Identification Process

The district shall provide at least two opportunities each year for assessment in the case of children requesting assessment or recommended for assessment by teachers, parents or other children. The district ensures there are ample and appropriate scheduling procedures for assessments and reassessment using:

Type of Assessment	Content Area(s)	Grade Level
Whole Grade Tests	Superior Cognitive Ability and All Subject Areas (Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies) and Creative Thinking (grades 2 and 3 only)	2,3,6
Individually Administered Tests	Superior Cognitive Ability and All Subject Areas (Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies) and Creative Thinking	K-12
Audition, performance	Perform Music, Dance, Drama	K-12 Upon Referral
Checklists	Creative Thinking and Visual and Performing Arts	K-12 Upon Referral

Referral 

Children may be referred in writing on an ongoing basis, based on the following:

• Child request (self-referral); 
• Teacher recommendation;
• Parent/guardian request;
• Child referral of peer; and
• Other (e.g., psychologist, community members, principal, gifted coordinator, etc.)

Upon receipt of a referral, the district will:

• Follow the process as outlined here; and
• Notify parents of results of screening or assessment and identification within 30 days.

Screening

The district ensures equal access to screening and further assessment of all district children, including culturally or linguistically diverse children, children from low socio-economic backgrounds, children with disabilities and children who are English Learners.

Identification

When the screening assessment has been completed, if the data obtained is from an approved identification instrument and the score meets cut-off scores specified in department of education guidance, the identification decision is made and student’s educational needs are determined. Identification scores remain in effect for the remainder of the student’s K-12 school experience.

Reassessment

When the screening assessment has been completed, if the data is from an approved screening instrument or from an identification instrument on which the student is within a district-specified range below the identification score, re-assessment for possible identification occurs.

Out of District Scores

The district accepts scores, completed within the preceding 24 months on assessment instruments approved for use by the Ohio Department of Education, provided by other schools and/or trained personnel outside the school district.

Transfer

The district ensures that any child transferring into the district will be assessed within 90 days of the transfer at the request of the parent. Parents shall contact the building principal.

Appeal Procedure

An appeal by the parent is the reconsideration of the result of any part of the identification process which would include:

• Screening procedure or assessment instrument (which results in identification);
• The scheduling of children for assessment;
• The placement of a student in any program; and 
• Receipt of services.

Parents should submit a letter to the superintendent or designee outlining the nature of the concern. The superintendent or designee will convene a meeting with the parent/guardian, which may include other school personnel. The superintendent or designee will issue a written final decision within 30 days of the appeal. This written notice should include the reason for the decision(s).

Equity

The district:

• Has policies in place that promote referrals of students from underrepresented populations. Implements interventions and accommodations for students where appropriate.
• Considers test biases and subtest design when selecting assessments for gifted identification in order to allow students to best demonstrate their abilities. Uses allowable alternate scores for gifted identification where appropriate (such as Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children’s (WISC) General Ability Index score (GAI), Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) composites for Verbal and Nonverbal (VN) subtests or Quantitative and Nonverbal (QN) subtests, etc.)
• Uses individually administered assessments for twice exceptional students or other students where those scores are more representative of their abilities.