The Gifted Identification Process
A mentally gifted student is one with outstanding intellectual and creative ability, the development of which requires individually designed programs and/or support services. The term gifted is a special education identification for a person who has an IQ of 130 or higher or has a profile which strongly indicated gifted ability through multiple criteria. The identification process for gifted education encompasses a broad range of evaluation measures, including but not limited to, teacher recommendation, student-created portfolio, psychologist evaluation, checklist of giftedness indicators, and/or standardized test scores. Check out the Parent Resource Guide for more information or email us!
Step 1: Request for Evaluation
- Parents submit a written request to their child's school counselor to have their child evaluated for gifted services. Parents are limited to one request per school year.
- Parents sign and return a Permission to Evaluate form that was provided by the school counselor.
- School counselor or social worker gathers information on the student and the school psychologist conducts a psychological evaluation.
- School-based staff develops a Gifted Written Report (GWR).
- The Gifted Multidisciplinary Team (parents, school psychologist, teachers) review the GWR and makes a recommendation regarding the need for specially designed instruction within 60 days of the Permission to Evaluate.
Step 2: Notice of Recommended Assignment (NORA)
- If the team does find the student is in need of Gifted Support Services, a Gifted Individualized Education Plan (GIEP) is written within 30 days. This personalized plan allows for differentiated instruction and support where needed.
- If the team does not find the student is in need of Gifted Support Services, the student will remain in his/her regular education placement.
- Parents have 10 days to return the NORA. Gifted services cannot begin without a signed NORA.