IDENTIFICATION PROCESS

All qualified K-6 students are eligible for participation in the Cold Spring GATE program.  Multiple measures are used to identify GATE students.  Formal identification takes place in grades four to six through the use of assessments in intellectual ability and high achievement based on the Cognitive Abilities Test, the CAT-6 achievement test, and the California Content Standards tests.  Although students in kindergarten and grades one through three are not formally identified, the teachers annually evaluate the needs, interests, and abilities of all students in these grades to determine an appropriate educational program.  Each student identified as high achieving, or who possesses the characteristics of a giftedness, is provided an appropriately modified program.  The goals for these identified children are communicated to the parents early in the school year. 

Students in grades four to six are formally identified each year.  Parents are apprised of the application process, which is available to all students, as well as the criteria for identification through a parent information meeting held each year, through the weekly newsletter and by district mailings.  Signed parent permission slips are kept with the students’ cumulative records.  Students in grades four and six (transfer students may test in fifth grade) are tested each winter, and results are reviewed by a committee including the principal, the GATE coordinator, and teachers before formal identification takes place.  Parents of students who participate in GATE testing are notified of the results.  Files are maintained within the cumulative records of identified students for progress reports, individual student goals, and student achievement records.  Students remain identified for as long as they remain in our district.  Upon parent request, the district will provide identification information to a new district. Once formally identified as eligible for the GATE Program in the upper grades, a student remains identified throughout the program at Cold Spring School District and will be considered eligible for services if the student attends the Santa Barbara School District in the secondary grades.

Identification measures and criteria are evaluated on an annual basis, and attention is given to current practices and overall needs of gifted students in our district. All students are encouraged to take the test and accommodations are made for testing students whenever necessary.  Special testing situations are available for students of diverse cultural backgrounds who may qualify for GATE.  Whenever possible, students are given the opportunity to take the GATE test in their native languages.

Since our students feed into the Santa Barbara School District for junior and senior high school, we have chosen to align our identification criteria with theirs.  Although students are identified in compliance with state requirements and in conformation with Santa Barbara’s criteria, gifted and talented education is available to all students at Cold Spring who demonstrate the ability and high level of achievement necessary for participation.  Placement is based on the assessed needs of each individual student and is periodically reviewed.  Artistic and musical talent, leadership qualities, motivation and high academic achievement, are all considered when eligibility is determined.  Teachers receive training through in-service, professional development, and at faculty meetings, which enables them to recognize and serve gifted students, including transfer students, who have not yet been formally identified.  The GATE program is not limited to formally identified students, and all students are exposed to and benefit from many of the components of the program.

Criteria for Identification

Students may be identified for GATE based on intellectual ability or academic ability.  Students may meet the standard in one of the following ways:

Intellectual Ability

The student has a one score in the 98th or 99th percentile on the Cognitive Abilities Test and a second score in the 90th percentile or better on the verbal, non-verbal, and quantitative sections of the test.

Academic Achievement

The student has at least a 95th percentile in two areas (reading, mathematics and language) on the CAT-6 section of the California STAR test,

Or

a Scaled score of 435 in English/Language Arts or a 450 in math on the STAR Content Standards tests.

AND

A composite score of 90th percentile on the Cognitive Abilities Test.