K-3 Frequently Asked Questions. 1. What is the difference between high ability, gifted, and high achieving?

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1 K-3 Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is the difference between high ability, gifted, and high achieving? 2. What are the requirements of the Indiana law on high ability? 3. How does the state define high ability and how is it defined in Center Grove? 4. I heard there are some changes to the elementary high ability programming. What are these changes? 5. How does Center Grove identify students for high ability? 6. What is the Kingore Observation Inventory? 7. Are gifted or high ability students always the perfect student? What are some negatively perceived characteristics sometimes associated with a gifted child? 8. What s the difference between a high achieving student and a high ability student? 9. What if my child is new and he or she is already qualified elsewhere as a High Ability student? 10. What happens if my child qualified as a High Ability student? 11. What happens if my child does not qualify? 12. Can my child start kindergarten or first grade early? 13. Who can answer my questions? 1. What is the difference between high ability, gifted, and high achieving? In the past, the term gifted education was used to describe the services for high ability students in Center Grove. Officially, we now refer to students who are gifted as high ability because that is the term used by the Indiana Department of Education. High achieving students are those students who earn top grades in school and perform well on grade level tests. High achieving students are not necessarily those who are high ability students.

2 2. High Ability Program What does Indiana law require us to do? Identify high ability students in the general intellectual grades K-5 and in generally intellectual; mathematics and English/LA for grades (In Center Grove, we identify students in three categories: general intellectual (K-12), language arts (6-12), and math (6-12).) Use multifaceted assessments (ID) that include high ability students from poverty, limited English proficiency, and all ethnic groups Appropriately differentiate our curriculum and instruction for students with high ability Provide professional development to teachers and counselors on the specific needs of high ability students Periodically conduct a systematic program assessment Create a guidance and counseling plan Report on our program effectiveness, specific use of funds, and student achievement. 3. What is the definition of a High Ability Student? High Ability Student is one who: performs at, or shows the potential for performing at, an outstanding level of accomplishment in at least one domain when compared to other students of the same age, experience, or environment; and is characterized by exceptional gifts, talents, motivation, or interests. (as defined by Indiana Code) We are looking for students with abilities that are comparatively rare and significantly more advanced than others of their same age, experience, or environment. Typicially, in Center Grove, this is a student with an ability score or cognitive skills index (commonly referred to as an IQ) of 132 and achievement scores 95th percentile and above.

3 4. I heard that there are some changes to the elementary programming at Center Grove. What are they? For the past few years, Center Grove has had a magnet program at CGES and at NGES called Extended Learning for High Ability Students in grades 4 and 5 who would best benefit from a separate learning experience with their academic peers. Beginning in , Center Grove will identify high ability students beginning in kindergarten. In grades 1-5 students will cluster-grouped with the other identified high ability students and with higher achieving students in a separate classroom called ENRICH. There will be one ENRICH classroom at each grade 1-5 at each elementary school. The ENRICH classrooms will extend and enrich the curriculum to provide deeper and more diverse opportunities for students to work with the curriculum. Differentiation within the classroom will allow students to have their individual needs met. Developmentally, it is important not to over-identify primary grade students. Therefore, it is expected that very few students will be identified as HA in kindergarten and grade 1 and that more students will be identified each year as more information becomes available. 5. How are high ability students identified in Center Grove? Multifaceted Student Identification Plan o We identify students for general intellectual (K-12), math (6-12), and/or language arts (6-12) We use both qualitative (characteristics) measures and quantitative measures (test scores). ELEMENTARY LEVEL K-3 Screening/Identification Process: Timeline Screening Process (all students) Grade Level Screening Tools Dates Administered Kindergarten AIMSweb Teacher recommendation Kingore checklist December sweep December December Grade 1 CogAT screener AIMSweb Teacher recommendation Kingore checklist November December sweep December - January December - January

4 Grade 2 Grade 3 Identification: Use as needed for moveins and emerging students CogAT screener (have on hand if needed) AIMSweb Teacher recommendation Kingore checklist InView AIMSweb Teacher recommendation Kingore checklist November December sweep December - January December - January November December sweep January - February January - February Identification Process (top 20-25% of grade level) Grade Level Assessments Dates Administered Kindergarten CogAT screener Kingore Experiences (Terra Nova-have on hand if needed) IREAD-K March Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 CogAT Kingore Experiences Terra Nova IREAD-1 Use 1st grade scores and 2nd grade data. Do more complete testing if add EL in 3rd grade and use the following assessments: CogAT Kingore Experiences Terra Nova IREAD-2 Writing prompt; Naglieri InView Terra Nova Kingore Experiences/teacher checklist Naglieri Writing prompt IREAD-3 February - March March March November March Issue: Who Decides? An identification committee rather than a single person makes placement decisions for EL program placement in grades 4-5 based upon students needs. The committee makes these decisions blind without student names attached to insure objectivity and fairness. For 4-5 EL programming the identification committee is made up of teachers with High Ability endorsements, and the HA coordinator. The appeals process for the grade 4-5 EL placement allows the parent or guardian to complete an appeals form and submit it by the due date with additional information for the committee to consider. Once the committee meets

5 and reviews the appeal, the parent/ guardian will be mailed a letter with the decision. The decision of the committee is final. Identification for the Enrich classroom placements are made at a building level based on the best grouping of students to meet student needs. Those identified as HA in grades 1-3 and those in grades 4-5 who elect not to attend the EL program are cluster grouped into the ENRICH classroom along with other high achieving students. An identification committee rather than a single person makes placement decisions for HA designations for those in grades K-3. The committee makes these decisions blind without student names or school information attached to insure objectivity and fairness. Developmentally, it is important not to over-identify students in the primary grades. Therefore, it is expected that very few students will be identified as HA in kindergarten and grade 1 and that more students will be identified each year as more information is available. High achieving students in grades 1-5 will be placed into the ENRICH program based upon objective test scores, teacher and parent information. Student placement into building classrooms is a building level decision made in the best interest of all students. The final decision rests with the principal. 6. What is the Kingore Observation Inventory? A research-based observation tool to identify students who are gifted. All K-3 teachers have been trained to use the KOI and are using it for a six-week period. Teachers provide enriched learning opportunities for ALL students and are trained to observe behaviors that exceed the level and complexity typical for the age group. There are seven categories of gifted characteristics defined in the KOI: 1. Advanced Language uses words that seem advanced for the age-level expectations; rewords own language for younger or less mature children; explains how unrelated things are similar; uses words for time concepts (clock

6 and calendar) accurately; uses similes, metaphors, or analogies; asks questions about words. 2. Analytical Thinking demonstrates complex or abstract thinking; analyzes household or school tasks; notices surprising depth of details about surroundings; takes apart and reassembles things or ideas with skill; expresses relationships between past and present experiences; makes up songs, stories, or riddles about experiences; organizes collections of things uniquely; likes to plan or arrange things 3. Meaning Motivation is philosophical; asks surprisingly intellectual questions; is curious; experiments; demonstrates an unexpected depth of knowledge in one or more areas; exhibits intense task commitment and energy when pursuing interests; remembers; is independent. 4. Perspective explains another s point of view; shows dimension, angle, perspective in art, writing, math solutions, or problem solving; creates complex shapes, patterns, or graphics; applies left and right without prompting; adds interesting details to enhance products. 5. Sense of Humor says or does something indicating an unexpected, sophisticated humor; catches an adult s subtle sense of humor; understands and uses puns and riddles; plays with language; develops humorous ideas to an extreme. 6. Sensitivity cares deeply; intense concern for human issues; tries to take action to help someone in need; expresses feelings through words or art; explains others feelings; displays strong sense of fairness; expresses high expectations of self and others; seems to overreact at times. 7. Accelerated Learning learns new things quickly with minimum practice; uses multiple characteristics when discussing items; reads passages at an advanced, fluent reading level for the age-level expectations; explains the meaning of what has been read; demonstrates an unexpected mastery of math or science concepts; uses a dictionary, encyclopedia, map, atlas, or computer to gain advanced information, creates products which seem advanced for the age-level expectations.

7 8. Are gifted or high ability students always the perfect student? What are some negatively perceived characteristics sometimes associated with a gifted child? High Ability (gifted) students are not always the perfect student. In fact, these students may sometimes not earn top grades in a classroom that isn t designed for his/her academic needs. Sometimes high ability students may display some of the following characteristics... Self-critical; impatient with failures Critical of others or of the teacher Overreacts Domineers Gets angry or cries if things go wrong Hands in messy work Refuses to accept authority Refuses to do rote homework Bored with routine tasks Is more concerned with concept than the details Makes jokes or puns at inappropriate times Disagrees vocally with others or with the teacher about ideas and values Is nonconforming/stubborn Is reluctant to move on to another topic 9. What s the difference between a high-achieving child and a high ability, or gifted, child? This is a complex question to answer, but Bertie Kingore, an expert on gifted education, has explained... Identification of gifted students is clouded when concerned adults misinterpret high achievement as giftedness. High-achieving students are noticed for their on-time, neat, well-developed, and correct learning products. Adults comment on these students consistent high grades and note how well they acclimate to class procedures and

8 discussions. Some adults assume these students are gifted because their school-appropriate behaviors and products surface above the typical responses of grade-level students. Educators with expertise in gifted education are frustrated trying to help other educators and parents understand that while high achievers are valuable participants whose high-level modeling is welcomed in classes, they learn differently from gifted learners. In situations in which they are respected and encouraged, gifted students thinking is more complex with abstract inferences and more diverse perceptions than is typical of high achievers. Articulating those differences to educators and parents can be difficult. (from High Achiever, Gifted Learner, Creative Thinker, Bertie Kingore, Ph.D.) 10. What happens if my child qualifies as a High Ability student? Classroom Placement: Research shows that gifted students need to be placed with their intellectual peers, so we cluster group our high ability students in grades 1-3. This means that we place small groups of identified high ability students together with other students who are high-achieving in a designated classroom in each building. The grade level math curriculum is differentiated to provide broader and deeper experiences. Mathematics instruction focuses on inductive/deductive reasoning skills; work with algebra and geometry concepts; and problem solving. Instruction is faster paced with fewer repetitions. Language Arts is differentiated for all students in Center Grove Community Schools. Beginning in kindergarten, we assess each child s reading level and then monitor his or her growth at least three times during the year. Our teachers use the reading level information to help each child learn to read at his or her instructional level. High Ability students do more complex analysis of text and in-depth study of advanced vocabulary.

9 11. What happens if my high achieving child does not qualify as a High Ability student? In considering data about children s achievement, we recognize that in Center Grove Schools, we have many students who score in the 95 th percentile range and above in math and or reading, but who are not identified as high ability These students are certainly high achievers, but do not meet Center Grove s criteria for gifted identification. Since we have so many high achieving students, our curriculum and instructional strategies are designed to meet their needs. Our teachers are trained in differentiation to provide instructional experiences to meet student needs within each classroom. Classroom Placement: High achieving students may be placed into the ENRICH classroom with the High Ability student cluster-group. This decision is made at the building level to consider the best fit for each student. All students who are not identified as High Ability are screened each year and reconsidered for high ability identification. 12. Can my child start kindergarten or first grade early? If you believe your child is advanced socially, academically, and emotionally and would benefit from early entrance to kindergarten or first grade, please fill out an Early Entrance to Kindergarten Application or an Early Entrance to First Grade Application available on the Academic Programs Area of the district website under Early Entrance. 13. More questions? If you have a question, please read all of the information elsewhere on this website first. This website is revised often so parents can find accurate information effectively. Please direct your building-specific questions to your child's teacher, school counselor or to your principal. Please direct other questions to:

10 o o Pam Burnett, High Ability Administrative Assistant can answer most general process questions and can assist new families. burnettp@centergrove.k12.in.us Dr. Wendy Kruger, Curriculum Director for Center Grove Schools and serves as a High Ability Co-Coordinator. krugerw@centergrove.k12.in.us