Secondary Gifted Services
RISD Advanced Learning Services
Secondary Gifted Services
Secondary students in grades 7-12 may be screened to be identified for placement in GT-supported sections of Advanced and then AP or OnRamps courses in English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science. While the GT sections of these courses follow the same scope and sequence as other Advanced, AP or OnRamps courses in the district, instruction within those sections is delivered using instructional techniques best suited to GT learners.
Starting in Fall of 2024, students attending 6th grade Middle School (in the Lake Highlands Learning Community) or 7th grade Junior High (in all feeder patterns) will be eligible for placement in GT-supported sections of GT Advanced 6th Math or 7th grade GT Pre-Algebra. This will be in addition to the GT-supported sections of English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science.
Placement Process
Rising 7th Grade and 6th Grade in the Lake Highlands Learning Community
ALL 6th grade students and 5th grade students in the Lake Highlands Learning Community are tested in the fall to screen for possible placement in GT courses in Junior High or Middle School. Because students must only be tested once in a 12-month period, students who were tested in the preceding spring may not be tested until the following spring.
Testing will occur in November and placement result will be shared in January via Focus.
Current 7th-11th Grade
Referrals can be submitted year round via this link https://s.risd.org/risdgtparentreferral. Please have your student's ID and personal information on hand.
Testing occurs in the summer for placement in the fall. If needed, additional testing will be scheduled in the spring semester.
Summer 2024 Test Dates TBD
Results will be shared in August before school begins.
The Test
Ability testing is used to determine a student’s need for GT services in Richardson ISD. The test measures a student’s learned reasoning and problem-solving skills in 3 areas:
The verbal domain measures a student’s ability to remember and transform sequences of English words, to understand them and to make inferences and judgements about them.
The quantitative domain measures a student’s understanding to quantitative concepts and relationships.
The nonverbal domain measures reasoning using pictures and shapes. (This section reduces the impact of language on the student’s score.)
Each section is timed since fluency is a component of ability.
Student scores are reported in Standard Age Scores. This means the scores report how students performed on the test compared to others of the same age. Standard Age Score (SAS) is a normalized standard score, with a mean mean (average) of 100. The average range of these scores is 84-116, meaning the majority of students score within this range. Scores are reported for each domain of the test. Students who qualify for gifted services will have an SAS of 130 or more in an area.
Qualification
The following criteria will be used in qualifying for secondary gifted/talented services as follows:
Qualitative data
Teacher Referral Form- Teachers evaluate student behaviors and characteristics based on classroom observations.
Parent Referral Form- Parents/guardians complete a checklist of characteristics that are typical of gifted children.
Quantitative data
Verbal- 130 Standard Age Score to qualify for GT English Language Arts and/or GT Social Studies.
Quantitative- 130 Standard Age Score to qualify for GT Math, GT Science and/or GT Social Studies.
Nonverbal- 130 Standard Age Score to qualify for GT Science and/or GT Social Studies.
Note: RISD guarantees the continuation of gifted services for students identified during elementary services. In the event that one of those students does not qualify based on testing for secondary services, their service will continue in the curricular area of strength as determined by a district placement committee.
GT vs Standard Courses
The confusion between course levels and courses designated for G/T is a common one. The sheer number of options in courses in secondary is something of a change coming out of elementary where things aren’t quite as departmentalized as they are in junior high and in high school. The simplest explanation is to say that AP (or advanced, dual credit, OnRamps, etc.) is a designation that follows a course, while G/T is a designation that follows a student. A child must demonstrate a need for gifted services and must qualify for them, while any student can challenge themselves by enrolling in an AP course.
To serve our G/T kids in secondary, we group them in course sections designated for G/T students to meet their instructional needs. In high school, they are always cohorted in a college credit-bearing course if possible (AP, OnRamps, dual credit). What this means instructionally is that a G/T student is enrolled in an advanced academics course, but
instruction for the designated G/T section is differentiated to meet the unique learning process of G/T students. In this way, G/T kids are not unfairly benefited in terms of GPA or class ranking or any of that, but neither are they unfairly hindered in those things because they require instruction that is adaptive to the ways in which they learn differently from their non-G/T peers.
Junior High GT Course Opt Out
Rising 7th and 8th grade students who qualify for any GT course will be automatically enrolled in the course for the following year.
Letters for current 6th graders with this information are shared with families in December. Language in letter: “Your student will automatically be enrolled in these courses and must request to opt out if they choose not to take the course.”
Seventh grade families are provided a letter with the Opt Out information. It is preferable that students and/or families discuss this with the scheduling counselor.
Advanced Learning will coordinate with Student Data Services to ensure all students are enrolled in the correct courses. Advanced Learning will confirm these courses during the Course Verification period.
Jasmine Patel, Advanced Learning Specialist
GT3/GT Pullout Instructional Design and Resources
Symposium/Social-Emotional Learning
New Teacher Mentoring
GT Professional Learning
Coaching
Email: jasmine.patel@risd.org
Phone: 469-593-0782
Blake Bogus, Advanced Learning Specialist
Data Analysis Support
GT Professional Learning
Email: blake.bogus@risd.org
Phone: 469-593-0784