1. Highly Capable Services

2. Who is highly capable?
WAC Students who are highly capable are those who perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced academic levels (K-12)

3. Overview of Process

4. Step 1
Referral
Step 2
Assessment
Step 3
Selection
Step 4
Services

5. Step 1: Referral
Parent, teacher, other staff, student, or community member can refer a student
Submit completed Referral Form to school psychologist
Homeroom/designated teacher completes Teacher Referral & Feedback Form
Selection Committee reviews referrals to determine eligibility to move forward to cognitive testing
Committee notifies parents/guardians of their child’s eligibility to test
Parent permission is required prior to testing

6. What is the Difference Between a Bright Child and a Highly Capable One?
A Highly Capable Child:
Knows the answers
Asks the questions
Is interested
Is very curious
Pays attention
Gets involved mentally and physically
Works hard
Can be inattentive and still get good grades and test scores
Answers the questions
Questions the answers

7. What is the Difference Between a Bright Child and a Highly Capable One?
A Highly Capable Child:
Enjoys same-age peers
Prefers adults or older children
Learns easily
Often already knows the answers
Is self-satisfied (when gets right answer)
Is highly self-critical (perfectionists)
Is good at memorizing
Is good at guessing

8. What Are Some Additional Common Characteristics of Highly Capable Children?
An independent nature
A keen sense of judgement
Richness in imagination
Awareness of his/her self as highly capable
A questioning orientation (i.e. strong curiosity and a tendency to ask many questions)

9. What Are Some Additional Common Characteristics of Highly Capable Children?
Specific to children who are English language learners:
A desire to teach peers words from his/her native language
Eagerness to translate for peers and adults
A balance between appropriate behaviors of his/her native culture and the new culture
An ability to explain native dialect and idioms

10. When can students be referred?
Fall referrals
Current kindergarten and some transfer students
Services begin during the current school year
Referrals accepted through fall conference week (usually the 4th week of October)
Spring referrals
Current K-11th grade students
Services begin during the following school year
Referrals accepted through spring conference week (usually the 1st week of March)

11. Step 2: Assessment Eligible students are administered a cognitive test
If students meet criteria in academic achievement or cognitive ability, but not both, they are administered an intellectual creativity test
Students may only be assessed once per academic year

12. When are students tested?
Fall testing (kindergarten and transfer students only)
Cognitive testing occurs in early November
Creativity testing occurs in mid-November
Spring testing
Cognitive testing occurs in early or mid-April
Creativity testing occurs in late April

13. Step 3: Selection
Selection Committee reviews test scores to determine eligibility for highly capable services
A letter is mailed home notifying parents of the committee’s decision
SELECTION CRITERIA – A student will be identified as highly capable if he/she meets criteria on two of the three assessment areas noted below:
Academic: The student’s overall achievement score is at or above the 97th percentile in mathematics and reading over the last 12 months
Cognitive - The student’s overall IQ is at or above the 97th percentile
Creativity- The student’s overall creativity test score is in the 9th stanine in at least one subsection, or at or above the 97th percentile

14. Appeal Process
If the Highly Capable Selection Committee determines that a student does not meet criteria for highly capable services, the student or his/her parent or guardian may appeal the determination and shall have the right to an informal conference with the committee

15. Step 4: Services
Fall testing: Services begin immediately after the selection process is complete
Spring testing: Services begin the school year after the selection process is complete
Parents must give permission for their child to receive services

16. Services

17. Subject-based Acceleration Honors Courses Advanced Placement Course(s)
Kindergarten
1st -8th Grades
9th -12th Grades
Differentiated
Instruction
Cluster Grouping
Subject-based Acceleration
Honors Courses
Advanced Placement Course(s)
College in the High School
Running Start Program
(11th-12th grade students)
Advanced Level Mathematics: Above grade level mathematics classes are offered to students who meet eligibility criteria for the specific class

18. General Cluster Grouping
Common, research-based gifted education practice that places a group of high achieving, gifted, or high ability students in a classroom with other students and with a teacher who has received training to differentiate curriculum and instruction for the identified cluster students.
Gentry, M. and Mann, R. (nd). Total school cluster grouping and differentiation A comprehensive, research-based plan for raising student achievement and improving teacher practices. Power point companion to the book.

19. Research-Based Benefits of Cluster Grouping
Highly capable students regularly interact with their intellectual and age peers
Curricular and instructional differentiation is efficient, effective, and likely when a group of high achievers is placed with a teacher who has skills and knowledge
High expectations maintained in all classrooms
Gentry, M. and Mann, R. (nd). Total school cluster grouping and differentiation: A comprehensive, research-based plan for raising student achievement and improving teacher practices. Powerpoint companion to the book.

20. Instructional Delivery Options
Flexible tasks – projects and investigations
Learning contracts – learning outcomes
Problem-based learning – unstructured problems
Accelerated pace – acquisition
Curriculum compacting
Online learning projects

21. Challenge Options Choice Boards Tic tac toe Points board Choose One…
Any other choice format you design
Independent Projects
Research projects
Book clubs
Various product options for culminating the project
Problem Based Learning (PrBL or PBL)
Real world problem
What do we know, what do we need to find out, what materials/resources will we need, who will do each task, what did we find out?

22. Curriculum Compacting
Math – most challenging 3-5 problems in each lesson
Reading – pre-test; select lessons/practice based on skills not mastered on pre-test
Once students finish the compacted practice/lessons, they move to the challenge option(s) presented to or designed with students

23. Materials enVision Math: Enrichment pages, 2 star games
Storytown: Challenge pages, vocabulary extensions
Websites with challenging activities based on student level
Chromebooks: Google Slides (PowerPoint) presentations
William & Mary Center for Gifted Education Language Arts units
Project M2: Mentoring Young Mathematicians units
Project M3: Mentoring Mathematical Minds units

24. Highly Capable Program
Questions

25. Highly Capable Program Advisory Committee
Amy Bumpus
Shelley Opgenorth
Pam Brantner
Paula Perron-Bates
Lonna Carrier
Laurie Stegner
Meg Gollnick
Erin Thompson
Grace Grow
Roberta Kramer
Mathew Liberty