What Do All These Numbers Mean? Interpreting Gifted Test Scores

Gifted in Georgia In 1958, Georgia became the first state to pass legislation requiring districts to serve gifted students. Currently, Georgia is one of only four states to fully fund gifted education.

Gifted in Columbia County In Columbia County, we have over 3,000 gifted students (12% of our population). Our population is steadily growing. In order to determine if your child qualified for the gifted program we gathered data in four categories: Mental Ability Achievement Motivation Creativity

Testing and Evaluation Category Test(s) Columbia County Uses Mental Ability Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) Naglieri Achievement Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) Motivation Gifted Rating Scale (GRS) Gifted Evaluation Scale (GES-3 Hawthorne) Creativity Torrance Test of Creative Thinking

Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) What does CogAT assess? Measures general thinking and problem-solving skills Indicates how well the student uses these skills to solve verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal problems Profile of these abilities helps teachers better understand how different students learn best

Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) Battery Measures Verbal This measures reasoning abilities which play important role in reading comprehension, critical thinking, writing, and virtually all verbal learning tasks. Quantitative This measures quantitative reasoning skills and these skills are significantly related to problem solving in mathematics and other disciplines. Nonverbal This measures reasoning using geometric shapes and figures.

Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) The CogAT does not give IQ scores, but it does measure developed reasoning abilities that grow with activities in and out of school that challenge students to reason about their experiences.

Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) Percentile Rank (PR) The norm group consists of students in the nationally representative group who were the same age as the student. The age percentile rank of 60 on the CogAT means the student scored higher than 60 percent of students across the nation who are the same age.

Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) Ability Profile Assists teachers in locating specific instructional suggestions for helping students learn. Summarizes information about the level and pattern in each student’s scores. Visit www.cogat.com to see your child’s ability profile.

Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) What does the ITBS assess? Achievement test that appraises skills that are directly taught and practiced in school Looks at how students are performing in key academic areas

Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) Academic Area Description Vocabulary Assesses student’s breadth of vocabulary and is a useful indicator of overall verbal ability. Word Analysis Assesses student’s phonological awareness and understanding of word parts. Listening Measures literal understanding but also the ability to make inferences, understand concepts and sequences, and predict outcomes. Reading Comprehension Assesses student’s capabilities at all stages of their development as readers. Language Tests skills in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, usage and written expression.

Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) Academic Area Description Math Tests the ability to do quantitative reasoning and to think mathematically in a wide variety of concepts. Social Studies Tests cover four broad areas: history, geography, economics, government and society. Science The four major content areas are: scientific inquiry, life science, earth and space science, and physical science. Sources of Information Measures student’s abilities to use information resources and to judge their usefulness. Two sections are: Maps and Diagrams and Reference Materials.

Gifted Rating Scale (GRS) Gifted Evaluation Scale (GES-3 Hawthorne) The GRS is a user-friendly teacher rating scale which yields scores in motivation and creativity. What does the GRS measure? Gifted Rating Scale Motivation Measures a student’s drive or persistence. Creativity Items rate the student’s imagination, creative problem solving ability, and original thinking. The Gifted Evaluation Scale (GES-3 Hawthorne) is used for students 14 years or older.

Gifted Rating Scale (GRS) Gifted Evaluation Scale (GES-3 Hawthorne) The 9-point rating scale allows the teacher to determine whether the student is below average, average, or above average for a specific behavior compared to other students the same age.

Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) The Figural TTCT Uses three picture-based exercises to assess creative characteristics.

Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) Provides standardized scores for creative strengths Some examples are: Emotional expressiveness Storytelling Movement or action Expressiveness of titles Humor Fantasy

Gifted Eligibility A student may qualify for gifted education services by meeting both criteria in Option A OR three of the four criteria in Option B. Option A: Student must meet BOTH criteria Grade Level Mental Ability Test Score Achievement Test Score K-2 99th percentile by age Composite or full scale score only >90th percentile in— K: Total Math 1st: Total Math or Total Reading 2nd: Total Math or Total Reading or Composite 3-12 96th percentile by age >90th percentile in Total Reading or Total Math or Composite

Mental Ability Test Score Achievement Test Score Gifted Eligibility Option B: Student must meet 3 out of 4 criteria Grade Level Mental Ability Test Score Achievement Test Score Creativity Motivation K-12 >96th percentile by age on a composite/full scale score OR appropriate component score on a standardized test of mental ability. >90th percentile on total reading, total math, or composite score on a standardized achievement test. >90th percentile on the total battery score on a standardized creativity test OR >90th percentile on a standardized creativity characteristics rating scale. >90th percentile on a standardized motivational characteristics rating scale.

Gifted Eligibility Naglieri (Mental Ability) If a student scores between the 92nd-95th percentile on the CogAT on one of the batteries, then the Naglieri can be administered. Torrance The Torrance Test of Creativity can be administered if a qualifying score would make them gifted eligible.

Gifted Eligibility Can you determine if this Kindergarten student would be eligible? Test Score CogAT- Composite 99th percentile ITBS- Math 93rd percentile GRS- Motivation 95th percentile

Gifted Eligibility Can you determine if this Kindergarten student would be eligible? Test Score CogAT- Composite 99th percentile- Qualifying score ITBS- Math 93rd percentile- Qualifying score GRS- Motivation 95th percentile- Qualifying score This student qualifies under Option A. They have a qualifying Mental Ability and Achievement score.

Gifted Eligibility Can you determine if this 1st grade student would be eligible? Test Score CogAT- Verbal 94th percentile Naglieri 85th percentile ITBS- Reading 93rd percentile GRS- Motivation 95th percentile GRS- Creativity 97th percentile Torrance 83rd percentile

Gifted Eligibility Can you determine if this 1st grade student would be eligible? Test Score CogAT- Verbal 94th percentile Naglieri 85th percentile ITBS- Reading 93rd percentile- Qualifying score GRS- Motivation 95th percentile- Qualifying score GRS- Creativity 97th percentile* Torrance 83rd percentile This student did not qualify for the gifted program. *Although it appears they have three qualifying scores, we are only allowed to use one standardized rating scale for gifted eligibility.

Gifted Eligibility Can you determine if this 3rd grade student would be eligible? Test Score CogAT- Nonverbal 95th percentile Naglieri 97th percentile ITBS- Reading 88th percentile GRS- Motivation 93rd percentile GRS- Creativity 75th percentile Torrance 90th percentile

Gifted Eligibility Can you determine if this 3rd grade student would be eligible? Test Score CogAT- Nonverbal 95th percentile Naglieri 97th percentile- Qualifying score ITBS- Reading 88th percentile GRS- Motivation 93rd percentile- Qualifying score GRS- Creativity 75th percentile Torrance 90th percentile- Qualifying score The student qualified in three out of 4 areas. This student qualified under Option B.