Family Information
Highly Capable Family Information
Pullman School District strives to recognize, support, and encourage the unique needs of highly capable students and to provide challenging and invigorating curriculum and opportunities.
Definition of “Highly Capable”
The Pullman School District recognizes the state definition of highly capable students as students who perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced academic levels when compared with others of their age, experience, and environments. Outstanding abilities are seen within students’ general intellectual aptitudes, specific academic abilities, and/or creative productivities within a specific domain. Highly capable students may possess, but are not limited to, the following learning characteristics:
- Capacity to learn with unusual depth of understanding, to retain what has been learned, and to transfer learning to new situations;
- Capacity and willingness to deal with increasing levels of abstraction and complexity earlier than their chronological peers;
- Creative ability to make unusual connections among ideas and concepts;
- Ability to learn quickly in their area(s) of intellectual strength; and
- Capacity for intense concentration and/or focus
The Pullman School District Highly Capable Program seeks to identify the most highly capable students in our district who will benefit the most from highly capable services. A student will be identified as highly capable, and therefore qualify for highly capable services, if he/she meets criteria on two of the three state defined areas noted below:
- Academic abilities
- Intellectual aptitude (cognitive)
- Creativity
Characteristics of Highly Capable Children
Observing characteristics of highly capable students is often difficult when we are dealing with obviously bright children. The chart below is helpful in seeing the subtle differences between the bright child and the highly capable learner.
| Bright Child | Highly Capable Learner |
|---|---|
| Knows the answers | Asks the questions |
| Is interested | Is highly curious |
| Is attentive | Is mentally and physically involved |
| Answers the questions | Discusses in detail, elaborates |
| Top group | Beyond top group |
| Listens with interest | Shows strong feelings and opinions |
| Learns with ease | Already knows |
| 6-8 repetitions for mastery | 1-2 repetitions for mastery |
| Understands ideas | Constructs abstractions |
| Enjoys peers | Prefers adults |
| Grasps the meaning | Draws inferences |
| Is receptive | Is intense |
| Copies accurately | Creates a new design |
| Enjoys school | Enjoys learning |
| Absorbs information | Manipulates information |
| Technician | Inventor |
| Good memorizer | Good guesser |
| Enjoys straightforward, sequential presentation | Thrives on complexity |
| Is alert | Is keenly observant |
| Is pleased with own learning | Is highly self-critical |
| Additional Examples of Characteristics of the Highly Capable Learner: |
|---|
| Advanced vocabulary |
| Experiments with ideas |
| Curiosity (asks endless questions) |
| Sophisticated sense of humor |
| Perfectionist |
| Advanced creativity |
Overview of Process
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- The individual making the referral completes the online referral form by the last day of fall conference week or the last day of spring conference week
- Teacher and parent/guardian will each complete an online rating scale
- Counselor will help the student complete a paper version of a self-rating scale at school.
- The Highly Capable Selection Committee reviews referrals to determine which students meet the eligibility requirements to move forward to cognitive testing
- The committee notifies parents/guardians of their student’s eligibility to test and communicates the date of testing for eligible students. Parental permission must be given to proceed with testing.
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The Highly Capable Selection Committee reviews data to determine which students are eligible for further testing.
- Academic: The student’s overall achievement score is at or above the 90th percentile in mathematics and reading within the last 12 months
- Rating scales: An average rating scale score of 40 or higher from the classroom teacher and specific evidence of gifted behaviors in written narratives
- SBA scores: The student scores at or above the 90th percentile in mathematics and ELA
The committee notifies parents/guardians of the decision by mail within thirty calendar days.
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- Eligible students are administered a cognitive test
- The selection committee may decide to administer the creativity test to the student
- Students may only be assessed once per academic year
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The selection committee reviews data to determine which students met the qualifications for highly capable services.
- Cognitive: The student’s overall IQ is at or above the 97th percentile
- Creativity: The student’s overall creativity test score is in the 9th stanine in at least one subsection, or at or above the 97th percentile
- Data from the selection process is also taken into consideration
The committee notifies parents/guardians of the decision by mail within thirty calendar days.
-
Students identified as highly capable begin receiving services:
- Immediately after selection is complete for fall testing (kindergarten and transfer students only)
- The following school year after selection is complete for spring testing
Services
Kindergarten 1st Grade-8th Grade 9th Grade-12th Grade Differentiated Instruction Cluster Grouping Students can self-select any of the following service options: - Subject-based Acceleration
- Honors Option
- Advanced Placement Courses
- College in High School
- Running Start Program: participating college and universities (11th/12th grade students)
Advanced level mathematics: above grade level mathematics classes are offered to students who meet eligibility criteria for the specific class Differentiated Instruction: Teachers adapt instruction on the basis of advanced needs of learners. Materials and resources are varied according to a student's readiness, interests, and learning preferences.
Cluster Grouping: Highly capable students of the same grade level are assigned to a single classroom with a teacher who has specialized training in how to teach highly capable students. Students who are not receiveing highly capable services are also assigned to the same classroom.
Transfer Students
Students who transfer from out-of-district and have qualified to receive highly capable services in their previous district are not automatically enrolled in the Highly Capable Program. The Highly Capable Selection Committee will review tests scores and placement letters from the prior district to determine if they meet the selection criteria of the Pullman School District. Students who transfer from a district that does not offer highly capable testing and/or services are eligible to be referred for highly capable services during the October and February referral periods.
Appeals Process
Any student or parent/guardian who is aggrieved by the student not meeting the criteria for highly capable services has the right to appeal the Highly Capable Selection Committee’s decision. Appeals must be based upon one of the following conditions:
- A condition or circumstance believed to have caused a misinterpretation of the testing results.
- An inequitable application of the identification process.
- An extraordinary and temporary circumstance that negatively affected the validity of the test results.
Individuals appealing the selection committee’s decision must submit a written letter of appeal outlining one of the conditions of appeal listed above and, to support reconsideration, provide additional evidence of significantly advanced cognitive or academic levels and/or outstanding intellectual, academic, or creative abilities. Letters of appeal must be submitted to the assistant superintendent within ten business days of the notification of the selection committee’s decision being sent. Upon receipt of the letter of appeal, an informal conference between the parent/guardian and the Highly Capable Selection Committee will be scheduled and held within ten business days. The sole purpose of this meeting will be to resolve the grievance. The parent/guardian will be notified in writing of the selection committee’s response to the appeal within ten business days of the meeting. The decision of the selection committee is final.
Exit Procedure
A parent/guardian or student can request that a student be exited from services and the parent/guardian’s wishes will be honored, but a meeting will be scheduled between the parent/guardian and the Highly Capable Program director to discuss the reason for the request prior to formally withdrawing the student from program services. If a student no longer demonstrates a need for services, an educator familiar with the student may request that the Highly Capable Selection Committee review the student’s initial identification records and any subsequent assessment records to determine if the student continues to meet program eligibility criteria. If the committee determines that the student no longer qualifies for services, it may recommend that the student be exited from services. This recommendation is very rare and is based on the best interests of the student.