Every student was given the a nationally-normed kindergarten readiness assessment at registration. This screener helps identify generic kindergarten readiness in three areas: verbal processing, perceptual processing, and auditory processing. This screener is used predominately to identify at-risk students prior to kindergarten enrollment, but it’s also the first step in high ability identification as well. Candidates in the 90th percentile are invited to participate in additional kindergarten screenings for the K/1 high ability program. Those additional assessments include a local math assessment, an online reading assessment, and a non-verbal cognitive reasoning assessment. Scores on these four assessments are used in making placement decisions for the K/1 high ability program.
It should be noted that high ability identification is an on-going process. Students are brought into the high ability program, and exited out of it, based on new information as it develops. In fact, a requirement of the K/1 high ability kindergarten program is an administrative conference after the first quarter to review the K/1 high ability participants and evaluate the appropriateness of their placement.
