Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my child only being recommended for some instruments and not all of them?  

 

The Gifted Eligibility Team will initially use only one instrument to assess a student for each category:  Mental Ability, Creativity, Achievement, and Motivation.  Based upon previous testing experiences and/or classroom performance, some children may already have information in their permanent record that can be used in one or more categories.  Children will not be tested unnecessarily.  The Gifted Eligibility Team has more than one option of instruments for some categories.  The team will use all pertinent data about the student to select the best instrument at this time.  The team will not exhaust all of its options in each category during this referral process unless it is deemed appropriate and necessary by the Eligibility Team to use an alternative assessment for that domain.  If a student is found ineligible at the time of assessment, the student may be reassessed in a period of one to two years as deemed appropriate by the Eligibility Team provided the parent and/or teacher refers the student for reassessment. 

 

What other measures does Muscogee County School District utilize to assess students for gifted eligibility or talent development?

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Tests that are not nationally normed may be used in the child-find process, but may not be used for eligibility or automatic nomination process.

The DRA test is another screening tool that can be utilized in the child-find process. The scores from these tests may be used in conjunction with other data that is gathered to determine if a student should be nominated for gifted testing.

The Referral/Eligibility Committee shall meet monthly for referrals, to review the needs of students who have been nominated.

Completed profiles of students may be submitted throughout the current school year in order for the nomination to be considered for referral for gifted testing. Considerations made for 1st -12th grades shall be for placement during the current school year, while considerations made for kindergarten students shall be for placement beginning in August of the first grade school year. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Eligibility Team and the Director of Advanced Learning and Gifted Programs.

 

What happens after the assessment process has been completed for gifted eligibility?

 

Once the eligibility process is complete, the Eligibility Team will review a profile of the student through observational data, existing performance data, and/or standardized testing history to determine appropriate action based on evidence. The Eligibility Team will recommend one of the following three options on the Eligibility Form:

 

• Referred for Evaluation (Consent to Evaluate)  

The student may be referred for formal evaluation. This decision is appropriate when the committee believes that collected information about the student shows a special need and warrants continuation of the referral process. The Gifted Education Program must receive parent consent to begin the formal evaluation. After consent is obtained, the formal evaluation will begin.

• Incomplete Information—more information will be needed (More information Notice)
  When the committee deems that collected information is insufficient to make a decision concerning formal evaluation, the committee may request that the referring party supply a further piece of specific data. Examples of insufficient information include no testing history data, no recent report card, and/or no work sample.

• Qualifying and Non-Qualifying Notices
  The Gifted Education Program will notify the parents in writing whether or not their child meets the required criteria for Georgia Gifted Eligibility Services.

St. Elmo Center for the Gifted collects and maintains statistical data on the number of students referred for evaluation of eligibility for gifted education services, the number of students determined eligible for services, and the number of students actually served during the school year. Data is kept by grade level, gender, and ethnicity of the students.