A Comprehensive Guidebook For Identifying and Educating Gifted Students In West Virginia West Virginia Department of Education Purpose and Acknowledgements Reaching and Teaching culminates the work of a task force charged to produce a document that could be used by new and veteran teachers of gifted students and by regular educators to identify and teach gifted students in West Virginia. The following educators are to be commended for their input and many hours of dedicated work. Without their contributions, this document could not have been written. Carrie Bledsoe, Fayette County Schools Joann Bragg, Kanawha County Schools Pamela Goots, Wood County Schools Janet Gould, Hampshire County Schools Angela Madia, Harrison County Schools Dr. Edwina Pendarvis, Marshall University Cheryl Plear, Kanawha County Schools Debbie Super, Randolph County Schools Charles Szasz, Kanawha County Schools Special thanks to the WVDE print shop staff And To Betty Toney Hartsog, Educational Consultant West Virginia Department of Education Cheryl Allen Keffer, Coordinator of Gifted Education Dr. Dee Braley, Executive Director, Office of Special Education IDENTIFICATION TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ...................................................................................................................1/44 Identification Process At A glance .............................................................................2/44 Rationale .......................................................................................................................3/44 Excerpt from Policy 2419 ............................................................................................5/44 Pre-Referral Strategies ...............................................................................................9/44 Gifted Behaviors .........................................................................................................10/44 Historically Underrepresented Population ..............................................................11/44 Bright Or Gifted? ........................................................................................................14/44 Student Assistance Team .........................................................................................14/44 Commonly Used Assessment Instruments ............................................................18/44 Determining Eligibility ................................................................................................20/44 The Diversity of the Gifted ........................................................................................21/44 Special Considerations .............................................................................................22/44 Gifted Underachievers ..............................................................................................25/44 Twice Exceptional Students .....................................................................................27/44 Specially Designed Instruction .................................................................................31/44 The IEP Team ............................................................................................................34/44 PLEPs ..........................................................................................................................35/44 Measurable Annual Goals ........................................................................................37/44 Short-Term Objectives ..............................................................................................39/44 Continuum of Services ..............................................................................................40/44 Eighth-Grade Re-Evaluation and Four-Year Plan ................................................41/44 Exceptional Gifted ......................................................................................................43/44 Reaching and Teaching 2003 Requiring adequate yearly progress for all students, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) reinforces the need for effective teaching and Introduction learning opportunities that challenge students in America’s schools. Among the educators of gifted children, however, there is a growing concern that we are not effectively developing potential in our most able students. West Virginia’s plan for implementing NCLB requires adequate yearly progress for all students, implying also that “No Child Shall Be Held Back.” Purpose Society in general has not given the attention to the gifted population as it has other special groups. As a result, children of superior intellect may spend their time in a commonplace classroom, assimilating a cur- ricular diet far below their potential. Gifted students who are not identi- fied and served with gifted services are not likely to ever have their needs fully met while in school (Sousa, p.6) Reaching and Teaching has been written to provide direction, guid- Scope ance and resources for classroom teachers, gifted facilitators, related services staff and administrators so that we might better serve the gifts of all students. This user-friendly manual is a complement to Pol- icy 2419: Regulations for the Education of Exceptional Students. To- gether, the documents can be used to ensure that students demon- strating giftedness receive appropriate services. The information in the manual has been compiled to follow the steps delineated in Policy 2419 for conducting child-find activities and appro- priately serving students with extraordinary abilities who demonstrate the need for specially designed instruction. This process begins with general education interventions and continues through initial evalua- Legal tion, developing an effective IEP and determining services and deliv- Foundation ery model to meet the student’s documented needs. Gifted children in West Virginia are served through Special Education and identified in state regulations as “Exceptional.” The manual will refer to legal foundations regarding West Virginia’s implementation of Expectations the 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 97). Parents of gifted learners in West Virginia have a right to expect that schools will fulfill the promise made that children will have consistent and daily opportunities for challenging learning ex- periences and will demonstrate continuous forward progress in their learning. This manual is an effort to help schools design educa- tional opportunities that will keep that promise for advanced learners. Research-based concepts presented in this manual can set the stage to allow children in West Virginia to demonstrate their gifted behaviors. IDENTIFICATION Page 1/44 Reaching and Teaching 2003 The following flow chart takes the identification process from Regular Education intervention through development of the Individualized Edu- Identification cation Program (IEP). The sub-sections of each of the flow chart com- ponents will be placed before the narrative of each process step. Process At A Glance Chart 1.1 REGULAR EDUCATION INTERVENTION STEP I STUDENT ASSISTANCE TEAM (SAT) STEP II MULTIDISCIPLINARY EVALUATION TEAM (MDET) STEP III ELIGIBILITY COMMITTEE (EC) STEP IV INDIVIDUALIZED SAT EDUCATION PROGRAM (IEP) TEAM The first chapter also discusses the following areas: Definition of gifted, pre-referral, charac- teristics of gifted, historically underrepresented, assessment instruments, determining eligi- bility, and writing the IEP. Subsequent chapters will discuss delivery models and instructional practices. This book has a resource section that offers the users a glossary of terms, frequently asked questions, re- sources for mi plementation and training and a selection of informative articles, including sections on Brain Compatible Learning, Cooperative Structures, other up-to-date teaching strategies and a carefully selected bibliography. Each local school district will also receive training and a manual for staff development in gifted pedagogy in the regular classroom. IDENTIFICATION Page 2/44 Reaching and Teaching 2003 “There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequals.” Rationale —Felix Frankfurter U.S. Supreme Court Justice The concept of equal educational opportunity extends to all chil- Developing dren, including those identified as gifted, and in West Virginia, provi- Potential sions are made to enable each child to move toward his/her high po- tential. Equal educational opportunity means providing meaningful opportunities for that development. It does not mean providing the same education for every child, since true equality is providing equal opportunity to benefit from education according to ability. Using the same methods and materials for all children is not providing equal educational opportunity. Expectations for learning for gifted students should be set at high levels, since a student with high ability may not reach his/her potential if required to perform at exactly the same level of other students. In the present social, political, and educational systems based upon democratic principles, there is an unacceptable tendency among “anti- elitists” to refuse to provide gifted children the right to an educational opportunity appropriate to their level of development. Those who as- sume that one level of educational opportunity meets the needs of all students are both unfair and uninformed. To be fair, schools must pro- vide for all children a variety of learning opportunities at different and appropriate levels. Consequences Of Not When entering the educational system, many gifted children have al- Addressing ready developed the basic skills other students have yet to be taught. Their ideas and interests may be very different from those of their age Giftedness peers, and they may begin to develop a sense of isolation or feel dif- ferent from others. If their educational needs are being ignored while the teacher is “catching up” with other students, many students with giftedness fail to achieve their potential, set low goals, and achieve at levels significantly lower than their intellectual capability. Without ac- cess to special resources and intensive instruction early in their edu- cational experience, the highly gifted are at risk for under achieve- ment. Impact Of Gifted and talented students develop a sense of competence and self-confidence when they are provided services designated to meet Programming their unique needs. Students with giftedness who receive special ser- vices tend to make significant gains in achievement, learning to work more effectively and efficiently and to develop strong problem-solv- ing skills. These students absorb a vast amount of information and utilize this knowledge to produce a variety of possible solutions. They become producers of knowledge and ideas — not just consumers. IDENTIFICATION Page 3/44 Reaching and Teaching 2003 Loss of talent through educational neglect can be a tragic waste for both the individual and society. Students who are gifted and tal- ented, because of their zeal to share knowledge and understand- Valuing ing gained with others and with the world, can benefit society by Giftedness solving a range of complex problems facing humanity today. So- ciety needs these gifted individuals and should expect much from them (Smutney 2003). As adults, today’s gifted students will be needed to play more de- manding and innovative roles as humanity faces future complex prob- lems. Leaders, problem solvers, and complex thinkers are vital for so- ciety’s progress in this millennium. The United States Congress recog- nized the value of these talented individuals in a declaration made in 1972 (P.L.I 95-561, Title IX, Part A, Section 901): “The Nation’s greatest resource for solving critical national prob- lems in areas of national concern is its gifted and talented chil- dren. Unless the special abilities of gifted and talented children Congressional are developed during their elementary and secondary school Declaration years, their special potential for assisting the Nation may be lost. Furthermore, gifted and talented children from economically dis- advantaged families and areas are often not afforded the oppor- tunity to fulfill their special and valuable potential, due to inade- quate or inappropriate educational services.” Because many students with giftedness do not continue to achieve without attention to their unique educational needs, the losses of indi- vidual potential and the benefits of gifted services are difficult to calcu- Gallagher late. James Gallagher wrote in 1978, “...failure to help the gifted child reach his potential is a societal tragedy, the extent of which is difficult to measure but which is surely great. How can we measure the sonata unwritten, the curative drug undiscovered, the absence of political in- sight? They are the difference between what we are and what we could be as a society.” (Adapted from work by Kansas State Depart- ment of Education, 2001) IDENTIFICATION Page 4/44 Reaching and Teaching 2003 Historically, giftedness has been defined as children and youth who are identified at the preschool, elementary, or secondary level as pos- Federal sessing demonstrated or potential abilities that give evidence of high Definition performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, specific academic, or leadership ability, or in the performing and visual arts and who by reason thereof, require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school. (Gifted and Talented Children’s Education Act of 1978, Section 902) West Virginia state Department of education Policy 2419: Regulation State for the Education of Exceptional Students defines giftedness and de- lineates the criteria for eligibility. Gifted students are served in grades Definition/ 1-8; Exceptional Gifted students are served in grades 9-12. For refer- Policy 2419 ence, the regulations pertaining to gifted education (pages 14-15 in the policy) are reprinted on pages 5-7 of this document. They are followed by a discussion of the elements of the regulations. Policy 2419: Regulations for the Education of Exceptional Students A. Giftedness is exceptional intellectual abilities that are evidence of outstanding capability and require specially designed instruction and/ or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school pro- gram. Ability B. For Gifted students, grades one (1) through eight (8), documenta- tion that a student meets both of the following: (a) Intellectual Ability (A) General intellectual ability, a full scale score of 2.0 or more standard deviations above the mean on a comprehensive test of intel- lectual ability, with consideration of 1.0 standard error of measurement Achievement at the 68% confidence interval, and (b) Achievement/Performance (A) At least one area of academic achievement as measured by an individual standardized achievement test, indicating that the student requires specially designed instruction in one or more of the four (4) core curriculum areas; or Classroom (B) At least one area of classroom performance, as determined Performance during the multidisciplinary evaluation, indicating that the student requires specially designed instruction in one or more of the four (4) core curriculum areas. C. For exceptional gifted, grades 9 through 12, documentation that a student meets the eligibility criteria for gifted and one or more of the following: (a) the eligibility criteria for one or more of the disabilities as defined in this section; and/or IDENTIFICATION Page 5/44 Reaching and Teaching 2003 Policy 2419 (b) the definition for economically disadvantaged: and/or continued Student whose family income meets the federal guidelines for reduced or free school lunch (glossary) Grades 9-12 ( c ) the definition for underachieving, which takes into consid- Exceptional eration the student’s ability level, educational performance and Gifted achievement levels; and/or Academic achievement and/or classroom performance that is significantly discrepant with the student’s intellectual ability documented by the student’s educational record (glossary) ( d ) the definition for psychological adjustment disordered as documented by a comprehensive psychological evaluation. Having significant emotional or behavioral symptoms that adversely affect a student’s educational performance, documented by a comprehensive psychological evaluation (glossary) Special D. Special Considerations Considerations When a student is being considered for eligibility based upon an ability For Eligibility score that falls within the minus range of 1.0 standard error or meas- urement, at 2.0 standard deviations above the mean, the Eligibility Committee shall document that the student has the potential to achieve or perform at a level expected of a student scoring 2.0 stan- dard deviations above the mean. Historically Under- If determined that the eligibility criteria and/or assessment instruments represented discriminate against a student because the student belongs to an his- torically under-represented gifted population, eligibility for gifted ser- vices shall be based upon criteria that complement the definition and eligibility for gifted as described in this policy. To determine whether a student demonstrates the potential for intellectual giftedness, absent a definitive cognitive measurement that meets the traditional eligibility criteria, the eligibility committee must consider all data gathered by the multidisciplinary evaluation team. These date include, but are not lim- ited to, individual achievement, group achievement, classroom per- formance, teacher input, inventories, scales, checklists, student prod- ucts(s) and parent information. IDENTIFICATION Page 6/44 Reaching and Teaching 2003 Policy 2419 Before the end of the eighth grade year, the EC shall review the evaluation data for each identified gifted student to determine eligibility continued as an exceptional gifted student in grades 9-12. The records for each eighth grade student are then referred to the IEP team. 8th-Grade If the student is eligible as exceptional gifted, the IEP team shall de- velop an IEP. If the student is not eligible as exceptional gifted, the Review IEP team shall write a four-year plan that appropriately addresses the student’s educational needs. Including honors/advanced education, when appropriate. The implementation and annual review of this plan IEP/4-Year are required by the public agency. The review team shall include the student, parent, school counselor, and building administrator. Plan Should This Butterfly Have Been Kept In A Cocoon? “The remainder of my schooldays were no more auspicious than the first. Indeed, they were an endless Project that slowly evolved into a Unit...As for me, I knew nothing except what I gathered from Time magazine and reading everything I could lay hands on at home, but inched sluggishly along the treadmill of the Maycomb County school system. I could not help receiving the impression that I was being cheated out of something. Out of what, I knew not, yet I did not believe that twelve years of unrelieved boredom was exactly what the state had in mind for me.” — Scout Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, after being reprimanded by her teacher for knowing how to read and write when she entered first grade. IDENTIFICATION Page 7/44