TAG Overview and Information

TAG Philosophy

Authorities, parents, and educators have long recognized that gifted students require specialized educational experiences that promote the development and expression of their potential. If gifted individuals-as children, youths, and adults,-are to experience fulfilling lives and if society is to derive optimal benefits from gifted individuals' uncommon potentials, an educational program must be structured to develop more fully their exceptional and varied abilities, interests, and talents.

“Gifted children have no greater obligation than any other children to be future leaders or world class geniuses. They should just be given a chance to be themselves, children who might like to classify their collections of baseball cards by the middle initials of the players, or who might like to spend endless afternoon hours in dreamy reading of novels, and to have an education that appreciates and serves these behaviors.

– Jane Piirto

The Talented and Gifted (TAG) program in the Fulton County School System provides enriching learning experiences for the intellectually advanced and exceptionally creative student. Gifted services are available in all Fulton County schools for students in kindergarten through grade 12. The program meets all requirements of the Georgia Department of Education and provides diverse, high-quality opportunities for the student. All TAG teachers in Fulton County hold an endorsement in Gifted Education from the Professional Standards Commission. These specially trained educators guide the gifted student in ways that maximize the child’s unique learning characteristics, interests, personal needs, and capabilities.

What is TAG?

Goals & Objectives

Goals:

At all grade levels, the goals are to:

Develop advanced research methods and independent learning.
Generate new ideas and products
Develop Higher Order and Critical Thinking Skills
Develop Advanced Communication Skills

Objectives:

At all grade levels, the objectives are to:

Help teachers, administrators, and parents identify gifted students and understand their unique abilities, needs, and preferences.
Design and implement differentiated instructional experiences in the school and the community.
Develop in gifted students an accurate and increasing awareness of themselves, their abilities, and their value to society.

In accordance with FCS philosophy, the following program goals and objectives have been adopted in order to identify and serve the gifted students of Fulton County Schools.

Screening & Identification Process

Screening Process

The consideration for gifted services may be reported or automatic as defined by the GaDOE Resource Manual for Gifted Education Services. The Fulton County School System screens all students for eligibility for gifted services twice a year and uses a systematic approach to identify highly capable students who may qualify for gifted services. The gifted teacher routinely reviews available data to refer students for further assessment. Students meeting either the automatic screening OR classroom screening criteria AND having supporting data gathered from test history, products, and/or advanced content levels are referred for additional testing to determine gifted eligibility.

Automatic Screening:

Automatic Screening- identifies students who score at specified levels on a norm-referenced test as defined in the GaDOE Resource Manual for Gifted Education Services, for further assessment to determine eligibility for gifted services. At the beginning of the school year, TAG teachers review existing test scores. Students referred for testing through the Automatic Screening will be tested in October. All parents will be notified of eligibility decisions in December.

Data Used in Middle School to Screen:

Standardized Achievement Tests –

Students must have minimally a combination of scores that include an 85% or greater and a 90% percentile or greater in two of the three areas of a nationally norm-referenced achievement test: Total Reading, Total Math, and Complete Battery.

iReady Assessment – (Fall administration)

(Grades K-8) Students must score 90% or greater on system’s iReady assessment for Mathematics or Reading. Supporting data is needed.

Georgia Milestones End of Grade Assessment -(This data will not be used for the current school year)

Grades 4-9: students must score at the Distinguished Achievement Level (4) for English/Language Arts or Mathematics. Supporting data is needed.

Classroom Screening

Known As Our CISS Screening

Local schools select a two-week period in the winter to review all students in the

school (K-11). Classroom teachers use the Characteristics Instrument for Screening Students (CISS) to

identify students with superior abilities in five or more of the following areas: motivation, interests,

communication skills, problem-solving abilities, memory, inquiry, insight, reasoning, creativity, and humor.

Parents may request to view their child’s screening results. Students referred for testing through the

Classroom Screening process will be tested within the time frame of January-March. All parents will be notified

of eligibility decisions by the end of the school year and all newly eligible students will begin receiving gifted services the following Fall semester.

Reported Referrals & In-State Reciprocity

This Section Explains How Referrals & Students in GA Already Identified AS Gifted Are Addressed

Reported Referrals- All reported referrals (parent, teacher and/or administrator) are completed through the two system- level screening and referral processes each year.

In-State Reciprocity -

Any student who was found eligible in another public-school system in Georgia (meets the Georgia gifted eligibility criteria) is considered eligible to receive gifted education service in Fulton County upon verification of records. The student’s previous eligibility records must be attached to the Fulton County Eligibility Report that is generated from Infinite Campus. Transfer students who qualify for gifted services in Fulton, but whose performance does not meet Fulton’s continuation criteria, may begin gifted services on probation. Contact the Advanced Studies office for guidance as needed.

Note: Students may not be scheduled into the gifted classes until eligibility has been verified and parent permission has been obtained.

Middle School Placement

Current TAG Students Transitioning from Elementary to Middle School

Students receive gifted services in a specific academic content area. Placement is made when a student demonstrates exceptional ability and motivation in a particular content area as determined by specific district placement criteria. Math and Language Arts placements are made in accordance with the Continuous Achievement placement guidelines. Gifted services in the middle school extend the middle school Common Core Georgia Performance Standard curriculum, considering the academic, social, and emotional growth of the student. TAG classes are part of the student’s daily schedule and grades (numerical averages) are earned in the content area(s). Gifted students are placed in advanced content courses on the basis of achievement scores, past academic performance, and teacher recommendations.

The Initial Placement Criteria for a TAG Social Studies or Science class are as follows:

Eligible for TAG services
Recommendation of 5th grade teacher of the content area
Class average of 90% or better in the content area in 5th grade
5th grade Iowa Achievement score of 90th percentile or better in the content area

Students are recommended for the maximum number of TAG classes for which they meet the Placement criteria. Students with talents in mathematics or language arts are served through the advanced and accelerated classes. Placement decisions for advanced courses in mathematics and language arts are made in accordance with the Fulton County Continuous Achievement guidelines. Alternative Placement criteria may not be used for mathematics or language arts placement decisions.

Parents may opt for their children to take fewer than the recommended number of classes. This decision may be based upon their child’s interests, study skills, and extracurricular activities. Requests to “drop” a TAG recommended class must be submitted in writing. Student placements are reviewed annually by the TAG teachers. Additional services may be added each year in middle school if they have demonstrated success in their classes and have met the criteria outlined in the Continuous Achievement guidelines for the course.

Current TAG Students Already Enrolled

Students who are already identified as TAG will continue to receive TAG services from year to year. Teachers do monitor student progress and make recommendations where needed to ensure students are successful.

The TAG contact will review all data and information in the Permanent Records of students who are new to Fulton County. If there is evidence the student previously received gifted services at a Georgia public school, the student is eligible immediately through in-state reciprocity.Evidence of such eligibility is to include a copy of an Eligibility Report from the previous school the most recent report card.

Students New to the System

If a student transfers from a private school, the student record is examined for qualifying test data to include:

Nationally normed Achievement test scores current within 2 years
Mental Ability test scores current within 2 years

If there is evidence the student previously received gifted services at a school from another state, the student record is examined for data and information as follows:

Nationally normed Achievement test scores current within 2 years
Mental Ability test scores current within 2 years

The student must meet eligibility requirements for the state of Georgia as defined by Georgia’s (160-4-2-.38) state rule. If no qualifying scores can be verified, the local Eligibility team will consider all available data and make the determination if testing for gifted eligibility is warranted.

Middle School Gifted Service Delivery Model

Students receive gifted services in a specific academic content area, Science and Social Studies Placement is made when a student demonstrates exceptional ability and motivation in a particular content area as determined by specific district placement criteria. Math and Language Arts placements are made in accordance with the Continuous Achievement placement guidelines. Gifted services in the middle school extend the middle school Common Core Georgia Performance Standard curriculum, considering the academic, social, and emotional growth of the student. TAG classes are part of the student’s daily schedule and grades (numerical averages) are earned in the content area(s). Gifted students are placed in advanced content courses on the basis of achievement scores, past academic performance, and teacher recommendations.

Sandtown Middle School

TAG & Continuous Achievement Page