As your child transitions back to school (or enters their exciting first year of academics), it’s vital to offer them the academic support they need in order to succeed–even more so if you suspect that your child might be gifted. Academic testing in Denver and throughout Colorado for gifted and talented aptitude first begins with identifying giftedness and meeting certain requirements before advanced classes can begin.
Intro to Gifted Academic Testing for Your Child
State law requires that all public and charter schools be able to identify and serve gifted and talented students between 5 and 21 years. However, in certain districts with a state-approved Early Access plan, students as young as 4 years old can undergo gifted academic testing.
Gifted and talented academic testing can help Denver students find their niche for engaged learning and encourage them to enjoy their education to the fullest. If your child demonstrates traits of gifted students, there are steps you and your child can take toward gifted identification under Colorado state law.
What to Know about Gifted and Talented Academic Testing in Denver
The process of gifted and talented academic testing for Denver students includes multiple steps. Below, you’ll find an outline of determining giftedness through testing.
Step 1: Referrals
Referrals from parents, teaches, and other figures in a child’s life are the first step of eligibility for giftedness determination. Once multiple types of referrals from multiple sources have been submitted multiple times, the school district has 30 days maximum to determine the next steps in the process, such as building a body of evidence establishing the child’s giftedness.
Step 2: Testing
Specific academic aptitude pathways cover subjects such as reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and world language. Students with a 95 percentile or above score may be gifted in 1 or more subjects, though a score under this percentile on a single assessment doesn’t disqualify a student from gifted identification. Students without this score can still prove their giftedness through strengthened academics over time.
Specific talent aptitude measures talent surpassing typical same-age peers in subjects such as visual arts, performing arts, music, dance, psychomotor, creativity, and leadership.
In both specific academic aptitude and specific talent aptitude, each subject requires 3 pieces of supporting evidence. The school district determines the gifted academic testing ability score for Denver students; private assessments are not accepted in place of a district’s giftedness assessment but can be used as a body of evidence in support of the assessment.
Step 3: Determination and ALP
After, a review team trained in gifted identification reviews the evidence and gifted academic testing, determining the Denver student’s gifted status and informing the parents and school. If the child is gifted, an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) is developed to fulfill their academic needs.
Contact Us to Learn More about Gifted and Talented Academic
If you have questions about giftedness aptitude or are interested in learning more gifted and talented testing in Denver, please contact our office. We would be than happy to provide you with additional information or help you schedule an appointment.