Screening/referral window for Gifted and Talented program
The Darlington County School District’s (DCSD) referral window for the 2021-22 Gifted and Talented program opened Monday, Aug. 24, and will close Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Every child is tested as a second grader online at their home school. If there are children in grades 3-11 who would like to be screened again for the Gifted and Talented program, parents must complete an online screening referral form by Sept. 9. Please visit this link for the online screening/referral form: bit.ly/2Et6ci7.
In order to be retested, the child must have scored in the 70th percentile or higher on the last administration of the approved tests for Gifted and Talented.
DCSD will administer the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) to second grade students and any other eligible grade-level students that have been referred for testing in October.
The testing is a screening for placement in the district’s Gifted and Talented program for the 2021-22 school year. It must be done in a face to face format which means parents must bring their children in to their home school to test.
If there are any questions or concerns, please contact your child’s school.
The testing will be administered in two areas: achievement and aptitude. The ITBS will be administered for achievement, and the CogAT will be administered to determine the aptitude criteria.
Students who meet the required criteria (Achievement: 94th national age percentile in reading comprehension or math concepts and problem solving; Aptitude: 93rd national age percentile in either verbal, non-verbal, quantitative, or total) may be eligible to participate in the Gifted and Talented program beginning in the 2021-22 school year.
Students in grades 2-5 who meet one-half of the criteria will be eligible to participate in the Performance Task Assessment in mid-February and early March.
If parents would like students in grades 3-11 to be retested, they must complete the online screening/testing referral form by Sept. 9.
The district will notify parents of a student who qualifies for Gifted and Talented by letter in the summer of 2021. For more information about the Gifted and Talented Program, contact the Office of Arts and Innovative Programs at 843-398-2242.
