Talented and Gifted Information

  • What is Talented and Gifted?
    “Talented and gifted children” means those children who require special educational programs or services, or both, beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self and society and who demonstrate outstanding ability or potential in one or more of the following areas: (a) General intellectual ability as commonly measured by measures of intelligence and aptitude. (b) Unusual academic ability in one or more academic areas. (c) Creative ability in using original or nontraditional methods in thinking and producing. (d) Leadership ability in motivating the performance of others either in educational or noneducational settings. (e) Ability in the visual or performing arts, such as dance, music or art. [1959 c.528 §2; 1963 c.570 §22; 1965 c.100 §409; 1971 c.613 §2; 1979 c.385 §2; 1987 c.335 §1; 2011 c.440 §2]
    (Oregon Department of Education, 2012)

     

    How are students Identified?
    K-12 students can be nominated by parent/guardian OR teacher to be assessed for identification. The nomination period opens up in the fall. There are three areas that PPS currently assesses for, intellectual giftedness, talent in mathematics, and/or talent in reading.

    Currently, all 2nd grade students will be receiving access to take the intellectual exam (CogAT7) in their 2nd grade classroom.

    When identifying, both scores and additional data are analyzed as a “body of evidence” that provides a full reflection of student ability. Federal and state regulation requires that a student score between the 97th and 99th percentile in order to qualify for Talented and Gifted identification. At PPS a student that scores at the 85th percentile or higher, and has a body of evidence that indicates gifted ability, can be given a Potential identification and receive services (to be put into effect 2016-2017).

     

    What is my school doing for TAG Students?
    Please find current Building TAG plans here. These plans, written by a team at each school, provide a framework as to how TAG students are having their rate and level met within their classrooms.

     

    For additional information, please visit the website for the Office of Talented and Gifted Education, www.pps.net/tag.

  • What Wilson Offers TAG Students

    Identification

      • Review of standardized test scores to look for students scoring at or above the 97th percentile and not already designated as TAG
      • TAG nomination forms

     

    • Review Characteristics of Gifted Students with staff

     

     

    TAG Programs and Services

    At Wilson

    • Advanced Placement courses. Optional AP International Diploma program for interested students
    • Appropriate rate and level of learning
    • Clustering of students with similar abilities
    • Honors classes
    • Mock Trial
    • Speech and Debate
    • Model United Nations
    • Constitution Team
    • American Mathematics Competition (AMC)
    • Chess Club and many others

    In the Community

    Wilson staff facilitate connections to college and special programs for students who have exceeded Wilson class offerings or who would like additional challenges:

    We also help place students in other programs and internships:

     

     

    Communication

    • Annual TAG Parent Meeting
    • For updated information students and parents can visit the TAG bulletin board in main hall
    • TAG events/offerings/celebration of student achievements in Wilson Cluster Spotlight

     

    If you have questions contact Wilson TAG Coordinator Maude Lamont

    Acceleration

    Differentiation strategies in place within our school’s classrooms include:

    • Using pre-assessment to inform instruction
    • Flexible grouping
    • Curriculum compacting
    • Tiered lessons
    • Higher-level questioning
    • Independent projects, acceleration through AP and Honors classes are also available.

    You can see which differentiation strategies a specific teacher uses in their course syllabi.

    Additionally, pre-assessment or on-going formative assessments are used to help inform instruction. Teachers document the type of pre-assessments they use specifically in their syllabi.Some examples are:

    • Know, Would like to learn, Learned
    • Observation
    • Quizzes
    • Learning logs

    We determine whether a student needs acceleration in the following ways:

    • Students demonstrate proficiency on pre- and post-assessments
    • Through parent, student and counselor recommendations and expressed interest in advanced work
    • If student is already working at or above grade level in one or a number of areas.

    Options for Acceleration

    The following options for acceleration are available at our school:

    • Taking classes both on and off campus
    • Subject acceleration in classroom using higher-grade materials
    • Attending a class off site, enrolling in online courses or taking classes beyond age-level peers
    • Credit by exam
    • AP and Honors or dual credit courses are other options

    Students who wish to access acceleration options can do so by talking with their counselor, any administrator and/or their teacher.

    Off Campus Acceleration Options

    Students should see their counselor, or an administrator to find out more.

    TAG Resources

    Nomination forms: English

    Articles and Information of interest for parents

    Wilson TAG Plan

    Definition of Talented and Gifted Terms