Exercise 13: Assessment of Giftedness



Exercise 13: Assessment of Giftedness

Gayle began taking piano lessons at age 4. By the time she was 10 years old, she was a proficient pianist, had completed in several statewide youth piano competitions, and had recently won the prestigious national Chopin Youth Piano Competition. Gayle had already decided that she wants to be a professional musician.

In school, Gayle performs well academically. Her fifth grade teacher believes that Gayle’s musical ability as well as her high level of academic performance demonstrates gifted characteristics. So, the teacher decides to refer Gayle to be screened for the gifted and talented program. Gayle passed the screening test and was assessed for identification of giftedness. In Gayle’s school, to qualify for the gifted and talented program, students have to meet specific criteria for superior cognitive ability, specific academic ability, creative thinking ability, and visual or performing arts ability as indicated in the table below:

| |Instrument |Cutoff Scores |

|Superior Cognitive Ability |Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) |Minimum standard score of two standard deviations above the mean, |

| | |minus the standard error of measurement on the Composite Score and |

| | |on at least one of the batteries. |

|Specific Academic Ability |Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement |Minimum 95% percentile on all the following subtests: |

| |(WJ III ACH) |Passage Comprehension |

| | |Applied Problems |

| | |Writing  Samples |

|Creative Thinking Ability |Scales for Rating the Behavioral |Minimum raw score of 32 on the Creativity Scale. |

| |Characteristics of Superior Students | |

| |(SRBCSS) | |

|Visual or Performing Arts |Scales for Rating the Behavioral |SRBCSS Minimum raw score on one of the following scales: |

|Ability |Characteristics of Superior Students |Art Scale = 53 |

| |(SRBCSS) |Music Scale = 34 |

| | |Dramatics Scale = 48 |

| | | |

| | | |

| |Display of work in art or music |Evidence of art display or musical performance |

The following are Gayle’s test scores:

|Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) |

|Batteries and Composite |Standard Score |Stanine |Percentile |Descriptors |

|Verbal |132 |9 |98 |Very High |

|Quantitative |129 |9 |97 |Very High |

|Non-verbal |126 |8 |96 |Above Average |

|COMPOSITE |129 |9 |97 |Very High |

|Note: SEM = 3 |

|Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ III ACH) |

|Subtests |Standard Score |Percentile |Descriptor |

|Reading |124 |95 |Superior |

|Reading Fluency |127 |96 |Superior |

|Letter-Word Identification |121 |92 |Superior |

|Passage Comprehension |124 |95 |Superior |

|Oral Language |120 |91 |High Average |

|Story Recall |121 |92 |Superior |

|Understanding Directions |119 |90 |High Average |

|Written Language |124 |95 |High Average |

|Spelling |120 |91 |High Average |

|Writing Fluency |125 |95 |Superior |

|Writing Samples |128 |97 |Superior |

|Mathematics |120 |91 |Superior |

|Calculation |118 |90 |High Average |

|Math Fluency |121 |92 |Superior |

|Applied Problems |121 |92 |High Average |

|Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students (SRBCSS) |

|Scales |Raw Score |Percentile |

|Artistic |48 |85 |

|Communication expressive |42 |75 |

|Communication precision |37 |64 |

|Creativity |55 |95 |

|Dramatics |50 |65 |

|Leadership |37 |58 |

|Learning |58 |90 |

|Mathematics |58 |93 |

|Motivation |50 |95 |

|Musical |52 |98 |

|Planning |45 |60 |

|Reading |52 |95 |

|Science |35 |75 |

|Technology |30 |79 |

1. How would you describe Gayle’s overall level of intelligence based on the CogAT scores?

I would say Gayle has a high level of intelligence based on her performance on the CogAT. Gayle scored in the 9th stanine in 3 sections of the assessment, and in the 8th stanine on another section. According to the podcast associated with this assignment, to test for giftedness the student must score at least two standard deviations above the mean. Gayle scored higher than most of the students within her grade. In regards to stanine scores, a 9 is considered the highest. Impressive scores Gayle!

2. How would you describe her overall level of achievement based on her scores on the WJ III ACH?

Gayle did well on the WJ 111 ACH but not enough to meet giftedness. In order to qualify for giftedness Gayle needed to score at minimum within the 95th percentile or higher in three categories. These categories are Passage Comprehension, Applied Problems, and Writing Samples. Gayle scored within the 95th percentile or higher in Passage Comprehension and Writing Samples, but not in Applied Problems.

3. How would you interpret the comparison of Gayle’s CogAT scores to her WJ III ACH scores?

I would say Gayle scored higher in the CogAT then she did on the WJ III ACH. The WJ III ACH has many different elements to the assessment. I believe shows Gayle’s superior performance in multiple areas, but her overall performance isn’t superior. How would you interpret Gayle’s scores SRBCSS on the Creativity and Musical subtests? Gale scores are the following: Creativity 55 (95th percentile) and Musical subtest 52 (98th percentile). I would categorize these two scores as gifted in the areas tested. I would think Gayle’s level creativity stems from her musical talents.

4. Based on Gayle’s scores, she is not accepted into the gifted and talented program. Why was she not accepted?

I alluded to Gayle not eligible for acceptance into the gifted and talented program in the above responses. Basically Gayle performed well on the assessments but didn’t meet the minimum qualifications in all the assessments. I would encourage Gayle and her family to make another attempt at the assessments next year when Gayle is in the sixth grade. If Gayle really wants to be in the gifted and talented program I would feel confident in her next performance since she will already be familiar with the assessments and the testing process.

5. Write a letter to the Gifted Program Administrator appealing this decision. In your letter, make sure you reference all the relevant assessment about Gayle, including her academic grades, scores on the assessment instruments (e.g., WJ III ACH, CogAT, and the relevant SRBCSS subtest scores) as well as any other evidence related to evidence related to creative, artistic, or music ability.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing in hopes that you would reconsider Gayle Wilcox into the gifted and talented program within your school district. Gayle has participated in multiple assessments, which include the WJ III ACH, CogAT, and the SRBCSS. Gale’s performance on these assessments demonstrates her superior traits in multiple areas. Gayle met all the required conditions accept on the WJ IIIACH and the SRBCSS. On the WJ III ACH Gale met all requirements accept in Applied Problems. Gayle needed to score above the 95th percentile but scored in the 92nd percentile. On the SRBCSS Gayle met the requirements on the Musical Scale & Dramatics Scale, but fell short on the Artistic Scale. Gale needed a Raw Score of 53 on the Artistic scale, but scored a 48. As a school counselor I am obligated to advocate for Gayle and her family. Gayle is a superior student with immense talents. Many of Gayle’s talents were highlighted in her performance on these assessments. One major aspect of Gayle’s gifted talents was not taken into full consideration in these assessments. It is the fact that Gayle has been playing the piano since she was 4 years old. By age 10, Gayle has competed in multiple musical competitions and recently won a prestigious national Chopin Youth Piano Competition. Gayle’s recommendation for testing came from her classroom teacher and not a outside party. If possible please reconsider this students unique case. It is in the student’s best interest to be accepted into the Gifted and Talented Program. Not only will gifted status help keep the student actively engaged in a rigorous curriculum, but it will also help Gayle expand her talents in multiple areas.

Best regards

Jeff Hernandez

Professional School Counselor – K-12

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