Goshen Community Schools

Goshen Community Schools’ identification process begins in Kindergarten and continues through 5th Grade. There are different assessments done throughout the year per grade. Below is a monthly timeline showing what assessments are given per grade.

Goshen Community Schools is committed to including all students in the identification process. The goal of our high-ability identification process is to use a multifaceted identification process to identify students who match Indiana’s definition of a high-ability student.

Goshen Community Schools recognizes that some students perform at, or show the potential to perform at, an outstanding level of accomplishment in the core academic areas of language arts and mathematics. These students are found in all socio-economic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds, and the school district recognizes the need to identify such students through systematic, ongoing procedures.

High Ability Identification Timeline

Goshen Community Schools identifies High Ability learners through the use of multiple layers of data sources.

• Mid-November: All parent and school requests for testing are due. Paperwork must be submitted to the school counselor before consideration for testing. The form can be found at this link.
• Late November- early December:  Students scoring in the 80th percentile or better on the Fall NWEA are allowed to participate in the CogAT screener in grades  2, 4, and 6.
• Mid-December: Students scoring 85% or above on the Screener are given the post-screener.
• Early February: All Kindergarten students are given the CogAt assessment.
• Mid-March: Results from all testing will be evaluated by a multi-faceted corporation-level identification team.  (Teachers, Administrators, EL Director)
• At times, student identification warrants further examination of the data, and then parents and teachers are asked to complete a Scale for Identifying Gifted Students (SIGS) identification committee.  All data points are then combined to complete the identification.
• Mid-April: Parents and/or guardians will be notified of the identification results by letter.
• Mid-April – April 28: Appeals process initiated with completion by  April 28. If a child is not identified, then the parents can request and appeal the decision. The appeals packet is below.

Appeals Process

Appeals Packet

The following assessments are used in the identification process.

• NWEA

  Measures academic progress by providing essential information about a student’s continuum of learning and growth trajectory. It is a tool to help identify strengths and opportunities and focus instruction on the areas of greatest need.

• Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)

  Measures learned reasoning and problem-solving skills in three different areas: verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal.

  • CogAT Screener – is a screening test that is a shorter version of the full CogAT test and is used with other achievement measures to inform decisions about placement in advanced coursework. The CogAT Screening Form provides a composite score based on one subtest from each of the three cognitive domains, Verbal, Quantitative and Non-verbal reasoning. Scores for the individual domain areas are not calculated for the CogAT Screening Form.
  • CogAT Full Battery– includes the same three domains as the Screening Form, Verbal, Quantitative and Non-verbal reasoning. However, on the Full Battery, students take three subtests in each domain instead of just one per domain on the Screening Form. Results from the CogAT Full Battery test are used with other achievement measures to inform decisions about placement in advanced coursework. The CogAT Full Battery test provides an overall composite score of general reasoning abilities and a score for each of the three-domain areas.

• World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA-Access)

  A secure, large-scale English language proficiency assessment administered to Kindergarten through 12th-grade students who have been identified as English language learners (ELLs).  WIDA generates information that assists in determining whether ELLs have attained the language proficiency needed to participate meaningfully in content area classrooms without program support.

• ILEARN

  Statewide testing process to show academic achievement and growth.

The purpose of this procedure is to try to help a struggling high-ability student be successful in the high-ability programming that is offered. As a last resort, the high-ability program can be removed or revised if the student is not finding success in the current program. 

The request for consideration of exiting a student from high-ability programming can be initiated by parents, guardians, students, teachers, or school administrators. Before exiting a student, appropriate individuals must first develop a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) intervention plan, which must include the following steps to support the student:

1. Arrange a conference with the parties involved, including the parent, administrator, and the teacher providing services. This conference may be a telephone conference. 
2. Together, parents, students, teachers, and administrators examine issues of concern and discuss interventions that may be implemented. All efforts should be made to work together to identify the problem areas and to address these areas with a plan. 
3. Participants agree on an MTSS plan for not less than one semester to implement interventions. If a student has an IEP or 504 plan currently in place, these should be considered when drafting the MTSS plan. 
4. At the end of the MTSS timeline established in #3, the parent, student, teacher, and administrator meet to review progress and determine whether or not the student is finding success in their current service placement. At this time, the group can decide to extend the plan for a longer period of time or proceed to #5. 
5. If an exit is deemed appropriate from a consensus of the committee, the parent signs permission to remove the student from their current high-ability placement and services. The child remains identified as having high ability. This process is used to find the appropriate service model. 
6. Parent permission for exit and documentation of meetings/interviews are sent to the district high-ability coordinator.

High Ability Exit Request for Consideration Form

Parent Resources

The following are resource links to information that can assist parents and students in the High Ability program:

• Ball State Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development has a mission of “meeting the needs of gifted and talented students, their teachers, their schools and administrators, their parents, and their larger communities through enrichment programming, professional development, parent seminars, and research activities designed to improve educational programs and create a better understanding of the needs of gifted and talented individuals.”
• Davidson Institute helps support profoundly gifted children.
• Gifts for Learning is a blog about gifted children and the places to find books and toys, supporting their emotional needs, educational tips, and more.
• National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) is a program whose staff and leaders ” support and develop policies and practices that encourage and respond to the diverse expressions of gifts and talents in children and youth from all cultures, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and socioeconomic groups. NAGC supports and engages in research and development, staff development, advocacy, communication, and collaboration with other organizations and agencies who strive to improve the quality of education for all students.”