Gifted Support 

The Purchase Line School District complies with the standards and regulations set forth in Chapter 16 of the PA School Code for identified gifted students by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Gifted support services are provided to mentally gifted students in kindergarten through twelfth grade that is consistent with their individual needs, outstanding abilities, and potential for performing at high levels of achievement.

 

Please contact Dawn Ambrisco, Special Education Director, 724-254-4312 ext. 4124

 

 

 

Process for locating students that are thought to be Gifted:

There are several pathways that the Purchase Line School District (PLSD) implements in order to locate students who are thought to be gifted and may need specially designed instruction.  

Teacher Referral:  Students may be referred at any grade level and at any time through teacher referral.  Teachers may submit a verbal or written request for the gifted evaluation to the school counselor, school psychologist, or appropriate administrator.  Once the referral has been received by the school psychologist, a Permission to Evaluate will be prepared and then sent home for parental consent.  Upon receipt of the signed consent form, the evaluation process will begin.

Parent Referral:  Students may be referred at any grade level and at any time through parental request for gifted evaluation.  Parents may submit a verbal or written request for the evaluation to the school counselor, school psychologist, or appropriate administrator.  Once the referral has been received by the school psychologist, a Permission to Evaluate will be prepared and then sent home to obtain written parental consent.  Upon receipt of the signed consent form, the evaluation process will begin.

Universal Screening:  All students’ intellectual ability is screened in the Spring of their second-grade school year utilizing The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT).  The CogAT is a standardized assessment of cognitive ability that provides information regarding each students’ verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative abilities, as well as an overall ability score.  This data allows the district to identify outliers (thought to be exceptional students) who score 125 or above on the IQ Composite.  A Permission to Evaluate is then generated and sent home for parental consent.  Upon receipt of the signed consent, the gifted evaluation process begins.

 

 

 

 

Gifted Evaluation Process:  

Upon receipt of a signed Permission to Evaluate, the gifted evaluation process begins.  

The following data/information is collected/included for consideration:

Parent Input Form (Gifted)

Parent Rating Scale (Gifted)

Teacher Input Form (Gifted)

Gifted Rating Scales - School Form (GRS-S)

Renzulli/Hartman Teacher Checklist of Behavioral Characteristics (Gifted)

Individual Intelligence Test

Individual Achievement Test

State/Local Assessments

Grades

In PLSD, the criteria for identification as a mentally gifted student includes an IQ of 130 or higher on an individually-administered test of intelligence, as well as criteria outlined in the following paragraphs.  The District will allow for a Standard Error of Measurement of plus or minus 5 on the IQ assessment (i.e., scores of 125 will be accepted).  Intellectual ability is not equated with IQ score alone and should be reflected in a  range of assessments including the student’s academic performance.  

Students are typically assessed utilizing the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fifth Edition (WISC-V) and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test - Fourth Edition (WIAT-4).  A Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) is generated, which is the primary consideration; however, the General Ability Index (GAI) may be considered when appropriate.  The full, grade-appropriate battery of the WIAT-4 is given, generating a Total Achievement Score, which allows for consideration of the students performance across academic content areas (listening, speaking, reading, writing, and mathematics).  

Eligibility for students who do not meet the criteria based upon IQ score alone is determined utilizing the district's Gifted Eligibility Matrix (GEM).  The GEM considers multiple factors including:  IQ Score, Total Achievement Composite Score (percentile rank), GPA/grades, teacher rating scale, and parent rating scale.  These categories allow for a student to earn points for an IQ score less than 125, for exceptional academic achievement, and for other gifts or talents such as exceptional artistic ability.  Students are able to earn from 1 to 3 points in each of the five categories, which are then multiplied by the weighted factor (1-3) and summed to determine a total weighted score.  For example, a student with a FSIQ of 120 would receive 1 point in the cognitive ability category, which would then be multiplied by 1; however, a student with a FSIQ of 123 would receive 2 points which would then be multiplied by 2.  If students earn the predetermined number of points (10), they are then found to be eligible to receive services as a gifted student.

A student’s need for specially designed instruction (SDI) is examined by considering their classroom performance including the student’s academic achievement, engagement in classroom activities/discussions, attitude toward school, attendance, and any behavioral or social factors.  Consideration of these factors help the team to determine if the student is thriving within the general education curriculum or if they are in need of SDI.

If a student is found eligible, data collected in the Gifted Written Report (GWR) is utilized to develop goals based upon the student's area of academic strength(s).  This data may include standardized achievement test scores, grades, performance on local and/or state assessments, as well as parent and teacher input regarding the student’s areas of strength and interest.  Based upon this information, appropriate strengths-based goals are developed for the students’ Gifted Individualized Education Program (GIEP).

 

 

 

THE GIFTED PROGRAM OPTIONS:

Pull-out Programming: 

A “Class” for gifted and talented pupils that consists of pupils identified as gifted and talented, is especially designed to meet the specific academic needs of gifted and talented pupils for enriched or advanced instruction and is appropriately differentiated from other classes in the same subjects in the school.

 

Part-time Grouping:

Pupils attend classes or seminars that are organized to provide advanced or enriched subject matter for a part of the school day. These classes are composed of identified gifted and talented pupils.

 

Enrichment Activities:

Students remain in their regular classrooms but participate in supplemental educational activities planned to augment their regular educational programs. In these supplemental educational activities, the pupils use advanced materials and/or receive special opportunities from persons other than the regular classroom teacher.

Cluster Grouping:

Students are grouped within a regular classroom setting and receive appropriately differentiated activities from the regular classroom teacher.

 

Independent Study:

Students are provided with additional instructional opportunities supervised by the content area teacher.

 

Students are placed in grades or classes more advanced than those of their chronological age group.

 

Postsecondary Education Opportunities: 

High school students, for a part of the day, attend classes conducted by college or community college.

 

On-line Courses:

Students attend on-line accredited college course(s) while in attendance at PLSD.

 

Mentorships, apprenticeships, internships and/or field experiences:

Matching a student on a one-to-one basis with an adult member of the community who can provide expertise and/ or advice in a field of study, career interest, or other community endeavor. Both mentor and student have predetermined goals and outcomes. Student maybe assessed using a portfolio or performance based assessment.

 

Compacting Curriculum:

Elimination of content that the student has mastered allowing a faster paced learning progression based on student rate of acquisition/retention of new materials and skills.

 

Credit by Examination:

Students receive credit for a course upon satisfactory completion of a comprehensive examination.

 

 

Note:

Gifted Individualized Education Programs may contain a combination of the options depending on the student’s needs and as decided on by the GMDT