Models Used in Schools

Elementary School
- Resource class: students receive services one
day per week in a limited class size at his or her
home school.
- Cluster Grouping: identified gifted students are
grouped heterogeneously with a regular
classroom teacher who has the gifted
endorsement and is modifying and differentiating
their classroom curriculum for high achieving
students.
Middle School
- Advanced Content Class: Students receive gifted
services in a specific academic content area in one
or both Math and Language Arts. TAG classes are
part of the students daily schedule with class
sizes limited to 26.
High School
- Seminars: Weekly meetings with a gifted
endorsed teacher to discuss student interests.
- Individual Projects: Students conduct in-depth
research as an extension of a curriculum topic
with the supervision of a gifted teacher.
- Honors Courses (9th and 10th grade only):
Courses meet daily and include a differentiated
curriculum based on advanced research and
communication skills.
- Advanced Placement Courses: college level
courses that meet daily and prepare students for
the College Board Advanced Placement Exams.
These courses all students to receive college
credit.
- Directed Studies: Students conduct extensive
research in a particular academic area.
- Career Internships (11th and 12th grades only):
Students are provided an opportunity to work
with local professionals in a field he or she is
considering as a career.
- International Baccalaureate: The students
receive an intense international studies program
offered currently at Riverwood International
Charter High School.

The Gifted Program

Purpose of the Gifted Program
Fulton Countys gifted program is set in place
to address the unique learning for the
capabilities of gifted learners. The program
emphasizes the need to differentiate beyond
the regular classroom through seminars,
individual projects, advanced placement
courses, directed studies, internships and
joint enrollment to extend the gifted learners
particular interests. The education process
for gifted is viewed as a collaboration
between many individuals in the school and
surrounding community to provide more indepth learning.

Referral Process
There are 2 processes in which your child could
go through in order to be tested for the TAG
program.
1: Automatic Referral: students who score at
specified levels on either standardized
achievement tests or STAR assessments.
- Standardized Achievement Tests: minimum of an
85th & 90th percentile in 2 of 3 areas of total
reading, math and complete battery.
- STAR: in grades 3-8, students must score a
minimum of 90% on math or reading.
2: Reported Referral: students can be considered
for gifted in the spring semester through the
referral of teachers, counselors, administrators or
other individuals with knowledge of the students
abilities.
- Classroom screening is done through the CISS
process which looks for superior abilities in 5 or
more areas (motivation, interest, communication
skills, problem-solving abilities, memory, inquiry,
insight, reasoning, creativity, and humor).
- Then an eligibility team finds supporting data of
the superior abilities and then gives the parents a
notification of testing.

TALENTED &
GIFTED (TAG)
Tarver Bechtel
Taylor Beals
Erin Sandell
Clay Thomason
Allison Scenna

Parent Q & A
How will the gifted program benefit my
child?
The TAG program offers a unique
instructional experience for children with
exceptional abilities to interact with other
students who can help them expand their
intellectual capabilities. Students will be
served in different ways through
elementary, middle, and high school, but
each milestone in your childs education will
offer a myriad of opportunities to help them
extend their learning past the regular
curriculum.
If English is not my childs primary
language, can he or she still participate in
the TAG program?
Throughout the entire TAG process, from
testing to possible acceptance, there are
many provisions for students for whom
English is not the first language. Specifically,
there are testing options that can serve
students who may struggle with English as a
first language, including the Naglieri NonVerbal Ability Test and the Torrance Test of
Creative Thinking. Testing is up to the
discretion of the school, which will choose
the option that will give each student the
best chance to succeed.
Who do I contact for more information
about TAG at my childs school?
Each Fulton County school has a TAG
coordinator on campus during the school
day who can provide information about
eligibility, testing, and classes. Please visit
your school sites faculty directory for more
information on who to contact.

Did my child qualify?

There are two ways for your child to
qualify for TAG.
Option A
Student must have a qualifying score in both the
mental ability and achievement categories.
Mental Ability
K-2: 99% composite on the CogAT or NNAT
3-12: >96% composite on the CogAT or NNAT
Achievement
K-12: >90% Total Reading, Total Math, or
Complete Battery on the ITBS or Stanford
Option B
Student must have a qualifying score in three of
the four categories.
Mental Ability
K-12: >96% composite on the CogAT or NNAT
Achievement
K-12: >90% Total Reading, Total Math, or
Complete Battery on the ITBS or Stanford
6-8: >90% cumulative avg. in an above-level
academic course
9-12: >85% cumulative avg. in an honors or
advanced placement course
Creativity
K-12: >90% composite on the TTCT
K-5: >90% performance score on a product
K-12: Winner of district level academic
competition
Motivation
K-5: >90% on a standardized motivational
characteristics rating scale
K-12: Winner of district level academic
competition
6-8: >90% cumulative avg. in an above-level
academic course
9-12: >85% cumulative avg. in an honors or
advanced placement course
8-12: >85% cumulative avg. over the last two
years in core academic areas

Testing Process
Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)- groupadministered mental ability test, typically
referred to as an IQ test and has three batteries:
Verbal, Quantitative and Nonverbal.
Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT)- a
group-administered mental ability test that only
measure nonverbal abilities. The preferred
method for testing students with English as a
second language.
Torance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT)requires responses that are mainly drawing or
pictorial in nature.
Stanford Achievement Test (STAT-10)- is
similar to the ITBS taken by all FCSS students in
grades 3, 5, and 8 and take either the reading or
the mathematics battery.
Gifted Rating Scales- Motivation (GRS-M)- is a
rating scale done by two teachers thats based
upon a childs motivational behaviors in an
academic setting.
Each specific test is only administered once every
two years.