Program Overview
The Georgia State Board of Education defines a gifted student as: a student who demonstrates a high degree of intellectual and/or creative ability(ies), exhibits an exceptionally high degree of motivation, and/or excels in specific academic fields, and who needs special instruction and/or special ancillary services to achieve at levels commensurate with his or her abilities.
Evaluation for Gifted Services
Students in Cobb County are evaluated periodically for gifted eligibility:
Transfer Students
A student already participation in a gifted program in Georgia will most likely be transferred into the Cobb County program. However, the student’s records and test data will be reviewed for eligibility before a final placement decision is made. Students who transfer from out-of-state must meet Georgia requirements for placement in the gifted program. Test data from a previous school will be considered if the test results are less than two years old and if they meet the Georgia eligibility criteria.
Elementary School Program Description
The elementary student participates in the gifted program one day per week in a resource class. The student is served at his/her home school. While the student participates in the gifted program, assignments in general education classes are modified or eliminated depending on the student’s academic strengths. Class size is limited to 17 students.
Procedure Two for Qualificaton: Student must qualify in both categories of Mental Ability and Achievement.
Cobb County provides services for identified gifted students at all grade levels. The gifted program is designed to meet the very specific needs of these students and to extend competencies in the areas of cognitive skills, communication skills, and metacognitive skills beyond the experiences of the regular classroom The goals of the gifted program are to:
*Develop skills for independent learning
*Provide opportunities for creative/productive learning
*Develop the use of higher level thinking skills
*Develop extensive and advanced skills in the area(s) of research
*Broaden the base of academic knowledge
The gifted program is funded by the state. The requirements for identifying and placing students in the gifted program are governed by Georgia State Department of Education Rule 160-4-2-.38 and are consistent statewide. All students eligible for gifted services receive a minimum of five segments of service a week. All teachers are experienced professionals who have met the requirements of the Georgia Department of Education for certification in Gifted Education.
*First Grade - Consideration for testing is based on referral by parents and teachers and checklist scores completed by teachers. Testing will take place in September during county-wide testing. Further testing will occur in December. Service for identified students begins after identification processes are complete.
*Third, Fifth and Eighth grades – All students at these grade levels are automatically evaluated. The county-wide September testing begins this process. No referrals are necessary. Further testing will occur after the in December. Service for identified students begins after identification processes are complete in January.
*Students new to Cobb County are evaluated upon parent, teacher, and/or student referral anytime during the first year of enrollment. New students who are referred after December during the second and fourth grades may be evaluated through the system-wide assessment that occurs the following year in grades three and five as appropriate rather than at the end of the current school year.
The gifted curriculum at the elementary level includes a more elaborate, complex and in-depth study of major ideas, problems, and themes than would ordinarily be available in the regular classroom. The curriculum blends instruction in math, science, social studies, and language arts into units that examine central themes, issues, problems, and topics.
Fundamental to curriculum developed for gifted students are learning experiences that develop the use of thinking skills and processes. This instruction enables students to apply those shills and to make informed decisions, to understand and apply concepts, to make judgements, and to implement strategies for solving problems.
Cluster grouping and collaboration models are options for instruction.
Any test score used to establish eligibility shall be current within two years.
Outside data may not be substituted for school generated data to determine eligibility.
Information shall be gathered in each of the following four categories.
At least one of the criteria must be met by a score on a nationally normed test. Only one of the criteria may be met by a score on a behavioral rating scale. Data used to establish eligibility in one area may not be used to establish eligibility in another area.
Procedure One for Qualification: Student must qualify in three of the four categories (Mental Ability, Achievement, Creativity or Product, Motivation Checklist or Product.
Categories for qualification:
Mental Ability at or above 96th percentile composite or appropriate component score by age on a standardized mental ability test. K-2 score should be a 99th percentile composite score on a standardized mental ability test
3-12 should be at or above a 96th percentile composite score on a standardized mental ability test,
Achievement at or above 90th percentile on Total Reading, Total Math, or Total Battery of a standardized achievement test
Superior rating at or above a score of 90 on a scale of 1-100, on a student generated product or performance
1-12: At or above 90th percentile Total Reading, Total Math, or Total Battery on a standardized achievement test
Creativity Superior rating at or above 90th percentile on a standardized creativity characteristics rating scale
OR
Superior rating, at or above 90th percentile composite score by age on a standardized test of creative thinking
OR
Superior rating at or above 90 on a scale of 1-100 on a student generated product or performance
Motivation Superior rating at or above 90th percentile on a standardized motivation characteristics rating scale
OR
Superior rating on a student generated product/performance at or above 90 on a scale of 1-100
