(To view this page in Spanish, click here.)

(Para español, haga clic aquí.)

Community Consolidated School District 15 seeks to support the personal and academic growth of its students. For students that are academically talented and gifted (ATG), this support may include enrollment into an ATG classroom that is specially designed to address these students’ needs.  Placement into ATG classrooms is based upon the District’s procedures and criteria as outlined below.

Academically Talented and Gifted Selection Process

The ATG program serves students in grades 3 to 6 whose performance on the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) is in the top 10% nationally and whose cognitive skills are in the top 1-2 percent of same-grade students districtwide.

Only students currently in grades 2 and 4 are eligible for ATG screening.  Screening takes place during the current school year to qualify for ATG program enrollment the following year.  If your child is a District 15 resident, but does not attend a District 15 school, it is critical that you contact your local District 15 school as soon as possible if you are interested in having your child screened.

Screening is only available to students who reside within District 15 school boundaries.  Your District 15 school’s principal facilitates the screening process. All testing occurs at your child’s District 15 school.  The central aspects of the selection process are outlined below. Should your student qualify, your child must be enrolled and attend the public school full-time to receive ATG services.

1. The student must be registered at their local District 15 school.  If your child already attends a D15 school, this step is already completed.  If your child is not already attending a D15 school, registration requires proof of residency and an original birth certificate. Contact your D15 school for more details if you have further questions.  All private school or home school students must be registered prior to September 15 to be eligible to for ATG screening. Late registrations are not accepted.
2. Screening is a two-step process.  First, second and fourth grade students take the reading and math tests of the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP).  Students must achieve a score at or above the 90th national percentile on the fall administration of the MAP reading and math tests.  Students that score at or above the 90th national percentile on both the reading and math test of the MAP are eligible to take a cognitive skills test in November.  Parents are notified about their student’s MAP test results in September and cognitive skills test results in January. ATG program eligibility is communicated in the early spring by a letter sent by US mail.  ATG eligible students may enroll in the ATG program the following school year.
3. Students qualify for the ATG program based on the following criteria:
   1. Students score at or above the 90th national percentile on both the reading and math portions of the MAP test that is given in the fall; and
   2. Student performance on the CogAT is such that, when the MAP and CogAT percentiles are added together, the following totals are reached:
      1. 475 for entrance into the third-grade gifted program classrooms.
      2. 480 for entrance into any following grade gifted program classrooms and
   3. An instructional need for extension of the core curriculum must be recognized by the student’s current school.
4. The MAP test will be given during the District’s fall testing window (typically August or September).  For further information regarding the MAP test please visit our website at https://www.ccsd15.net/Page/480.  If you would like to help your child practice taking the MAP test, please click here: MAP Practice Test.  If you would like to see the types of questions on the MAP test, click here: MAP RIT Reference Chart.  Second grade students will be given the MAP practice test prior to taking the actual MAP test.
5. The cognitive abilities test (CogAT) will be administered to students that score at or above the national 90th percentile in reading and math on the fall MAP test.  The CogAT is given in December at your child’s District 15 school.  When a student qualifies for the ATG Program, parents are notified by letter in April. For qualified students, enrollment in the ATG Program starts the following school year.
   

Enrollment in the ATG Program is provisional and is regularly reviewed by the serving school’s team. If a student experiences regular, continued performance problems, the school team will convene to discuss how to address the difficulties with the child’s parents. Interventions may be put into place. If the school’s attempts to support the child does not result in sufficient performance changes for the child, the school team may determine that it is not in the child’s best interest to remain in the ATG Program.

If a parent would like their student to be considered for a test retake in the ATG process, the parent must first contact your child’s principal. The principals will use the district’s retake guidelines to determine if a retake is appropriate. If a parent wants to have a retake decision reviewed they must complete the Gifted Screening Process Test Review Request Form. The child’s retake decision will be reviewed. Retests are rare and are based upon unique, significant circumstances.  For MAP retakes, the Test Review Request must be submitted on or before October 31st.  For CogAT retakes, the Test Review Request must be completed on or before January 15th.

¹At times, the incoming third grade class may not fill all available seats in the gifted program. When this occurs, the District may elect to select additional students in order of their combined score (CogAT and MAP percentiles added together) to fill unoccupied classroom seats.