Nomination Process

The following information must be provided by the nominating person and given in its entirety to the gifted education teacher for submission to the Nomination Committee:

1. Completed Nomination Form including complete biographical information.
2. Photocopies of standardized testing history and most recent report card.
3. At least one existing sample of the student’s work.  Possibilities include story, play, script, poetry, report, journal, book, speech, artwork, performance, videotape, invention, Science Fair project, etc… Not a spelling test or math test. Something that shows evidence that the student has a need to be addressed.
4. Observations of the student using gifted behavior rating scales completed by an adult (three completed scales would be preferred) one of the scales must be completed by the nominating person, and in addition may be supported by self- and peer- nominations in which age appropriate forms will be provided and must be completed at school.  Parents are not allowed to complete a checklist.The rating scale that Floyd County Schools uses is the Gifted Rating Scale (GRS).

Referral Process

The Nomination Committee shall annually for nominations, to review the needs of students who have been nominated. The dates are as follows:

Nomination Deadline for 1st to 12th grades - November 4, 2011
Nomination Deadline for Kindergarten - February 1, 2012
Nomination Committee Meetings for 1st to12th grades:
November 18, 2011 for Middle and High Schools, and
November 14-18, 2012 for Elementary Schools
Nomination Committee Meetings for Kindergarten - February 29, 2012

Completed profiles of students should be submitted by the nomination deadline in order for the nomination to be considered for referral for gifted testing. Considerations made for 1-12 grades shall be for placement during the current school year at the next available grading period, while considerations made for kindergarten students shall be for placement beginning the following school year. Exceptions will be made for new students that have been identified gifted in another state and move in during the year, and exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Nomination Committee and Gifted Coordinator.

Once the Nomination Procedure is complete, the Nomination Committee will review a profile of the student through observational data, existing performance data, and/or standardized testing history to determine appropriate action based on evidence. The Nomination Committee will recommend one of the following three options on the Nomination Form:

• Referred for Evaluation (Consent to Evaluate)
  The student may be referred for formal evaluation. This decision is appropriate when the committee believes that collected information about the student shows a special need and warrants continuation of the referral process. The committee will notify parent and/or guardian in writing that the student has been recommended for consideration and will request consent to begin the formal evaluation. After consent is obtained, the formal evaluation will begin.
• Incomplete Information- more information will be needed (More information Notice)
  When the committee deems that collected information is insufficient to make a decision concerning formal evaluation, the committee may request that the nominating person supply a further piece of specific data. Examples of insufficient information include no testing history data, no recent report card, and/or no work sample.
• No referral (Non-referral Notice)
  The Committee will notify the nominating person in writing that the nomination does not show evidence of a need that needs to be addressed and does not warrant further consideration at the present time. This decision does not preclude the possibility of a student is being nominated again at a later date for referral.

Automatic Nomination/Referral Process

The automatic nomination process is an opportunity to consider potentially eligible students who might not otherwise be nominated and serves as an active child-find strategy. (Child-find process- is defined as a student gifted and talented search) This procedure is an important step in ensuring equal access to gifted programs and in broadening the range of child-find or student talent search activities. The criterion score chosen for the automatic nomination procedures has no effect on the acceptance of reported referrals, which may continue to be made. This is also considered for RTI and GPOI purposes-universal screening in Tier 1.

A student may be nominated “automatically” for gifted formal evaluation by the following criteria:

• 90% in Reading Total, Math Total and/or Core Total on State ITBS in grades 3, 5, and 8
• 90% on any nationally normed achievement test in any grades within two current years in Reading, Math, and or total composite.
• 96% total composite score on any nationally normed cognitive abilities test (IQ test) within two current years for grades 3 to 12 and 99% for total composite score for grades K-2 (If using multiple criteria- grades K-2 only need 96% on total composite score.

CRCT Test Scores, Writing Test Scores, or any other state tests that are not nationally normed may be used in the child-find process, but may not be used for eligibility or automatic nomination process. Teachers look at each school’s scores to determine a cut-off score that is appropriate for their school. The Dibbles test is another screening tool that can be utilized in the child-find process. The scores from these tests may be used in conjunction with other data that is gathered to determine if a student should be nominated for gifted testing.

Floyd County Schools Annual Child-Finds:

• Dibbles in Elementary Schools- Fall scores used for November Nominations and Spring Scores used for the next school year nominations.
• RCT for all students in grades 1 to 8 that exceeds expectations in math and/or reading. CRCT is given in May, scores will come back during post-planning- teachers will use those scores for the next school year nomination process.
• Writing Assessments for Grades 5 and 8 for students that exceed expectations. Teachers will use this information along with gathering information from the child’s teacher before proceeding with a nomination. This information is obtained in the spring; therefore scores will be used for nominations in the next school year.