Identification Process and Timeline

Multifaceted Student Identification Plan

• We identify students for advanced curriculum in math and/or language arts beginning during the kindergarten year. (At the middle school level, students in HA math will also take HA science; students identified for HA language arts will also take HA social studies/humanities. HA high school students participate in a wide array of Advanced Placement courses of their choosing so long as they meet established prerequisites.)   
• We use both qualitative (characteristics) measures and quantitative measures (test scores) in identification.  
• We follow national best practice guidelines by using at least three types of measures. 

Who Decides? When Does Identification Take Place?  

•  An identification committee rather than a single person makes placement decisions based upon students’ needs.
• At the elementary level, the identification committee is made up of teachers with High Ability endorsements from each school and the Director of Academic Services.  
• At the middle school level, the identification committee is made up of High Ability teachers from each middle school, counselors from each middle school, and the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning.
• Elementary and middle school identification processes begin during the winter of each school year and take place over several months’ time. Students are considered during the March-May time-frame and are typically officially notified in June of placement for the following school year.  Kindergarten students are served all year based on initial screeners.

Are students automatically considered?

• All students in grades Kdg-7th are reconsidered every year for placement the following year. 

What about already-identified students? Are they re-identified each year?  

• Already-identified students are automatically identified for the next school year so long as they have been successful. Students who are identified as math-only or language-arts only are automatically considered each spring for identification in the non-HA area.

Quantitative Measures

• The Cognitive Abilities Test™ (CogAT®) measures abilities across the symbol systems that are most highly correlated with fluid reasoning, problem solving, and success in school. With its separate measures of Verbal, Quantitative, and Nonverbal reasoning, this research-based and proven test provides multiple perspectives on student ability across grades K–12. The committee uses 95th percentile as one indicator that a student needs advanced curriculum and/or instruction.  

• Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Primary Measures of Academic Progress (Primary MAP) and MAP test percentile ranks:   The NWEA test has two versions: one which is for primary grade students and one for students who have learned to read for themselves. The Primary MAP test is given to most students in kindergarten and first grades who are being considered for high ability in the next school year. The Primary MAP is taken on the computer with audio and visual supports (meaning it is read aloud to the student).  The other NWEA test (MAP) is typically given to students who are able to read independently (students in grades 2-8 and K-1 students who are already-identified HA students or who are fluent readers take this version of the NWEA test). The NWEA assessments help determine how a child is performing on state standards and as compared to peers. The test is adjusted to the student’s present level automatically and contains a full bank of questions ranging through high school level. Thus, it is a better measure of achievement for high ability students than a grade-level test of standards such as ILEARN. Percentile scores on the NWEA test indicate a child’s instructional achievement level in Reading and Math. If a child scores at the 50th percentile that means that their scores are equal to or surpass 50% of all other children in the same grade nationwide taking the same test. The 50th percentile is considered average. The committee uses 95th percentile on MAP and 98th percentile on Primary MAP as one indicator that a student needs advanced curriculum and/or instruction.  Please remember that having only one indicator does not qualify a child for identification. 

• Since scores change so much during elementary years we consider achievement, ability scores, and teacher observations  when making placement recommendations. At the middle school level we consider achievement or ability scores.

Advanced Curriculum and High Ability Timeline 

By June 10: Elementary & Middle School Identification decisions sent to parents via email

June 15: Appeals due

• Elementary Appeal Form
• Middle School Appeal Form

By June 30: Final identification letters emailed to parents

July – Academic Services office closed

New Families

The parent must first enroll the student in a Zionsville school and provide proof of residency. Copies of the student’s most recent standardized tests must be submitted to the school in which the student is enrolling.  Testing records will be requested from the former school.  However, to expedite the placement process, parents may submit these records as well.  

Information should include:

• Reading, language, and math test scores from a recognized standardized test such as NWEA, Stanford Achievement Test, California Test of Basic Skills, Iowa Test of Basic Skills, or Woodcock Johnson.
• Ability (IQ) test score from a recognized test such as the Cognitive Skills Index, Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, Wisc III, Stanford Binet, or Naglieri.
• Name, address, and phone number of the previous school.
• Name, address, and phone numbers of a teacher who can be reached for a recommendation prior to registration.
• Student’s name, parent’s name, summer address, phone number and school the student will attend in Zionsville.
• After a review of the data, the parents will be contacted if further testing for mathematics or foreign language placement needs to be arranged.

Elementary:

New families who would like their child to be considered for Advanced Curriculum should complete the forms below and submit any required application materials via U.S. mail to the Academic Services Office, Educational Services Center, 900 Mulberry Street, Zionsville, IN  46077.  Application materials will be reviewed and decisions made as soon as the office reopens August 1.  Please note that incomplete files will not be reviewed.  

• Special Note for Incoming 1st Grade Students
• New Student K-4 Application
• New Students Who Are Already Identified
• New Students Who Are Not Already Identified

Middle School:

A student enrolling in Zionsville Community Schools may be considered for placement in the middle school High Ability Program if they meets the criteria specified to participate.  

Once counselors return to work in August, they will contact you to set up a meeting to discuss your child’s schedule and placement. All previous school records will be reviewed.   If you have additional testing information, please bring that to your meeting, so we can ensure appropriate placement to meet your child’s needs.

New Middle School Students Who Are Already Identified As High Ability:

If your child has already been identified as a high ability student in another school district, they will also be considered for a similar placement in Zionsville Community Schools upon enrollment. Each school district in Indiana establishes an identification plan for high ability that is appropriate for that district’s student population. It is very possible that a student who is qualified as high ability in one district may or may not qualify in another district.

When you enroll your child at the middle school level, their records will be reviewed to determine if your former school district used criteria similar to what is used by ZCS and what placement would be most appropriate here in ZCS to ensure continued academic success. If your child’s ability and achievement levels meet or exceed the ZCS standards for high ability identification, then they will be identified as a high ability student.

If it is determined that your child does not currently meet the ZCS standards for high ability, then they will be reconsidered each spring.