Highly Capable

Highly capable students are students who perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced academic levels when compared with others of their age, experiences, or environments. Outstanding abilities are seen within students’ general intellectual aptitudes, specific academic abilities, and/or creative productivities within a specific domain. These students are present not only in the general populace, but are present within all protected classes.

Students who are highly capable may possess, but are not limited to, these 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.

Nomination: Referrals are permitted and accepted based on data or evidence from teachers, staff, parents/guardians, students, and members of the community. Nominators will use the district’s nomination form to refer a student to be considered for admission in the program.

Assessment: All students in grades K, 2, and 4 will be assessed using the Naglieri General Ability Test (NGAT). Students in grades 1 and 3 will be assessed upon referral using the Cognitive General Ability Test (CoGAT).

The district will obtain written parental permission prior to conducting referral assessments to determine eligibility for participation in its Highly Capable Program (HiCAP).

Parents will be provided an assessment checklist for referral of students. Educators may use a class screening form with a rating scale for nominating students for HiCAP referral assessment.

Assessment results will be recorded in the student's cumulative file.

The district will use local norms to interpret highly capable assessment results.

The district will notify parents of students whose assessment scores qualify and/or who met the assessment criteria. Parents will receive a full explanation of the procedures for identification, an explanation of the appeal process, information on the district's program and the option(s) that are available to identified students.

Parents/legal guardians have the right to request re-evaluation. The district will re-evaluate using an alternate assessment (CoGAT or NGAT). 

Individuals appealing for re-evaluation must submit a completed appeals form 10 days following release of testing data. The appeals form can be found on the district website.

The student will be retested within 60 days of receipt of appeal. The decision may include:

• Upholding the original decision
• Reversing the original decision

A decision will be made within 65 days of receiving the appeals form. The parent/legal guardian will be notified of the decision in writing. The decision is final.