AG Online Brochure

AG Program Brochure: Form 395-30-01030
January, 2007

Eligibility of Service

If a student is referred to the School-Based Committee for Gifted Education
(SBC-GE), the committee will review the performance indicators to determine the student’s eligibility for program options as well as the appropriate level of service
(moderate, strong, very strong).
Students who meet the criteria for specified service options will receive a Differentiated Education Plan (DEP). The student’s level of need will determine the amount of service differentiation and the setting in which it will be provided.
The needs of each student are assessed on an individual basis and appropriate
service options are recommended based on needs. Each service option has specific criteria which must be met in order for the student to receive that service. Students with a moderate need for differentiation are most often served in the regular education classroom.
 Each identified student will have an annual performance review to determine the appropriateness of his/her continuing to receive differentiated services in each service option. Students remain eligible for gifted services as long as they maintain a gifted level of performance.
The State of North Carolina requires re-evaluation of AG students whose initial identification and service was implemented prior to the second semester of third grade. This re-evaluation should be completed before the end of fifth grade.
Students previously served in a gifted program outside the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) will be considered for local eligibility. Inquiries about eligibility should be addressed at the student’s assigned school.

 

Service Delivery

As part of our school system’s gifted education model, each school developed an AG plan with service delivery options selected from a menu of possible strategies. The school plans indicate how each grade level at that school will provide the services indicated on the student’s Differentiated Education Plan. This provides consistency across the district while allowing flexibility within the schools. Information on individual school options is available for review in consultation with the school AG contact.

K-2

 

The K-2 academically gifted program provides consultative service to facilitate further enhancement and differentiated learning experiences in the regular classroom. Students in K-2 are not usually formally identified, but students may be screened based on their characteristics of giftedness.

Grade 3

 

The WCPSS gifted program plan includes a unique component for the third grade. The AG resource teacher works in partnership with the third grade teachers to provide a variety of in-class experiences designed to elicit high academic performance. Students who demonstrate potential in these activities will receive extension activities in mathematics and language arts under the guidance of the AG resource teacher. 

Grades 4-5

Services for identified fourth and fifth grade students include differentiation within the general education setting. Appropriate options, such as curriculum compacting and a variety of extension activities, match individual student needs for differentiation. In addition, students identified with a strong or very strong need for differentiation may receive services in resource classes.

Description of Secondary Program

Middle School

Recommended methods of content and instructional differentiation are clearly defined for academically gifted and other high performing students.
• Students identified with a strong or very strong need in language arts will be clustered for instruction with the emphasis in language arts on development of creative and critical thinking skills to improve reading comprehension, literary analysis, and
composition.
• Students identified with a strong or very strong need for differentiation in math are enrolled in specific courses in a mathematics sequence, so that they may complete Algebra I and/or Geometry prior to high school. These advanced level courses are designed to develop conceptual understanding and abstract reasoning in mathematics.

High School

Academically gifted and other high performing students in grades 9-12 are served through self-selected courses, which offer weighted credit in English and mathematics.  
• Students can take Honors and AP English courses which emphasize critical and creative thinking as well as comprehensive literature and composition options.
• Higher-level math course selection is determined by the successful completion of prerequisite courses, culminating in one or two years of AP Calculus or AP Statistics.

Magnet Schools

Wake County offers a variety of magnet school programs. Parents of gifted students may make application for a magnet program through the Student Assignment Department. Admission is based on lottery draw and space available.

G/T and International Magnet Schools

G/T Magnet schools address students with a wide range of gifts and talents, not just the academically gifted. Identified students in G/T and International Studies magnet schools are served through academic elective courses.  G/T select electives are available in the areas of language arts, social studies, math, and science.

AG Basics at Some G/T Magnet Schools

AG Basics programs are offered at Fuller and Hunter Elementary and Ligon and Carnage Middle Schools. Students are grouped with other AG students for instruction in science and social studies as well as for language arts and math. Enloe High School provides a continuation of this focused academic program with a number of advanced courses and other electives.

Chain of Inquiry About Gifted Services

Since AG service is provided at the school level, parent inquiries about appropriate options for differentiation should begin at this level before proceeding on to the district level.

The following sequence is recommended:
1. General education teacher(s)
2. AG resource teacher / contact person at the school
3. Principal
4. Central Services Academically Gifted Program Office

Wake County Public School System Academically Gifted Program

The purpose of the Academically Gifted (AG) Program is to provide an appropriately challenging educational program for students who perform, or show potential for performing, at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared to others of their age, experience or environment.  The AG program is not intended to be enrichment benefiting all students, nor is it intended to address all of the multiple intelligences. Only students whose needs cannot be met through instruction in the regular grade level program are eligible for gifted service. Straight A’s alone do not determine a need for gifted services.

Identification

The revised Wake County plan for gifted education, adopted by the WCPSS Board of Education in the Spring of 2004, recognizes that a single profile for identifying students of high academic and intellectual ability does not address the variety and range of gifted students’ needs.
The program has been expanded from one in which a narrow composite of testing data determined eligibility to one in which multiple indicators of giftedness, including norm referenced testing data, are considered. At least one current (within 12 months) norm referenced aptitude or achievement test must be at or above the 90th percentile to warrant further evaluation and data collection. Aptitude tests reveal intellectual ability (the student’s capacity for learning), while achievement tests show acquired knowledge.
In addition to norm referenced testing, eligibility determinations include assessment of student interest and motivation, observations of the student’s in-class performance, and portfolios of student work products. Not only is the student identified as gifted, but the intensity of need for gifted services (moderate, strong, or very strong) is also determined. Based on the intensity of need, the student is matched to a variety of service options available in the student’s school.
Students can be nominated for consideration for the academically gifted program at any grade level. Nominations are initiated in any of several ways:
1. Written nomination by parent.
2. Nomination by teacher.
3. School-wide norm referenced testing of all grade 3 students.

At the third grade level the effort is made to search out and identify students who qualify for AG services.  All third graders are administered the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT).  Students scoring at the 75th percentile or higher on the CogAT (sub-tests and/or composite score/s) will take the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS).  Students who score at or above the 90th percentile on either assessment will be considered for nomination and further screening to assist in determining their need for differentiation within the Academically Gifted Program.  
Nominations received by the school AG contact prior to the annually established screening period may be considered for referral decisions and/or necessary testing during that semester. If a nomination is received after the screening period, the nomination will be considered during the next screening period. Students identified during a semester will begin service the following semester.

Service Eligibility

If a student is referred to the School-Based Committee for Gifted Education (SBC-GE), the committee will review the performance indicators to determine the student's eligibility for program options as well as the appropriate level of service (moderate, strong, very strong).
Students who meet the criteria for specified service options will receive a Differentiated Education Plan (DEP). The student's level of need will determine the amount of service differentiation and the setting in which it will be provided.
The needs of each student are assessed on an individual basis and appropriate service options are recommended based on needs. Each service option has specific criteria which must be met in order for the student to receive that service. Students with a moderate need for differentiation are most often served in the regular education classroom.
Each identified student will have an annual performance review to determine the appropriateness of his/her continuing to receive differentiated services in each service option. Students remain eligible for gifted services as long as they maintain a gifted level of performance.
The State of North Carolina requires re-evaluation of AG students whose initial identification and service was implemented prior to the second semester of third grade. This re-evaluation should be completed before the end of fifth grade.
Students previously served in a gifted program outside the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) will be considered for local eligibility.  Inquiries about eligibility should be addressed at the student’s assigned school.

Identification of AG Students

The revised Wake County plan for gifted education, adopted by the WCPSS Board of Education in the Spring of 2004, recognizes that a single profile for identifying students of high academic and intellectual ability does not address the variety and range of gifted students’ needs.
The program has been expanded from one in which a narrow composite of testing data determined eligibility to one in which multiple indicators of giftedness, including standardized testing data, are considered. At least one current (within 12 months) standardized aptitude or achievement test must be at or above the 90th percentile to warrant further evaluation and data collection. Aptitude tests reveal intellectual ability (the student’s capacity for learning), while achievement tests show acquired knowledge.
In addition to standardized testing, eligibility determinations include assessment of student interest and motivation, observations of the student’s in-class performance, and portfolios of student work products. Not only is the student identified as gifted, but the intensity of need for gifted services (moderate, strong, or very strong) is also determined. Based on the intensity of need, the student is matched to a variety of service options avail-able in the student’s school.
Students can be nominated for consideration for the academically gifted program at any grade level. Nominations are initiated in any of several ways:

  1. Written nomination by parent.
  2. Nomination by teacher.
  3. School-wide standardized testing of all grade 3 students.

At the third grade level, the effort is made to search out and identify students who qualify for AG services. All third graders are administered the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). Students scoring at the 75th percentile or higher on the CogAT (subtest and/or composite score/s) will take the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS). Students who score at or above the 90th percentile on either assessment will be considered for nomination and further screening to assist in determining their need for differentiation within the Academically Gifted Program.
Nominations received by the school AG contact prior to the annually established screening period may be considered for referral decisions and/or necessary testing during that semester. If a nomination is received after the screening period, the nomination will be considered during the next screening period.
Students identified during a semester will begin service the following semester.

Chain of Inquiry About Gifted Services

Since AG service is provided at the school level, parent inquiries about appropriate options for differentiation should begin at this level before proceeding on to the district level.
The following sequence is recommended:
1. General education (classroom) teacher(s)
2. Academically Gifted Resource Teacher / Coordinator/ contact person at the school
3. Principal
4. Central Services Academically Gifted Program Office

Magnet Schools (AG)

Wake County offers a variety of magnet school programs. Parents of gifted students may make application for a magnet program through the Office of Growth Management. Admission is based on lottery draw/random selection and space available.

Gifted and Talented and International Magnet Schools

Gifted and Talented (G/T) Magnet schools address students with a wide range of gifts and talents, not just the academically gifted. Identified students in G/T and International Studies magnet schools are served through academic elective courses. G/T select electives are available in the areas of language arts, social studies, math, and science.

AG Basics at Some Gifted and Talented Magnet Schools

AG Basics programs are offered at Fuller and Hunter Elementary and Ligon and Carnage Middle Schools. Students are grouped with other AG students for instruction in science and social studies as well as for language arts and math. Enloe High School provides a continuation of this focused academic program with a number of advanced courses and other electives.