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Jennifer Donnelly Director of Technology & Assessment |
Gifted & Talented Overview
The Gifted & Talented Program is designed to provide opportunities for students to enrich and/or accelerate their academic experience in Kindergarten through 8th grade. Through an evaluation & identification process, students will be placed accordingly into the Gifted & Talented Program. In grades K-5, the G&T Program is a pullout model designed to enrich students' learning experience and build on their strengths and general interests. In grades 6-8, students are provided enrichment opportunities in the classroom. Students who demonstrate a higher ability in math will be placed into Math Honors.
Teachers use a Teacher Observation Inventory tool to identify students for instructional purposes from Kindergarten through Grade 2. The TOI evaluates behaviors of students in the areas of reading, curiosity, creativity, academic concepts, follow-through of activities, in-depth interests, spatial activities, leadership qualities, and special talents in the arts.
Sometime in the second half of Grade 2, the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT3) is administered to all second grade students. The results of this test, along with the report cards, benchmarks and teacher recommendation(s) are used to determine a child’s placement in the program. Each component is weighted equally.
At the end of each school year from Grades 3 - 5, teachers are provided the opportunity to make recommendations on student placement. The building Principal and Director will review the teacher's recommendation and multiple measures to determine if a change should be made.
During the second half of Grade 5, the NNAT3 is administered to all fifth grade students. The results of this test, along with the NJSLA scores, final report cards, final benchmark grades and teacher recommendation(s) are used to determine a student’s placement for Grade 6. The collected data is measured with a matrix to determine if the students will be identified as G&T.
It is important to know your child’s NNAT3 score isn’t an IQ score. An IQ test is done one-on-one with a psychologist, and is a much more comprehensive test of cognitive ability.
The District Administrator who supervises the Gifted and Talented Program provides each Principal with recommendations based upon the composite data for each student. Final placement in the G & T program is the Principal’s decision.