To be eligible for gifted education services, a student must meet criteria in any three of the following areas: mental ability, achievement, creativity, or motivation. A student must meet the criterion score on a nationally normed test and have observational data collected on his or her performance. Information shall be collected for each of the four areas of eligibility. Data used to establish eligibility in one area shall not be used to establish eligibility in another area. Test scores used to establish eligibility shall be current within two calendar years. A student must either (a) score at the 99th percentile (for grades K-2) or the 96th percentile (for grades 3-12) on the composite or full scale score of a standardized test of mental ability and meet the achievement criteria defined below, or (b) qualify through a multiple criteria assessment process by meeting the criteria in any three of the following four areas: mental ability, achievement, creativity, or motivation.
1. Mental Ability
a. Mental ability tests shall be the most current editions of published tests that measure intelligence or cognitive ability. The tests that are used must have been reviewed for bias regarding race, sex, color, national origin, or handicap. Group tests must have been normed within a 10-year period prior to administration on a nationally representative sample that included minority representation. These tests shall also yield percentile rankings by age;
b. Mental ability tests that were designed to be administered individually must be administered by a qualified psychological examiner. (See Rule 160-4-7-11 Qualified Psychological Examiner);
c. The Cognitive Abilities Tests will be used in kindergarten through high school grades. The C-Toni will be used to retest students ages seven years through high school when appropriate; and
d. A student may be retested if the student scored within the standard error of measurement for his/her age on the mental ability instrument or if the student scored above the 90th percentile on the mental ability instrument and:
1. Is handicapped;
2. Is economically disadvantaged;
3. Is culturally different; or
4. There are documented compelling reasons such as poor personal health, family crisis, etc., that strongly suggest the obtained score is an underestimate of the student’s ability.
2. Achievement
Students shall score > 90th percentile on the total battery, math or reading section(s) of standardized achievement tests. Standardized achievement tests shall be the most current editions of tests that measure reading, including comprehension, and shall give a total reading score or total mathematics score based upon a combination of scores in math concepts and applications. These tests shall have been reviewed for bias and normed on a nationally representative sample that included minority representation within a 10-year period prior to administration. These tests shall also yield percentile rankings by age. Achievement will be measured by the norm-referenced tests that are approved by the Camden County School System and/or the Woodcock Johnson III. When the Woodcock Johnson III is used, the Letter Word Identification, Passage Comprehension, and Reading Fluency subtests will be used to measure reading. The Calculation, Applied Problems, and Math Fluency subtests will be used to measure mathematics.
3. Creativity
a. A student shall score > 90th percentile on a scale of 1-100 on the total score using standardized creativity characteristic(s) rating scales or superior rating > 90th percentile on a standardized creativity test. Only one rating scale may be used to qualify for gifted services;
b. A Teacher must teach a student at least twenty (20) school days before completing a rating scale;
c. Students in grades 6-12 must be rated by a panel of three or more professionals; and
d. Students in grades K-5 must be rated by a panel of raters selected in the order listed below. The composition of the panel will be based on the number of professionals who teach the student and the presence of a paraprofessional in the student’s classroom.
1. Two or more professionals;
2. One professional, one paraprofessional, and a parent; or
3. One professional and a parent.
4. Motivation
a. A student in grades K-5 must receive a superior rating on a standardized motivational characteristics rating scale (score > 90 on a scale of 1-100) by a panel of two or more professionals;
b. A student in grades 6-12 must have a grade point average (GPA) of > 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, where a 4.0=A and 3.0=B; using an average of grades from the regular school program over the previous two school years (GPA > 93 @ 9th-12th, GPA > 94 @ 6th-8th, GPA > 95 @ 3rd-5th);
c. A teacher must teach a student for at least twenty (20) school days before completing a rating scale;
d. Behavior rating scales used to determine student motivation shall relate to the construct of motivation and differentiate levels such that judgments equivalent to the 90th percentile are possible;
e. Grade point averages of students are determined by calculating the grades earned during the two years prior to evaluation in the subjects of mathematics, science, language arts, social studies, and foreign language, if such language study is included in the student’s records; and
f. Only one rating scale may be used to qualify for gifted services.
Assessment data that were gathered and analyzed by a source outside the student’s school system must be considered as part of the nomination and evaluation process. However, these outside data shall not be substituted for data the school generates during the testing/evaluation process and may never be the sole source of assessment data. Outside data will never be used exclusively to determine eligibility for gifted program services. That test data may be used as part of a comprehensive profile of test and non-test evidence of advanced instructional needs. If outside test data are used to help establish students’ eligibility, the local board of education will collect and maintain statistical data that will be reported to the Georgia Department of Education to evaluate the impact of this practice on the identification of gifted students from all ethnic and socioeconomic groups.