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Identifying Gifted and Talented Students

2024-25 PSD Gifted Referral Windows

Teachers, parents, and students themselves can initiate a referral (or an ML or 2e investigation) for gifted identification.  Starting this school year, there are TWO gifted referral windows in PSD -- one in 1st semester, starting August 26th, and one in 2nd semester, starting January 13th. See specifics below. 

Fall 2024 Window

  • K-12 Academic Aptitude (August 26 - October, 4, 2024)  CLOSED

Spring 2025 Window

  • K-1 & gr 3-12 Academic Aptitude (January 13 - February 21, 2025) 
  • K-12 Talent Aptitude (January 13 - February 21, 2025) 

 

Gifted Referral Process for PSD Students

  1. Before asking for referral paperwork, read the Overview of Gifted Identification PDF that is available here on this webpage.
  2. Contact your school's GT site coordinator to get a copy of the gifted referral form.  You can find your school's GT site coordinator's name and link to their email here on the Gifted Services by School web page. NOTE: You may request a referral form at any time during the school year, but referral paperwork will only be accepted during the open windows. If you miss the deadline for a window, you will need to wait to submit the paperwork until the next open referral window.
  3. Once completed and signed, email the referral form to your school's GT site coordinator. The site coordinator will then send the referral to Kirstan Morris, the K-12 Gifted Program Coordinator.
  4. After the referral window closes, a district gifted ID specialist will contact you about possible next steps in the process for your child. Gifted referrals require a strong body of evidence (BOE), and that BOE takes time to build. Additional assessments may be needed. Each referral is unique.
  5. A final determination will be made for all gifted referrals and communicated to families by the end of the semester of the submittal window. For example, if a GT referral is submitted in early October, a final determination for that referral will be made by the district gifted ID team by the end of first semester in December. 

 

In-State Transfers and Portability of Gifted IDs

Portability applies to in-state transfers to 51风流.  "Portability" means that a Colorado GT student's gifted identification transfers to any district in the state, as long as the identification follow Colorado state guidelines set by CDE. Please reference the one-pager on this screen that explains Gifted Identification for transfer students.

*** Click here to learn more about portability in Colorado.

 

Out-of-State Transfers with Gifted IDs

For gifted students who move into 51风流 from out of state, a gifted identification specialist will review all test scores provided for the student and determine whether the body of evidence is sufficient for a gifted identification or if additional testing is needed.

 

Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) Frequently Asked Questions:

Why do PSD students take the CogAT in the spring of 2nd Grade?

PSD chooses to universally screen all second grade students with the CogAT. The second grade test is highly visual, does not have a time limit, is read aloud to them via headphones. Testing in the spring of second grade also allows for fall identification at the start of third grade. For primary grades, gifted identification is based on referrals.

What is the correlation between CogAT and IQ testing results?

The CogAT is not a tool for measuring a student's intelligence or IQ. Rather, it measures the reasoning skills that have developed during a student's educational career, even though they have not been explicitly taught. These general cognitive skills are not specific to any content area, but are skills that are used in all areas of a student's academic experiences.

???????My student qualified for math, but?is a really good reader. Why hasn't he/she be identified in that area, too (or vice versa)??

For gifted programs, teachers consider a body of evidence that includes ability, achievement, behavior characteristics and demonstrated performance.

How are these scores used?

The CogAT is often used for identification for gifted services; however, the information from your child's CogAT can be helpful to both teachers and parents. For gifted identification, the CogAT represents only one assessment in the body of evidence (in the area of intellectual aptitude/ability). When you receive your child's scores, you will receive a profile.

How often will my student take this test?

The CogAT is only given once, as a screener, in second grade to all students. If a student enters PSD after second grade and has one indicator for gifted identification, then the CogAT is administered.