Gifted and Talented Program

Hallsville ISD offers a gifted/talented program for students who are identified through the district’s identification process. For information about each campuses’ program, contact the campus principal. The identification of gifted/talented students in grades K-12 is accomplished through the following two-phase process consisting of nominations/screening and assessment/selection.

Nominations are solicited from:

1. Teachers
2. Administrators
3. Counselors
4. Parents
5. Community Members
6. Students

Students may be nominated for the g/t program on an on-going basis throughout the school year. Any person desiring to nominate a student should obtain and complete the “HISD Parent, Professional, and Student Nomination Form for Consideration of Eligibility for Gifted and Talented Programs” and present it to the Advanced Program Specialist of the school that the student attends. This form may be obtained in any school principal’s office. The names of students being nominated will be placed on the g/t screening list and screening will be conducted each spring.

All kindergarten level students who perform at a noticeably higher level of accomplishment relative to age peers are assessed for the gifted/talented program. In grades 1-12, students are assessed in the areas of intellectual ability and specific academic fields.

The nomination/screening phase is coordinated by the Advanced Program Specialist. Screening is conducted in two parts. Part One involves information gathering and Part Two involves testing. The Gifted and Talented Selection Committee will determine that a student meets Part One criteria before Part Two testing will be administered. Data from the following areas will be collected and presented to the Selection Committee for review:

PART I: Qualitative and Quantitative Measures

• Reading skills as measured by a staff administered reading inventory
• Writing skills as measured by student products
• Creative thinking as measured by student products and teacher observations
• Critical thinking as measured by student products and teacher observations
• Slocumb-Payne Teacher Perception Inventory
• Grades

After the selection committee determines that a student meets Part I criteria, data from the following measures may be used to assess students at each grade level to determine if they meet Part II criteria. All assessments include both qualitative and quantitative measures:

• Cognitive ability test scores
• Achievement test scores
• Naglieri Non-verbal Abilities Test (NNAT)
• Torrance Verbal and Figural Tests for Creativity
• Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT)
• TAAS/TAKS scores
• Review of products/portfolios

An identification matrix is utilized to record assessment data for each nominated student. Additional tests are not administered unless there are discrepancies among data gathered. Written permission of the parents is secured for any special testing needed for screening or selection purposes.

PART II. Assessment/Selection

A Gifted and Talented Selection Committee composed of a campus administrator, teacher(s), and Advanced Program Specialists review the data on each student who has been screened for the g/t program. The majority of the members of the Selection Committee will have completed thirty hours of g/t training and be current with a minimum of six-hours of update training. After review of the student’s data, the Selection Committee will determine the most appropriate placement for the student.

Parents and staff will be informed of the Selection Committee’s decision and given an opportunity to schedule a conference to discuss assessment data.

All identified gifted/talented students are placed in a teacher’s classroom who has had at least thirty hours of basic gifted/talented training and is current with at least six hours of update training.