Each spring, the identification/placement teams at the elementary, middle, and high schools review multiple sources of data to determine the best placement for current AIG students the next year and to consider new AIG placements for the upcoming school year. No student is exited from the program unless it is requested by the parent. Any parent, teacher, student, or community member who has academic knowledge of a student can submit a student's name to the school's Instructional Coach for possible consideration as placement in the AIG Program. In order for a student to be placed in the Rockingham County Schools' Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Program, placement criteria must be met. 

Rockingham County Schools has developed a screening and referral process that leads to informal or formal AIG identification at all grade levels. 

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Grades K-3 Screening and Referral
Classroom teachers in grades K-2 refer students they have observed who perform at an advanced level in reading and/or math to the Identification/Placement (I/P) team for talent development.  Once students are referred to the team, teachers must collect observational data using our district's K-2 Observational Inventory that was adapted from the work of Dr. Paul Slocumb and Dr. Ruby Payne in Removing the Math: Giftedness in Poverty.  Students that score in the range of 45-52 on the observational inventory and are performing a year above grade level on universal screeners for reading and/or math are considered for talent development. Student work samples are also considered when making decisions about talent placement.  These students are reviewed on a yearly basis by the I/P team.

All students in grade 3 are screened in December for formal placement using the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT).  Any student that scores in the 85th percentile or higher on the verbal, quantitative, nonverbal and/or the verbal or quantitative partial composite are placed by the I/P team in a pool that would indicate possible identification.  If a student in the pool scores in the 85th percentile or higher on the reading or math End of Grade Test, they are then referred for formal identification. Any student that scores in the 90th percentile or higher on the verbal, quantitative, nonverbal and/or the verbal or quantitative partial composite on the CogAT is referred by the school’s I/P team for formal identification in reading and/or math. 

 

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Grades 4-7 Screening and Referral
Students in grades 4 - 7 may be referred to the I/P team for possible AIG placement by administrators, parents, students, or teachers.  Once a student is referred, the I/P team will review reading and math EOG data and CogAT scores from previous years. If a student has not previously taken a CogAT, and has additional data that could support a possible AIG placement, then he/she will be administered the CogAT.  If the I/P team finds that the student has scored in the 90th percentile or higher on a past aptitude or achievement test, then they will refer the student for formal placement in reading and/or math.

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Grades 8-13 Screening and Referral
Students in grades 8 - 13 may be referred to the I/P team for possible AIG placement by administrators, parents, students, or teachers.  The I/P team will meet at least once per semester to review data and discuss any new possible placements. Annual end-of-grade test results in 8th grade and end-of-course test results at 8th grade and at the high school level will be reviewed as possible entry points for students in grades 8-13.  The I/P team can request that a student be administered the CogAT every two years and results at these grade levels can be utilized to identify academically and/or intellectually gifted students in the areas of reading and/or math. SAT/PSAT or ACT/PACT is also used as a way to screen students for possible placement.  If the I/P team finds that the student has scored in the 90th percentile or higher on any test, then they will refer the student for formal placement in reading and/or math.

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