Secondary Gifted Services
Secondary students in grades 7-12 (6-12 in the Lake Highlands Learning Community (LHLC)) may be assessed for qualification for secondary gifted services. These services include GT clustered sections of Advanced, AP (high school only), or OnRamps (high school only) courses in English language arts, social studies, math, and science as available. While the GT sections of these courses follow the same scope and sequence as other Advanced, AP, or OnRamps courses in the district, instruction within those sections is delivered using instructional techniques best suited to GT learners.
Placement Process
Rising 7th Grade (6th Grade in the Lake Highlands Learning Community)
All RISD 6th grade students (all 5th graders in the LHLC) are tested in the fall of 2024 to screen for possible placement in middle school or junior high GT courses. 5th (LHLC) and 6th grade universal testing occurs each November and placement result will be shared in January via Focus.
Students may test once in a 12-month period. Students who participated in RISD universal CogAT testing in the fall of 2024 during their 5th grade (LHLC) or 6th grade year, or as part of 2025 spring make up testing, may not retest in the summer of 2025. They may test again in the winter of their 6th grade (LHLC) or 7th grade year for potential GT course qualification as 7th (LHLC) or 8th graders.
Current 7th-11th Grade (6th grade in Lake Highlands Learning Community)
Secondary students in RISD may test once per year to determine if they qualify for GT courses in middle school, junior high, or high school. Students who are referred August 1, 20245 through January 15, 2026 will be tested during the district’s winter testing window at the end of January/beginning of February. Students who are referred after January 15, 2026 will test in June or July of 2026. Results from each of these test administrations will be shared with families and campuses in the spring of 2026 for potential GT course placement in the 2026-2027 school year. A parent may refer their child for testing at any time via this Google Form. Advanced Learning Programs & Services will contact them to arrange logistics as the test administration window approaches.
The Test
RISD uses ability testing is used to determine a student’s need for GT services. Each section is timed since fluency is a component of ability. Each test measures a student’s learned reasoning and problem-solving skills in three areas:
- The verbal domain measures a student’s ability to remember and transform sequences of English words, to understand them and to make inferences and judgements about them.
- The quantitative domain measures a student’s understanding to quantitative concepts and relationships.
- The nonverbal domain measures reasoning using pictures and shapes. (This section reduces the impact of language on the student’s score.)
Student scores are reported in Standard Age Scores. This means the scores report how students performed on the test compared to others of the same age. Standard Age Score (SAS) is a normalized standard score, with a mean mean (average) of 100. The average range of these scores is 84-116, meaning the majority of students score within this range. Scores are reported for each domain of the test. Students who qualify for gifted services will have an SAS of 130 or more in an area (may be reflected as 126+ to account for the Standard Error of Measure).
Qualification
The following criteria may be used in qualifying for secondary gifted/talented services as follows:
Qualitative data:
- Teacher Referral Form – Teachers evaluate student behaviors and characteristics based on classroom observations.
- Parent Referral Form – Parents/guardians complete a checklist of characteristics that are typical of gifted children.
Quantitative data:
- Verbal: 130 Standard Age Score to qualify for GT English Language Arts and/or GT Social Studies.
- Quantitative: 130 Standard Age Score to qualify for GT Math and/or GT Science.
- Nonverbal: 130 Standard Age Score to qualify for GT Science and/or GT Social Studies. Given the reading and writing load in GT Social Studies, the verbal score is the primary consideration for this course. The nonverbal score is considered as a potential supporting score for GT Social Studies. Likewise, the nonverbal score may be used as a supporting score for GT Science qualification.
Note: RISD guarantees the continuation of gifted services for students identified during elementary services. In the event that one of those students does not qualify based on testing for secondary services, their service will continue in the curricular area of strength as determined by a district placement committee.
Secondary GT Courses
The sheer number of options in secondary courses is quite a change coming out of elementary school. A child identified for GT services in elementary school will remain identified through their time in RISD and will be qualified for at least one GT course through their senior year. All students, including GT identified students, can challenge themselves by enrolling in an advanced or AP course.
Our middle school and junior high GT and advanced students benefit from curriculum taught at a faster pace and with deeper, more complex thinking than may be required in on-level classes. GT and advanced classes adhere to grade-level TEKS and the RISD curriculum. Middle school/junior high gifted and advanced courses empower students through increased opportunities for vocabulary development, student discourse, open-ended tasks, and projects designed to spark creative and critical thinking. GT and advanced students connect learning across contents and consider the purpose, place, and possibility of their new knowledge in the world at large.
In high school, we meet the instructional needs of our GT secondary students by clustering them in course sections designated for GT students. This mirrors the Total School Cluster Grouping model used in our elementary, middle, and junior high schools. Teachers of these courses may use teaching strategies and grouping that is beneficial to all students, including GT students. In high school, they are clustered in a college credit-bearing course if possible (AP, OnRamps, dual credit). In this way, GT kids are neither unfairly benefited in terms of GPA or class ranking nor are they unfairly hindered by needing instruction that is adaptive to the ways in which they learn differently from their non-GT peers.
There are times students will want multiple classes that are only offered during certain class periods. Our campus counselors always do their best to accommodate students when building schedules, but it is possible students may need to make choices.
Junior High GT Course Opt Out
Rising 7th and 8th grade students who qualify for any GT course will be automatically enrolled in the course for the following year.
Letters for current 6th graders with this information are shared with families in December. These letters include the language “Your student will automatically be enrolled in these courses and must request to opt out if they choose not to take the course.”
Seventh grade families are provided a letter with the Opt Out information. It is preferable that students and/or families discuss this with the scheduling counselor.
Advanced Learning will coordinate with Student Data Services to ensure all students are enrolled in the correct courses. Advanced Learning will confirm these courses during the Course Verification period.