Evaluation Study Janesville, Wisconsin October 2007

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1 Gifted Program Evaluation Study Janesville, Wisconsin October 2007 The purpose of this report is to provide a formative assessment on the gifted and talented program in Janesville, WI. The evaluation study was conducted by a team of outside professionals with knowledge and experience in the field of gifted education. Members of the evaluation team include: Pamela Clinkenbeard, Deborah Douglas, Patricia LesStrang, Gretchen Ginter Wolfe and Sally Walker. The program was last reviewed in 1998 with a report to the Board of Education by Dr. Carolyn Callahan, University of Virginia, in A TAG long-range plan was accepted by the Board of Education ( ). In July 2001, Ruth Robinson was hired as the coordinator of talented and gifted for the district. The plan was revised so that in half time TAG Resource Teachers were available in ten elementary schools. In TAG Resource Teachers were available in twelve elementary buildings. Workshops were planned and implemented. Because of budget constraints TAG positions were reduced to one teacher for four elementary building in The TAG budget was reduced significantly. Janesville s Gifted Program Coordinator, Ruth Robinson, arranged a meeting on August 20 to establish timelines and collaboration on the evaluation process for conducting the program review. As a result, the evaluators spent Thursday, September 20; Wednesday, September 26; Monday, October 1; Tuesday, October 2 and Monday, October 22 in Janesville conducting focus groups, visiting schools, reviewing documents, and conducting interviews. Surveys were available for students, teachers, 1

2 administrators, parents and counselors, along with other district personnel. Ruth Robinson adapted the surveys from the work of Dr. James DeLisle. The evaluators believe that the process was open and that no one tried to present a picture of the program that was misleading. Access was provided to individuals, classrooms and written documents. The evaluators wish to acknowledge the assistance of the Gifted Program Coordinator. Her help was invaluable. The National Association for Gifted Children s Program Standards document was used as a guide to gather information and to structure the report for the evaluation of Janesville s gifted program. Program Philosophy and Definition The philosophy of the program, belief statement and definition of gifted establishes the foundation for the program, articulates the district s wisdom and states beliefs about the mission of a gifted program or explains the nature and conceptions of giftedness. The philosophy drives programmatic and curricular decisions. Commendations A philosophy statement does exist and is a public document in the 2005 Challenge and the 2003 Talents Enrichment Program manual. The philosophy statement has been revised and updated to reflect best practices. The handbooks are thorough and complete. The mission and philosophy of the gifted and talented program offer a variety of services at all levels. 2

3 The program philosophy needs to be revisited on a regular basis. Over-reliance on the program s history can become a problem, rather than continuing to revisit the program philosophy based on changes in the field s understanding of giftedness. It is recommended that the goals and objectives from the 1999 longrange plan be updated. Student Identification The purpose of identification is to locate gifted students whose needs are not being met by the standard curriculum, evaluate their educational needs, and lead them to appropriate programming. Commendations Janesville has a well-developed, formal written process for the identification of students for both the Challenge and the Talents Enrichment Program (TEP). Information on identification is provided to parents and regular classroom teachers. Teachers at all levels need to be informed about who has been identified and what it means, and information on identification should be communicated more systematically to teachers and parents. Recently the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) from the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) tests in Reading, Language Usage and Math are being used in identification. Data should be collected to 3

4 discern whether or not this is a valid test for gifted identification purposes. There is no formal test of cognitive skills used district wide. The Ross is used, but it is recommended that if it is to be continued that it would be wise to see if there is a more current version of the test or a similar, more recent assessment. The evaluators further recommend that: underserved populations (ELL, underachieving, minority, young, twice exceptional students or students from poverty) are recognized with consideration given for why they might not test well on traditional measures. relationships with children are formed to better identify and serve their needs. diversity training be provided to staff with an on-going commitment to serve students from diverse backgrounds. begin formal identification before fourth grade. Identification should occur in kindergarten so that teachers can differentiate and /or get supplemental services for gifted students. It is recommended that identification for Challenge take place in first grade with placement in the program beginning in second grade. examination of the identification process for continuing the Challenge program between elementary and middle school with emphasis on matching the learner assessment profile to the program options available. Is the match still the best program for the student? Are the child s needs matched to the program? 4

5 Program Design The goals of the program should be written as clear policy statements of what the district will do to respond to the needs of the gifted students. Organization and format refer to decisions on how students will be grouped for instruction, where instruction will take place, how often instruction will occur, who will provide instruction, and who will be responsible for the program and administrative organization. Commendations Janesville has a continuum of services available for gifted and talented students. Gifted and talented students can receive differentiated instruction through the Talents Enrichment Program (TEP) with pull out options or differentiation in the regular classroom, or can be selected for the Challenge Program, magnet schools serving the identified top 1-2 % of gifted students for grades 4-8. These options employ the Pyramid Model of Wisconsin s Comprehensive Integrated Programming Model. Gifted learners are provided opportunities for social and intellectual interaction with students having similar interests and abilities. The importance of providing time for gifted students to be with gifted peers is recognized. The evaluation process also revealed that: the TAG teachers work hard to get the job done and give the program their all. Challenge 4-5 teachers were consistently recognized for their excellence. 5

6 acceleration does exist. parent volunteers have helped with programming in different areas. It is recognized that there is disparity between schools. Differences exist from building to building. More communication and alignment need to occur within the district. Multiple entry points into the Challenge Program should be established so that if a student does not take advantage of the Challenge Program the first time, he/she may have the opportunity to reenter with retesting at a later time. The transition from elementary Challenge to Middle School lacks continuity. This also is true from the Middle School to the High School. Students do not know how they are selected for Honors classes. There are gaps that exist. Some described the transitions as a black hole where students and curriculum are lost. More communication between programs needs to occur. It is questioned how much differentiation really happens in the regular classrooms. More resources, staff development, coaching and sharing between schools could help with the issue. Much staff development is lost without time to try it or the resources to implement the new ideas. Cluster grouping is done in some buildings, but this is entirely dependent upon the principal. This is a cost effective, research based best practice that could easily be implemented across the district. TEP teachers feel stretched beyond their limits with multiple buildings and paper-work. They need to be cloned. Their effectiveness is severely diminished with having so many buildings and students. The paper 6

7 work robs them of more time with students. It is recommended that there be one TAG person in each building. Gaps exist in the programming. Efforts should be made to assure that students are not neglected due to programming gaps. Program planning with continuity of services and articulation time between feeder schools is essential for all grades, K-12. Curriculum Curriculum must include substantive scope and sequence and be based on the needs of the target population. Appropriate curriculum produces well-educated, knowledgeable students who have had to work hard, have mastered a substantial body of knowledge and can think clearly, critically, and creatively about the knowledge. Key features of curriculum include relevance and conception, comprehensiveness, articulation between grades, and adequacy of instructional facilities. Commendations A written curriculum exists for the Challenge program. Much of the written language and activities reflect use of Bloom s Taxonomy on the higher levels of thinking (construct, compare and contrast, analyze, evaluate) at each of the grade levels. Aspects of the curriculum are designed to connect with the real world and expect students to participate in assessment of global events. Some activities require students to participate in service projects. At the high school level the curriculum is challenging and strives to meet the potential of the students. New courses are constantly being 7

8 created to challenge students. At all grade levels the opportunity to receive an appropriate level of challenge is available. A scope and sequence of the gifted curriculum is not consistent in all content areas. This is needed. In some cases curriculum is book based rather than concept driven. It is also different from teacher to teacher. Janesville must strive for district level consistency, rather than just building level agreement. Although a number of staff have been trained in differentiation strategies and have implemented differentiation in their classrooms, not all teachers have had the opportunity or have followed through on the training. Much of the gifted curriculum does not identify how the objective or students will be assessed to determine if the objective is met. A monitoring process for continuous growth should be maintained to demonstrate growth of gifted and talented students. It is recommended that the Challenge Program be extended at the primary level to include grades 2 and 3. The TEP teachers could work with the K-1 students to watch for those students with talent in order to form an identification talent pool. Data could be collected for those students leading to differentiated instruction. The identification at the end of grade 1 should include data based on K-1 observations and testing. 8

9 Professional Development Selection and training of the staff are crucial to the success or failure of a program for students of high ability. Gifted learners are entitled to be served by professionals who have specialized preparation in gifted education, expertise in appropriate differentiated content and instructional methods, and involvement in ongoing professional development. Commendations Janesville has allocated much time and resources to training staff in differentiation. Teachers all reported that the training has been invaluable. The Talented and Gifted (TAG) staff has received extensive and continuing professional development. Time and funding continue to be problematic. The application of professional development varies and is inconsistent. While differentiation by interest and learner profile is evident, differentiation based on student readiness is less common and therefore the gifted student s need for greater depth and complexity may not be addressed. There still exists a general lack of understanding of giftedness and talent and the implications for educators. More regular classroom teachers need to assume ownership of differentiating for high-end students. Continued differentiation training in meeting the needs of capable students must occur for regular classroom teachers. 9

10 At the secondary level it was also mentioned that lack of teacher training in differentiation for those teaching regular classes impacts learning for capable students. It is also recommended that teachers receive and are supported with differentiation training at the high school level. Administrators provide the leadership for their buildings and/or the district. Professional development in gifted education for administrators is needed so that they might be more knowledgeable and supportive of the teachers and gifted students. Social and Emotional Guidance and Counseling Gifted education programming must establish a plan to recognize and nurture the unique social and emotional development of gifted learners. Students needs are not just academic, but also relate to growth and issues that are social and emotional. In educating the total child, this component cannot be ignored. Commendation Student Services Staff do try to meet the needs of all students. Students themselves are aware of their needs in this area and express them well. It was mentioned at the middle and secondary levels that many educators miss gifted students with behavior problems, dual exceptionalities, or who are English language learners. They need help and support from counselors who are knowledgeable about these populations. 10

11 The counselors reported that they did know who has been identified as gifted at the elementary level, but not at the upper grade levels because they no longer receive their names. They also need expectations clarified as to what their responsibilities should entail with the gifted students. They think it would be beneficial to survey students to find out what their needs are so they can tailor assistance. Since there has been a recent turnover in counselors, the district must provide specific professional development for Student Services Staff on the needs of gifted and talented students with attention to underachieving and at risk gifted students. The Student Services Staff reported that they need follow through after receiving inservice training. They want time to spend working together rather than sitting in meetings on common assessments and math, which aren t relevant to them. They need clarification on their role in the identification process. It is recommended that The Social-Emotional Development of Gifted Children: What Do We Know, edited by Maureen Neihart, published by Prufrock Press, be available as a resource for Student Services Staff. Program Evaluation Program evaluation is the systematic study of the value and impact of services provided. Janesville has a history of attention to the importance of evaluation with respect to TAG programs, and the current director continues with this priority. 11

12 Commendation Janesville has chosen to engage in an evaluation study of its gifted and talented program. There was openness and cooperation at all levels with all interviewed. This formative evaluation needs to be the basis for district planning for improved services in the gifted program. Program Administration and Management In order for a program to function well there must be a systematic means of developing, implementing and managing services. Commendation Multiple groups commented on the knowledge, support, commitment and dedication of the Gifted Program Coordinator. She has been a guiding beacon for the program and is respected by all. Her management expertise is evident. She has been challenged with fewer resources. With additional responsibilities, the Gifted Program Coordinator (TAG Coordinator) does not have enough time to do everything. The Coordinator has the needed vision for the gifted program; she needs the time to successfully implement and build upon strengths of the program. The TAG Coordinator position needs to be maintained and expanded to fit the needs, demands and responsibilities of the program. 12

13 Multiple respondents indicated that the Gifted Program Coordinator needs to be included in the hiring of Challenge and TEP staff. Communication Communication is key to the success of any program. Without communication there is misinformation and a lack of trust. Commendation The program does have a booklet describing the program at all levels. A lack of clear communication between gifted teachers/staff and regular education staff was reported. There is a lack of clear understanding of what each group s responsibilities are in the education of gifted students. Clarification of roles and responsibilities is needed. All parents may not know of the available programs and services. The information disseminated is not equal in all buildings. There must be a concerted effort to make sure that communication exists to parents throughout the district about gifted and talented programming options. Parents have requested more information for selecting gifted program options at 3 rd grade and at the 5 th grade about the Challenge and regular program options. Parents have also asked that more information be made available on the primary TEP program. The structure of the program needs to be more clearly defined and communicated broadly. 13

14 References: National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). (1998) Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards. Washington, DC: Author. Robinson, A., Shore, B., Enerson, D. (2007). Best Practices in Gifted Education. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press, Inc. Rogers, K. (2001). Re-Forming Gifted Education. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press, Inc. 14