Gifted and Talented Portfolio Assessments Rationale It has been brought to the school’s attention that there is a need for a more perpetual and comprehensive assessment of students while they are served in the Gifted and Talented Program. Formative assessments provide opportunities to evaluate student performance while the students are being served in the Gifted and Talented Program. Portfolios are an excellent way to evaluate student performance while also helping self-direct their learning and thereby improving students’ aim in attaining particular educational goals. Initial testing is conducted to determine placement when considering eligibility for placement in the program. However, our plight lies in the ability to formally document a student’s progress and involvement once they have entered and are participating in the program. An effective tool for documenting student progress and achievement in abstract disciplines is a portfolio. Portfolios are a way to showcase student work that meet specific criteria while also allowing the student to choose from their work samples. The portfolio provides a tangible representation of each student as well as evidence of educational progress. In other words, portfolios focus on the individuality of aptitudes of each student, which is a trait that has set this student apart from their peers and warranted service in the Gifted and Talented Program. (Paulson, Paulson, & Meyer, 1991) The school must endeavor to provide
In 2015, I wrote about my personal philosophy of the gifted learner. I stated in my paper that, “Giftedness is not a one, set definition. The definition of gifted must encompass intellect, ability, creative talent as well as emotional awareness. It cannot be micro-managed and be a “one size fits all” definition” (Dauber, 2015). People, who are gifted, need differentiation and opportunity to express, demonstrate and show their giftedness. Educators must be able to provide opportunities for the gifted learner to express his/her abilities and/or talents. Gifted students learn differently and require special educational experiences in order to grow academically and achieve their highest potential. Therefore, the education field must be able to understand not only the cognitive side of a gifted learner but the affective or social/emotional aspects too.
One of the difficulties in identifying the needs of low-income students is the profound cultural barriers which exist that prevent their strengths and deficits from being identified. Children from low-income homes frequently have poorer vocabularies and a weaker basis of the type of knowledge that is frequently considered 'intelligence' on most forms of assessment. A low-income child's IQ may be high, even though he lacks a framework of accepted middle-class knowledge. "In January 2003, the National Academy of Sciences released a report on the seeming overrepresentation of minorities in special education and underrepresentation of those students in gifted education. The NRC reported that, nationwide, 7.47 percent of all white students and 9.9 percent of Asian students are placed in gifted programs. Meanwhile, 3.04 percent of African-American students, 3.57 percent of Hispanic students, and 4.86 percent of American Indian students are classified as gifted" (GT-minority identification, 2003, ERIC Clearinghouse). The discrepancy, the NAS believed, could not be solely explained by talent alone but was at least partially rooted in the methods of identifying students labeled as gifted. Biases in standardized and other tests identifying student strengths, combined with prejudices, however unintentional, amongst educators and administrators lead to under-identification of the gifted
A Gifted and talented (G/T) student” is “one who . . . exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area, possesses an unusual capacity for leadership, or excels in a specific academic field” (Aldine ISD Board Policy Manual, 2014). The Texas Education Agency (TEA) provides a state plan, which outlines the standards for Texas schools to be in compliance. It also offers the educational opportunities these students should receive. In fact, there are performance measures for five aspects of G/T programs including student assessment, service design, curriculum and instruction, professional development, and family and community involvement. The plan assists districts in delivering these comprehensive services to
But the problem of this admission system is that it can’t recognize those kids who have real talent; the kids who are picked are those who have parents that can afford the prep test program. With this system, it’s possible that many students who have real talent might be missed. If this admission system can’t help us finding those talents, then there is no reason we maintain it. What we should do is exactly the opposite; we should abandon it and set up a new system which can really help us recognizing gifted
The portfolio can effectively be used for summative and formative assessment. The first evaluation will involve a private conversation between the student and the educator. This would be a formative assessment. This assessment concentrates on observing the students response to instruction. Formative assessment gives instant feedback to the educator and student
2 & 3. Use the most current versions of standardized tests that are going to be used to make a decision about admission into a gifted program and that norms are up-to-date and a good representation of
Gifted and Talented (GT) students will receive a quality instruction from a certified teacher who is endorsed by the State of Texas in GT Education. A Gallery understands the importance of offering academic rigor and relevance. A Gallery GT Program will be specifically designed to challenge those qualified students who have the ability to think at higher levels of reasoning.
I begin by addressing the problems caused by standardized testing and how it is currently affecting students and teachers throughout the educational system. I would then continue on to provide a solution to these problems that are caused by Standardized tests. I would then shift my focus and mainly talk about the solution, the alternative to standardized testing, portfolio testing and how from student to teacher to even school officials could benefit from this kind of testing and how crucial it is in developing today youth. After considering some of the advantage of standardized testing, I would argue why our educational system should switch from standardized tests to Portfolio tests and how this will truly benefit the next generation of students and guide them to achieve greater
To provide curriculum, instruction, and assessment that maximize the potential of the identified students, educational programming for the artistic gifted and talented students must reflect the following characteristics: (a) content, process, and product standards that exceed the state-adopted arts standards for all students and that provide challenges at an appropriate level for the strengths of the individual students; (b) goals and indicators that require students to demonstrate depth and complexity of knowledge, creative and critical thinking skills, and problem-solving skills; (c) instructional strategies that accommodate the unique needs of gifted and talented learners; (d) opportunities for global communication and research using available technologies; and (e) evaluation of student performance and programming effectiveness as related to the goals of the programming submitted in the local gifted and talented five-year
Adams County public school system’s current program doesn’t seem to recognize any minority or poor students who could be considered gifted. Educators in this district and committee members seem to lack any motivation to include diverse learners in their program. The fact that Adams County only recognized three out of four hundred thirty-eight over a five-year span is appalling. I feel Adams County need some major changes to extend their idea of giftedness. It needs to start with intensive and in-depth teacher training along with community outreach and awareness programs to help educate parents about giftedness. For instance, parent could learn ways to better support their children and help identify their child’s areas of giftedness.
Because of school-wide issue such as, funding, space, and staff availability, this may be the maximum amount of time that they can physically provide for pullout enrichment for gifted students. This is common, and in these cases, it is important to “ensure that the curricular and instructional experiences within the general education classroom are appropriate for the advanced needs of gifted students” (Brighton and Wiley, 2013, p.192). We know from the Lackland description, that their students are not receiving these educational opportunities in their general education classrooms because many of the students are displaying a lack of
As a principal I find the limitations to this program are within the scope and sequence. Although separated by grade level, there is no in-depth research of a subject. Critical thinking is not of the highest level; critical thinking is that of evaluation and not of creating. Another concern is that the scope and sequence is not detail and concise with project and research expectations. The way the current scope and sequence is written it leaves the teacher with the understanding that projects are optional and can be completed at any Bloom's level. I argue that if a student is nominated and invited to be in the Gifted and Talented Program their work needs to exceed that of their peers. Class work as well as research projects must meet a higher Depth of Knowledge (DOK).
In the society of today, there are various educators who believe in assessment as proper method to measure the performance of a child in school as well as the overall achievement of a specific school system. The assessment may be presented in the form of verbal, written, or multiple choice, and it usually pertains to certain academic subjects in the school curriculum. Recently, many educators began to issue standardized tests to measure the intelligence of a common student body. (Rudner, 1989) These standardized tests were initially created to reveal the success in institutional school programs, and exhibit the abilities of students today. The standardized tests can reveal the strengths and weaknesses
Many people are of the opinion that special education programs for gifted children are an unnecessary burden on tightly-budgeted and under-funded school systems, but this is actually far from the truth. The gifted are perhaps the most neglected group of special needs children in almost every school district. Because many people assume that the gifted do not need extra attention, gifted programs are often the first program to be cut when budgets are reduced, but I suggest that they be the last to go. These children have profound talents and are just as deserving of extra attention as children who are physically or mentally handicapped.
Approaching this class, I thought I knew more about writing. It turns out, there were lessons I had yet to learn. I learned a lot more than I had expected. This class taught me the importance of time management, in-depth research, and more. It’s hard to realize what kind of an impact one single class has on an entire field of learning. But making connections with people who are doing the things I want to do in the future, has shown me how important this and every class is.