Identification
The Missouri Department of Education recommends that districts aim to serve the top 5% of their population with Gifted Services. In order to appropriately identify students, DESE recommends collecting evidence in at least 3 of the 4 categories: Mental Ability, Creative/Problem-Solving/Reasoning, Academic Ability, and “other” (which could include, but is not limited to, parent/teacher recommendations).
General Testing Procedures:
In the Wentzville School District, we automatically screen all 1st graders and 3rd graders with tools that provide us with a measure of Creative, Problem-Solving, and Reasoning Abilities. Students who score in the 85th percentile or above move on to a Mental Ability test. At this time, Parent and Teacher recommendations are collected, and academic performance is reviewed. On the Mental Ability Measure, students must score a 124 or above to qualify. Students who do not qualify can be retested with a total of two Creative, Problem-Solving, and Reasoning measures and/or two mental ability measures in elementary school. Students can be screened/tested once in middle school.
Once a student begins the Horizons program, he or she remains in the program and does not have to re-qualify. However, if a student is unable to perform satisfactorily in the Horizons program, individualized consideration will be given to how his or her needs should best be met. If a student chooses to opt out of the program, he or she will need to be retested in order to return. After consultation, a consensus should be reached on whether the Horizons program is the proper placement for the student.
Please note: As stated in the definitions of giftedness, Academic Performance alone is not a measure of giftedness. High-achieving students are known to do well in regular education settings with enrichment opportunities both in and outside of the classroom.
Appeal Policy: If students do not qualify for the Wentzville Gifted Program, an appeal process is available upon request. Parents or guardians may request a review of the decision. To do so, please contact your school's guidance counselor. They will provide you with an appeal form, and your request will be taken to a review board. Appeals are reviewed quarterly, and parents will be contacted with the result of the appeal.
Students Transferring to Wentzville School District:
If a student transfers to the Wentzville School District and was previously identified as gifted, their records will be reviewed to determine if their previous assessments align with Wentzville’s identification procedures. If their past qualifications do not align, that student will need to be retested. Since each district is recommended to serve the top 5% of its students, qualification scores and measures vary from district to district, just as populations vary. Please contact your school's Guidance Counselor or the registrar upon registration to ensure they have received gifted documentation from your child's previous school.
*Students of military families and/or foster children who transfer into Wentzville, having been enrolled in a gifted program in their previous schools, will be accepted into Wentzville's gifted program until subsequent evaluations are conducted to ensure appropriate placement.
Non-Public Testing: Nonpublic students are able to be tested to see if they qualify for gifted services through the Wentzville School District. Students will need to meet the same qualifications as listed above. If interested in having your non-public student tested, contact Mrs. Debbie Sethaler to enroll your child as a diagnostic student. This does not enroll your student in the Wentzville School District, but allows for the gifted evaluator to assess them. You can reach Debbie at debbiesethaler@wsdr4.org, and she will get you the proper paperwork to begin the assessment process.
Acceleration: The Wentzville School District has both whole-grade skipping and subject matter acceleration procedures in place. If a teacher and parents feel acceleration should be considered for a student, they should reach out to their guidance counselor. Once the guidance counselor is contacted and the gifted evaluator has had a chance to review academic data, the team will meet to discuss next steps to decide if acceleration is in the student's best interest.