gifted and talented education · gifted and talented education. purpose. in late may 2015 the...

Gifted and Talented Education: An Alignment Review and Recommendations

Washoe County School District Board of TrusteesJanuary 26, 2016

Presenters:Scott Bailey, WCSD Chief Academic Officer

Cheri DiMartino, Director of Gifted and Talented Education ProgramsSharon C. Tucker, PhD, WestEd Senior Program Associate

Attachment A

Gifted and Talented EducationPurpose

In late May 2015 the Washoe County School District contracted with WestEd, a not for profit research, development, and service agency, to prepare a report on the District’s program for students with gifts and talents. Specifically, the report will serve as a springboard in developing a long-term plan to better align district practices with the National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) standards. Additionally, this initiative serves as a complement to the District’s Strategic Plan, Envision WCSD 2020.

Gifted and Talented EducationPurpose (cont.)

The District’s focus is to learn how well current programming aligns to the 2010 National Association for Gifted Children Pre-K – Grade 12 Program Standards. Results will include strengths and opportunities for growth. An additional area of focus will be the degree of collaboration with schools, other district departments, and relationships with parents and the public.

Gifted and Talented EducationThe Interviews

• 123 individuals representing a range of WCSD’s GATE program stakeholders were interviewed.

• In total, 11 persons were interviewed individually and 112 participated in focus group interviews.

• Stakeholder groups included students, parents, teachers, principals, and central office staff.

• Researchers finalized 115 questions, which were converted into four interview protocols to be used with different role groups.

• The interview protocols were pre-coded to correlate with the NAGC standard numbers and sub-component letters.

• Each interview lasted approximately 50 minutes.

Gifted and Talented EducationThe Standards

The first set of NAGC Pre-K to Grade 12 Programming Standards was released in 1998. The 2010 standards were written to upgrade the 1998 program standards, integrate them with current teacher preparation standards, and embed examples of evidence-based practices for each standard.The NAGC standards speak to the six broad areas of: 1) Learning and Development 2) Assessment 3) Curriculum and Instruction 4) Learning Environments 5) Programming 6) Professional Development

Gifted and Talented EducationThe Findings

For each standard, the full report provides: • NAGC’s verbatim definition, in italics, and WestEd’s own narrative summary and

analysis of the standard. • Two bulleted lists, one identifying ways in which WCSD’s GATE program aligns with

the particular standard (strengths) and one identifying ways in which it does not align (opportunities for improvement).

• Relevant quotes from interviews with WCSD staff, parents, consultants, community members, and students, are included where thought to illustrate a point. Note: No names were given to provide full anonymity.

• Closing set of primary findings and alignment-related recommendations, as highlighted in this presentation.

Gifted and Talented EducationStandard One: Learning and Development

Finding: • The current WCSD GATE program emphasizes the development of the cognitive

domain and celebrates academic achievement. This emphasis is not balanced with adequate attention to the development of students’ gifts and talents in other domains.

Recommendation:• Place increased emphasis on the development of curricular and instructional

planning and activities that develop the affective domain and other domains that round out giftedness and talent.


Finding: • The current WCSD program does not include system differentiation based on

discovering and tracking student interests and goals.Recommendation:• Develop interest inventories and recordkeeping that track and build on early and

ongoing awareness of interests and strengths. Assist students in using their developing awareness to set goals for college and career readiness.


Finding: • GATE staff report the use of interventions when academic and/or behavior

challenges surface for an individual student, but staff perception is that the interventions often come too late and are not well supported by a strong GATE protocol.

Recommendation:• Adopt the District’s social and emotional curriculum as a prevention strategy.

Provide GATE and general education staff with professional learning related to the social and emotional development of GATE students, including the understanding that being gifted or talented does not preclude having academic and/or behavior problems; strengthen intervention protocol.

Gifted and Talented EducationStandard Two: Assessment

Finding: • WCSD’s identification process for GATE students is not comprehensive. It is heavily

weighted toward the cognitive domain and academic ability. It does not adequately provide for the identification of gifts or talent in other important domains (e.g., aesthetics, affective, leadership). Nor does it provide for English language learners to be assessed in their home languages.

Recommendation:• Form an interdepartmental district team with expertise from the GATE program

and from those with expertise in English language learners, students with disabilities, assessment and accountability, language arts, mathematics, psychologists, and counselors to develop a comprehensive assessment system for identifying gifted and talented students.


Finding: • There is a general lack of understanding and clear communication by general

education teachers, parents, and principals about how students are identified for GATE.

Recommendation:• Develop and disseminate clear policies and procedures about how students are

identified for GATE, along with an ongoing communication effort to ensure that the policies and procedures are widely introduced and understood by all affected.


Finding: • The District does not have a long-term monitoring system for the academic and

affective development of GATE students or of their developing interests and goals; thus, there are no data for discussing these important issues with students and their families on an ongoing basis.

Recommendation:• For each GATE student, the District should maintain an individual record of

strengths, areas to be developed, goals, interests, etc., to be reviewed with the student and family on an annual basis.


Finding: • The current program and its components are not well evaluated for

implementation, effectiveness, or the ratio of cost to benefit.Recommendation:• Collaborate with the Office of Accountability to design an ongoing district

evaluation that looks at the GATE program in its totality once every two years, and looks at its individual components each year within that cycle. An outside evaluation of the program is recommended at least every three years.

Gifted and Talented EducationStandard Three: Curriculum and Instruction

Finding: • The GATE curriculum and instructional strategies align with state standards, and

are advanced and conceptually challenging. However, curriculum planning and instructional strategies do not place an adequate emphasis on diversity, culturally responsive instructional practices or the skills and attitudes necessary to being a contributing member of a multicultural and diverse society.

Recommendation:• GATE teachers and support staff should examine current curriculum content and

instructional strategies to determine their effectiveness with diverse learners and modify and/or replace them as necessary.


Finding: • There is a mixed view of GATE instruction. A majority of those interviewed

described GATE instruction as incorporating research-based strategies and using quality curriculum and materials. However, some of those interviewed expressed the concern that WCSD’s GATE teachers are not providing the kind of cutting-edge instruction and differentiation that should be available to this student population.

Recommendation:• Use the shift to having site principals, rather than district-level GATE staff, evaluate

full-time GATE teachers as a professional learning opportunity for school staff.


Finding: • Many of those interviewed, irrespective of their role group, described the GATE

program as an “island” or a “silo.” The GATE mathematics program is based on acceleration. The GATE department and the District math specialists have yet to resolve concerns about the lack of differentiation in accelerated math and in what ways it may and may not align with the Nevada Academic Content Standards.

Recommendation:• Establish a study group to look at the student participation/outcome data for the

different math approaches in the District. Include a review of the research base for various approaches to mathematics curriculum and instruction.

Gifted and Talented EducationStandard Four: Learning Environments

Finding: • WCSD Climate Survey shows that the District provides a safe environment in which

students agree that hard work can yield better grades. Teachers of the gifted and talented maintain high expectations for students and emphasize providing feedback to them. However, the GATE program does not promote multilingualism nor does it systematically assist second language learners to maintain and develop their first language.

Recommendation:• Multilingualism is a valuable 21st-century skill and its development should begin in

the early grades. Including more second language learners in the gifted and talented program would help to reduce disproportionality.


Finding: • The literature, art, history, values, and traditions of a variety of cultures need a

larger place in the curriculum for gifted and talented students. The development of personal and social responsibility and the leadership skills necessary to exercise civic duties are not systematically included in the GATE program.

Recommendation:• Create a community service requirement for middle and high school GATE students

with a class that briefs them on volunteer and interpersonal service skills and debriefs their community service experience.


Finding: • Technology is not being maximized for collaboration, innovation, and

communication for students with gifts and talents.

Recommendation:• Connect GATE teachers with district specialists (e.g., from Division of 21st Century

Learning) to think through the possibilities that current devices offer for more fluid and innovative ways to support learning.

Gifted and Talented EducationStandard Five: Programming

Finding: • GATE cognitive and academic programming is research-based and on the whole,

well developed. GATE instructional programming emphasizes critical and creative thinking strategies. It also employs problem-solving models to build students’ independent investigative skills. On the whole, academic growth for GATE students is commensurate with aptitude.

Recommendation:• Program evaluation component should include stronger emphasis on monitoring

progress for individuals and for groups in core academic disciplines. Families and students should receive students’ individual results on an annual basis and should be part of discussions on how the results will be used.


Finding: • The GATE program is not viewed as collaborative when interfacing with school sites

and other departments.Recommendation:• New GATE program leadership should meet with principals and other department

staff to clarify areas of concern, and then meet with GATE staff to develop a plan for resolving concerns in a positive manner.


Finding: • GATE lacks clear policies and procedures related to its programming decisions.Recommendation:• Clear, student-centered GATE policies and procedures should be developed and

widely disseminated, addressing such important issues as program purposes, which students are to be served, how they will be selected, and GATE impacts on general education programming. General education input into the development of these policies and procedures is imperative if staff district-wide are to accept and follow the policies and procedures.


Finding: • The GATE program does not recognize students with gifts and talents in the arts.Recommendation:• The District should consider adding an arts component to the GATE program.


Finding: • Over the years, the District’s GATE program has been the focus of an evolving core

group of active GATE-parent advocates. While their close attention to the program appears to have helped further the program’s development, interview data revealed that their involvement has not always been widely appreciated. District and department leadership recognizes that parents of gifted and talented students are a valuable resource and, more recently, have attempted to engage parents in general more broadly and constructively around GATE issues.

Recommendation:• The District should continue soliciting input from parents about the GATE program

and make efforts to elicit broad parent support in carrying out district GATE programs and initiatives.

Gifted and Talented EducationStandard Six: Professional Development

Finding: • The necessary orientation to, and discussion of, the NAGC standards has not

occurred at deeper levels with those who are expected to implement the standards.

Recommendation:• It is ultimately teachers and principals who are responsible for implementing the

NAGC standards day to day. These educators need sufficient opportunity to learn about and discuss the standards, and reflect on how they can be successfully implemented.


Finding: • The GATE program places a priority on professional development. The District

supports that priority by providing GATE teachers with onsite professional learning opportunities, teacher release time, substitutes, and assistance to teachers in meeting credentialing requirements. However, there is some concern that GATE professional development takes priority over schoolwide professional development initiatives, a concern that sometimes causes tension at the schools.

Recommendation:• Work with principals to balance the school and district professional development

calendars so that GATE teachers are not caught in a conflict. Develop a procedure about who is to decide on the immediate priority should a conflict arise.


Finding: • The GATE program has a yearly professional development focus, but also offers

professional learning opportunities for a variety of other topics in flexible settings.Recommendation:• The GATE program can use the building of its yearly professional development

calendar as an opportunity to collaborate with other departments to include topics of mutual interest.


Finding: • Too little attention is being paid to eliminating disproportionality in GATE student

identification and participation. Professional development can play a part in resolving this problem, but it must go beyond the teaching staff to include administrators and curriculum staff as well.

Recommendation:• First, make certain that curriculum materials and instructional activities include

cultural frames of reference that are meaningful to all WCSD students. Providing professional learning for curriculum writers and teachers in how this can be achieved is a worthy endeavor. Second, provide professional development and guided practice on how to recognize characteristics of giftedness and talents in underrepresented groups.

Gifted and Talented EducationDisproportionality Finding:• Disproportionality (opportunity gap) exists in WCSD GATE programming.

Disproportionality Recommendations:• Study the 900-plus low-SES students currently served by WCSD’s GATE program,

beginning with examining their demographic data to discover both the common and the disparate characteristics of these students, including comparisons to similar non-GATE students.

• Consider conducting ethnographic case studies of a small subgroup of successful low-SES GATE students to more deeply understand the variables that contributed to their success and any roadblocks they may have had to overcome in order to succeed in GATE.

Gifted and Talented EducationDisproportionality Recommendations (continued):• Expand the types of program offered for GATE students with a particular focus on

creating services for high-potential students who are currently underserved.• When reviewing and writing district policies and procedures that define giftedness

and guide nomination, assessment, and identification processes, consider the research and academic scholarship to make certain that the District is doing everything possible to minimize bias and to eliminate socioeconomic barriers to serving the full range of diversity represented in the WCSD community.

Gifted and Talented EducationDisproportionality Recommendations (continued):• Consider academic preparation programs for low-income students that might, in

turn, prepare them for GATE identification. In the GATE literature, these programs are called talent development programs, with talent identified specifically as academic talent. Several of these programs (see full report) were evaluated by Alexander Payne in a 2011 paper for the George Washington University Center for Equity and Excellence.

gifted and talented education · gifted and talented education. purpose. in late may 2015 the...

Documents