Gifted Services FAQ

CSD has a three-step process before gifted evaluation: Recommendation, Review, and Referral. The first step is to recommend the student for gifted review. A parent, teacher, staff member, or student can recommend a student for review. If you would like to recommend a student, please click here to print our Recommendation for Review form or ask your school's gifted specialist for a copy. Recommendation forms must be submitted to the school's gifted specialist prior to Wednesday, October 2.  

During Gifted Review, the Gifted Specialist at each school will determine which recommended students do not have CogAT results current within two years. These students will take the CogAT as screening prior to the Gifted Review. If a student already has CogAT results current within two years, then those scores will be used for Gifted Review purposes and an additional CogAT will not be given.

The school Gifted Specialist and the Director of Instructional Programs will review all recommended students to determine which students meet the criteria for further evaluation. The criteria for further gifted evaluation are EITHER a CogAT component or composite score at or above 96^th percentile AND/OR three standardized achievement scores (MAP, STAR, etc.) at or above 90^th percentile in math or reading (all three scores must be in the same subject) within the last two years. If a student is referred for further gifted evaluation, parents must sign a consent to evaluate before evaluation can take place.

Parents, teachers, staff, and students can recommend students for gifted review. Only one recommendation is required for a student to be reviewed. Please do not ask your student's teacher to recommend your student. If you are unsure of whether your student's teacher is recommending your student, and you would like for your student to be reviewed, then please submit a parent recommendation.

Yes, but a decision-making team consisting of the regular education teacher, gifted specialist, and parents must meet to discuss interventions and modifications in the regular classroom prior to recommending a student in kindergarten for a gifted evaluation. Kindergartners will be referred for gifted evaluation only after all the following have occurred:

1. Parents/guardians have a discussion with the kindergarten teacher about the student's needs.

2. Teachers implement interventions/modifications in the regular classroom to address the student's needs, if applicable.

3. Progress monitoring data is collected on specific skills that have been identified for intervention.

4. The decision-making team meets to further support the student. The decision-making team will recommend an evaluation if appropriate and needed.

If a student has a current CogAT score (less than two years old) at or above the 96th percentile, and their most recent MAP or STAR reading or math score is at or above the 90th percentile, then they already have evidence of potential in two areas and will automatically be referred for a full gifted evaluation without additional recommendation or review. Parents will be contacted and asked to sign consent for a gifted evaluation prior to starting the evaluation.

If your child was in a Georgia public school last year and/or the year before:

• Please submit a copy of your child’s State of Georgia gifted eligibility report to Christen Gibbons, District Gifted & Talented Coordinator, at cgibbons@csdecatur.net or 125 Electric Ave., Decatur, GA 30030.
• The Gifted & Talented Coordinator will confirm your child’s eligibility within our state record system and send you a consent form to place your child in our gifted program. Please send this form back as soon as possible so that we can indicate your child’s gifted status in our school system.

If your child was previously identified as gifted by a Georgia public school, but your child was in a private school or homeschooled for more than one year:

• If your previous eligibility form or testing data is older than two years, your child will need to be reassessed. Please contact Christen Gibbons, District Gifted & Talented Coordinator, at cgibbons@csdecatur.net or 125 Electric Ave., Decatur, GA 30030.

Students who are referred for evaluation will be evaluated only after written parental consent is obtained. Further data collection or assessment may be needed in the areas of mental ability, achievement, creativity, and/or motivation. To determine eligibility, test scores must be current within two calendar years. The most recent scores will be used. If new scores become available during the evaluation process, those scores will be used (ex: if your student is undergoing gifted evaluation in December, then December STAR scores will be used rather than previous August STAR scores). 

No student will be evaluated more than once in a two-year period, as test scores are valid for two years. Additionally, because we do not want to discourage our high-achieving students or have them engage in repeated testing for the purpose of gifted identification, a child may be evaluated to consider gifted eligibility a maximum of three times over their K-12 school career in CSD.  Exceptions will be made only upon the recommendation of the district-wide appeal committee. Children from demographic groups currently underrepresented in the gifted program may be evaluated one additional time.

A student may qualify for gifted services in Georgia under the following conditions:

a. Scores at the 99th percentile (K-2) or at or above the 96th percentile (grades 3-12) on the overall composite or full-scale score of a mental ability test AND at or above the 90th percentile on the total battery, total math or total reading section of an achievement test, OR

b. Meets multiple criteria in any three of the four areas evaluated in Georgia: mental ability (at or above 96th percentile), achievement (at or above 90th percentile), creativity (at or above 90th percentile), or motivation (at or above 90th percentile).

After system-wide testing (CogAT in grades 1, 3, and 6, STAR in K-12), has been completed in the fall semester, the gifted specialist or gifted coordinator will review current standardized test scores on file to identify students who are automatically eligible for the gifted program by scoring at the 99th percentile (K-2) or at or above the 96th percentile (grades 3-12) on the overall composite or full-scale score of a standardized mental ability test using age norms and at or above the 90th percentile on the total battery, total reading or total math section of an achievement test. The gifted coordinator will notify parents of students who are automatically eligible and will request signed consent to serve the student in the gifted program and to obtain rating scale data for the student in the areas of creativity and motivation. Creativity and motivation data will be for informational purposes only in order to complete a state eligibility form.

a. If Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) data from system-wide testing (grades 1, 3, 6) is less than two calendar years old, those scores will be used.

b. If the CogAT or other provided mental ability testing data is more than two years old, another CogAT will be administered as part of the screening process prior to referral for evaluation.

c. If a student undergoing gifted review or gifted evaluation has testing accommodations documented in a 504 or IEP that cannot be met in system-wide CogAT administration, an individual test of mental ability will be administered by a psychologist (e.g. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fifth Edition (WISC-V)).

d. If the student is from a currently underrepresented population in gifted education in City Schools of Decatur, and the student demonstrates evidence of strength in nonverbal skills, a test of nonverbal intelligence (e.g. TONI-4 or UNIT-2) may be used as a second measure of mental ability.

e. If a student scores between the 93rd-95th percentiles on a first measure of mental ability, and if the student has qualifying scores in at least two other areas of eligibility (achievement, creativity, and/or motivation), then a second measure of mental ability will be given (such as CogAT 7 or 8, WISC-V, or TONI-4, dependent on student’s first measure).

f. Scores at the 99th percentile rank (K-2) or at or above the 96th percentile rank (3-12) on the composite or full-scale score of a mental ability test are qualifying scores.  Also, if a student meets multiple criteria in any three of the four areas, a mental ability component score at or above 96th percentile rank is a qualifying score (K-12).

If eligible for gifted services, the student will be placed at the next appropriate grading period. Placement in the middle of a grading period may only occur when entering the class at that time is desirable in light of evaluation and scheduling. If mid-semester placement will be disruptive to the student or the class, placement of the student will occur at the next appropriate grading period.

Identified students with parental consent will receive a minimum of five segments of gifted service per week or the yearly equivalent. Service models in CSD currently include Resource service (grades K-8), Cluster Model (grades K-10), Advanced Content/Honors courses (grades 6-12), Directed Study (grades 9-12), and Advanced Placement and IB Diploma Program courses (grades 10-12). Service is need-based, so not every student will participate in every service delivery model.

Efforts will be made to match student's learning needs and interests (as documented by assessment results) to available programming options. Please refer to your child's service notification form and the school's gifted brochure or website of services for information specific to your child. These documents are sent home during the first term of the school year. If you have additional questions, please contact your school's gifted specialist or gifted lead teacher.

If you have specific questions about gifted services at your child's school, please contact the appropriate gifted specialist (K-12) or gifted lead teacher (9-12) for the school. Gifted contacts are found on the right side of this webpage.

A student may continue in the program if the student meets the following criteria at the end of each school year:

ELEMENTARY (K-5):

1. A student must meet ONE of the following criteria:

1. Achieve a grade of Satisfactory on the end-of-year gifted resource report card, or

2. Achieve a grade of Exceeds in at least one subject area in which the student is receiving gifted service on the final report card 

MIDDLE (6-8):

1. A student must meet ONE of the following criteria:

1. Achieve a final grade of A or B (80-100) in Gifted Resource Connections (if taken), or

2. Achieve a final grade of an A or B (80-100) in an Honors course on the final report card, or

3. Achieve a final grade of an A (90-100) in a general-level course in which the student is receiving gifted service on the final report card

HIGH (9-12):

1. A student must meet ONE of the following criteria:

1. Achieve a final grade of an A or B (80-100) in an Honors, AP, or IBDP course on the final report card, or

2. Achieve a final grade of an A (90-100) in a general-level course in which the student is receiving gifted service on the final report card

If a student does not meet continuation criteria at the end of the school year, the parent will be notified that the student will be placed on probation for one year. During that probationary period, the gifted program teacher and regular education teachers will develop an Academic Improvement Plan (AIP) in conjunction with the student and parents.

If after one semester on probation the student is not demonstrating improvement (e.g., growth in STAR testing, grades improving, effort improving), then a conference will be held to put additional interventions in place. A student must demonstrate improvement by the end of the year to remain in the gifted program. If after one year, the student on probation does not demonstrate improvement, that student will not continue in the gifted program.  As long as growth is evident, the AIP and probation in the gifted program may be continued. The student will be reinstated into the gifted program in good standing once he/she meets the requirements of the regular continuation policy.