Gifted and Acceleration

DEFINITION:
In Ohio, the term “Gifted” refers to students who perform or show potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared to others of their age, experience or environment and who are identified following procedures and criteria established by the Ohio Revised Code, Section 3324.03

For additional information on the rules for gifted identification in Ohio, visit the Ohio Department of Education Office of Exceptional Children website.

Gifted students need differentiated curriculum and instruction and support services in order to fully develop their cognitive, academic, creative and artistic abilities or to excel in a specific content area, including opportunities to exceed grade level academic indicators and benchmarks. However, the state has not yet instituted a mandate to serve every identified gifted child, nor has it provided the funding necessary to do so. Each district must define the criteria for services available in its district given the number of teachers and funding allotted by the state. Due to the wide range of ability and differing developmental needs of gifted students, no single service option can provide an optimal educational experience for all identified children. Therefore, a continuum of enrichment opportunities is recommended.

Granville Exempted Village School District employs one full-time gifted intervention specialist to work with grades four, five, and six in the intermediate building. Recognizing that good communication skills and the ability to read, interpret, and create written material is crucial in promoting individual excellence, the gifted specialist teaches gifted students who meet the criteria.

Gifted Identification Policy

Child Identification

It shall be the policy of the Granville Exempted Village Schools that ongoing efforts will be made to identify children who perform or show potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment in one or more of the gifted areas specified in Section 3324.03 of the Revised Code.
The entire policy is available in the board office. Children may be identified in any of the following areas:

superior cognitive ability
specific academic ability
creative thinking ability and/or
visual and performing arts ability.

Criteria and Methods

a. Instruments and criteria established by the Ohio Department of education shall be used
in determining giftedness.
b. Pre-assessment: all students shall be pre-assessed through the use of many sources
which may include, but not limited to: grades, progress reports, test data, portfolios,
checklists, rating scales, inventories, interviews, child products, performances, auditions,
exhibits, observations, and other sources.
c. Screening: Students shall then be screened by analyzing available information in order
to form a pool of children for possible further testing.
d. Assessment: Further assessments shall be conducted for students scoring at the 94th
percentile or higher on the screening instrument. Students will be identified by using the
criteria on the identification chart.
e. Notification: Parents must be notified within thirty days of the assessment results.
Parents have the right to appeal any screening procedure or assessments, scheduling of
children for assessment, or the placement of a student in any program or for receipt of
services.

Sources of Assessment Data

a. Students shall be given The Terra Nova and the Otis Lennon Ability Test in third grade.
Students performing at the 94th percentile on either test shall be evaluated further.
b. Students demonstrating superior performance at the screening stage, but not yet
identified, shall be further evaluated with the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, the Wechsler
Intelligence Scale for Children, and/or other ability and achievement tests listed on Form
II.

Provisions

PROVISIONS FOR EQUAL ACCESS. It shall be the policy of this school district that all district students, including minority or
disadvantaged students, children with disabilities, and students for whom English is a
second language, shall have equal access to screening and further assessment
opportunities. During pre-assessment, screening, and assessment, all students,
regardless of their situation, shall be considered.

PROVISIONS TO ENSURE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
It shall be the policy of this school district that all district students identified as gifted,
including minority or disadvantaged students, children with disabilities, and students for
who English is a second language, shall be afforded equal opportunity to receive any
services offered by the district.

Withdrawal, Reassessment, Transfer

It shall be the policy of this district that:

In the event that gifted programs and services are not meeting the needs of gifted students, withdrawal procedures will be followed.

The child or parent will put the request in writing.
Upon receipt of request for withdrawal, the Superintendent or designee will contact the parents to discuss the concern (If necessary, a group may be convened to discuss educational alternatives for the child).
The parent has the final decision.

2. Two opportunities a year shall be available for evaluation and/or re-evaluation of students upon parent, teacher, or student request.

3. Students new to the district shall be afforded the opportunity to an evaluation within
ninety days of the parental request.

Gifted Handbook

Gifted Identification for Visual and Performing Arts

The Gifted Department of the Licking County Educational Service Center conducts screening for gifted identification in the visual and performing arts, specifically in the areas of painting, sculpting, drawing, vocal music, instrumental music, dance, or drama.

According to Ohio law and district policy, students in grades Kindergarten through 12 may be nominated for assessment for gifted identification. Between the months of November and February, nominated students will be evaluated using a checklist of gifted behaviors and, for those who earn a qualifying score on the checklist, a demonstration of the student talent in the fine arts.

Parents, teachers, or students may nominate possible candidates for evaluation. Forms are available from the district or on the Licking County Educational Service Center website. The website will also have the annual nomination deadline. If you have questions, please contact Alesha Haybin, Gifted Coordinator, at 740-349-6094 or by email at ahaybin@laca.org

Acceleration

Capable students may qualify for acceleration by early entrance to Kindergarten, whole grade acceleration, single subject acceleration, or early graduation from high school in accordance with Granville Exempted Village School District’s Acceleration Policy. Parents should contact their child’s building principal for more information on student acceleration.

Process

The process for acceleration is as follows:

Fill out an Acceleration Referral Form and Permission for Acceleration Assessment Form and deliver to the building principal.
Principal or designee will send signed forms to gifted coordinator to arrange appropriate testing (cognitive ability, grade level academic achievement, and/or above grade level academic achievement).
Coordinator will gather information from educators (current teachers, receiving teachers, principal, counselors, psychologists, etc...). if the referral is for early entrance to Kindergarten, information will also be gathered from parents and preschool teachers.
Principal or designee will make arrangements for acceleration evaluation committee meeting with parents and involved educators. Coordinator will lead committee through acceleration process to determine the appropriate service using the Iowa Acceleration Scale (IAS).
If student is accelerated, coordinator will write a Written Acceleration Plan (WAP).
Principal or designee will distribute copies of the WAP to all involved educators and place copy in student's cumulative record.
The coordinator will keep IAS and related documentation on file in the ESC office.

Board policy regarding Acceleration

Methods of Acceleration

Acceleration includes four different practices:

Early Entrance to Kindergarten - A student who does not meet the birthday cutoff date for Kindergarten or 1st grade enters school despite the cutoff.

Early Graduation - A student who has not completed 12th grade year, but has completed district graduation requirements ending his or her K-12 school career earlier than expected.

Whole Grade Acceleration - The student skips an entire year of school instruction. For example, a child moves from 3rd grade to 5th grade and completely skips 4th grade.

Single Subject Acceleration - The student skips a grade level of instruction in one subject, but remains in his or her regular grade level for other subject areas. For example, the child may be a 4th grade student in 4th grade classes, but taking 5th grade math

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Gifted and Acceleration Testing

Parent referrals for gifted identification testing and acceleration testing are accepted throughout the year. A strong candidate will have demonstrated consistent and exceptional performance well beyond their peers in a specific subject. Your K-6 student will automatically be evaluated for gifted identification in math and reading three times this year. Specific grade-levels will also assess additional areas (cognitive ability, reading, science, social studies, and/or ACT).

If you feel additional testing is necessary in one of these areas, or are considering single-subject acceleration for your child, please contact your building principal. The Testing Referral form must be submitted prior to the start of your desired testing window. For more information on gifted education and acceleration, or to access the referral form, please visit our Gifted Handbook here.