Gifted Identification

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Definitions

The Exceptional Children's Education Act (ECEA) defines "gifted" children as:

Those persons between the ages of four and twenty-one whose aptitude or competence in abilities, talents, and potential for accomplishment in one or more domains are so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their educational programming needs. Gifted children are hereafter referred to as gifted students. Children under five who are gifted may also be provided with early childhood special educational services. Gifted students include gifted students with disabilities (i.e. twice exceptional) and students with exceptional abilities or potential from all socio-economic, ethnic, and cultural populations. Gifted students are capable of high performance, exceptional production, or exceptional learning behavior by virtue of any or a combination of these areas of giftedness:

General or specific intellectual ability
Specific academic aptitude
Creative or productive thinking
Leadership abilities
Visual arts, performing arts, musical or psychomotor abilities 12.01(16)

ECEA defines "identification" as:

The assessment process used by the AU for identifying students who meet the definition specified in section 12.01(16) and for identifying the educational needs of gifted students. 12.02(2)(c)

ECEA Areas of Gifted Identification: (12.01(16)(a-e)

General Intellectual Ability
Specific Academic Aptitudes
- Reading
- Writing
- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Studies
- World Languages

Specific Talent Aptitudes
- Creative or Productive Thinking
- Leadership
- Dance
- Music
- Performing Arts (theater, speech and debate)
- Visual Arts
- Psychomotor

Description

Identification Assessment

The Exceptional Children's Educational Act (ECEA) requires all administrative units (AUs) in Colorado to identify and serve students between the ages of five and twenty-one, and age four in administrative units with Early Access, whose aptitude or competence in abilities, talents, and potential for accomplishment in one or more domains are so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their educational programming needs. AUs include: school districts, Charter School Institute (CSI), multi-district administrative units and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES).

ECEA Rules guide an AU's development of procedures and processes for identification assessment and making gifted determinations while still providing opportunities for local decision-making. The Office of Gifted Education provides an identification guidebook to support administrative units with implementation of ECEA Rules.

Body of Evidence

Assessment means methods, tools, and data collected as a body of evidence (BOE) for use in identification and programming. [C.R.S. 22-20-202(5)].

A review team, with at least one person trained or endorsed in gifted identification and programming, reviews the BOE in order to make a determination. While some of the data in a body of evidence will be used to meet the criteria for gifted identification, other data or information may be used to build a learner profile for the purpose of developing appropriate programming options defined in the Advanced Learning Plan (ALP). Criteria are the rules for evaluating a level of exceptionality for identification.

View more information about BOE

Portability

ECEA Rules specify a student's "state-approved" identification in one or more categories of giftedness transfers to any district in Colorado. This is defined as "portability."

"State approved" means the AU followed ECEA criteria for identification. If an AU chooses to identify students not using state criteria, the student's identification is not portable. If the student moves to a new AU in Colorado, the AU determines if the identification meets the new AU's requirements. If the student moves out-of-state, the identification is not portable. If a student moves to Colorado with an identification from a previous state, the AU makes a determination if the student's body of evidence meets criteria for a gifted determination in Colorado. Criteria for gifted identification varies from state to state.

Universal Screening

AUs are strongly encouraged to include universal screening in identification procedures. “Universal Screening” means the systematic assessment of ALL students within a grade level for identifying students with exceptional ability or potential, especially students from traditionally underrepresented populations; and/or screening in conjunction with creation of each student’s individual career and academic plan (ICAP). AU’s may apply for annual grant funds to offset the cost of universal screening assessment.

Talent Pool

The body of evidence for some students may not lead to formal gifted identification, but data may demonstrate the student should be included in a “talent pool.” AU’s have the autonomy to determine if a talent pool is developed and how long a student may participate in a talent pool. Students selected for talent pool participation receive appropriate programming options and/or interventions to address strength areas. The purpose of a talent pool is to foster potential over time.

Military Students

The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children created legislation to ease school-to-school transfers for military children. The intent of the Compact is to minimize the disruption in education when a military child is forced to move as a result of a transfer or deployment.

The Compact states:

Educational Program Placement:

As long as the program is offered by the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), acting as the receiving Local Education Agency (LEA), it will honor placement of the child in educational programs based on current educational assessments and placement in like programs in the sending State. Such programs include, but are not limited to, gifted and talented programs and English language learners. The receiving State school may perform subsequent evaluations to ensure the child’s appropriate educational program placement. Continuing the child’s academic program from the previous school and promoting placement in academically and career challenging courses shall be a primary consideration when DoDEA considers the placement of a transferring child.

ECEA Rules for Identification

View ECEA Rules for Identification Procedures, Talent Pool and Portability

Resources for Identification

Identification Guidance Handbook

Gifted Identification Guidance Handbook

Additional Identification Resources

Using Access for Multilingual Learners (MLs) - Gifted Education

ACCESS for MLs is a suite of English language proficiency assessments for students who have been identified as multilingual learners (MLs). The assessments are grounded in the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards and given annually to all NEP/LEP K-12 multilingual learners in Colorado. Language proficiency develops over multiple years, and is dependent on many factors, including age, educational experience, personality, and opportunity.

The ACCESS Overall composite score is the most comprehensive indicator of performance in language acquisition and may be used as qualifying evidence for gifted identification. The ACCESS Literacy composite score (reading and writing) may also serve as qualifying evidence. While individual domain scores cannot be used for qualification, they are useful as a component of the body of evidence to support programming for a student’s strength area(s).

ACCESS scores may be used as qualifying evidence through any one of the following:

Accelerated Achievement (Proficiency Score): If a student increases their Literacy or Overall composite score by 2.0 or more from one year to the next (e.g., 1.0 to 3.0 or higher); or
Accelerated Trajectory through ELD Program: If a student exits the ELD program at an accelerated pace (e.g., 3 years vs. 6 years from newcomer to monitor status). Because AUs may not receive the complete ELD history, this pathway is recommended only when the student starts as a newcomer in the AU. “Newcomer" specifically refers to a student at the beginning level of English language acquisition (e.g. NEP level).
Growth Percentiles (SGP): If a student demonstrates growth at the 95th percentile or above in any year, and that growth shows a trend of sustained excellence.

Recommended Data Collection

The following table shows the key ACCESS data involved in the gifted identification process. Please collaborate with your ELD specialist for a better understanding of your AU’s ML process.

ACCESS Data: *Literacy Proficiency Scores* *Overall Proficiency Scores*	EL Trajectory (example of trajectory for a gifted ML student)	Growth Percentiles
Year 1 (newcomer)	NEP	--
Year 2	NEP/LEP	Year 1 to 2
Year 3	LEP	Year 2 to 3
Year 4	M1	Year 3 to 4

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What pathways can be used for identification?

Per ECEA Rules, multilingual learners may be identified in the area of General Intellectual Ability [12.01(16)(a)(i) and 12.01(16)(a)(ii)] or Specific Academic Aptitude-World Language [12.01(16)(b)(i) and 12.01(16)(b)(ii)], by demonstrating an accelerated language acquisition rate as measured by:

a) Accelerated Achievement: If a student increases their Literacy or Overall composite score by 2.0 or more from one year to the next (e.g., 1.0 to 3.0 or higher); or

b) Accelerated Trajectory: exiting the EL program in approximately half the time as measured by CDE's standard trajectory (e.g., 3 years vs 6 years from newcomer to monitor status); or

c) Growth Percentiles (SGP): showing annual growth at the 95^th percentile or above in any year.

Is ACCESS for MLs considered an “achievement” or “performance” assessment?

It depends. If you are using the proficiency scores, those are considered to be achievement metrics. However, accelerated trajectory and SGP growth percentile are considered performance metrics.

WIDA changed ACCESS scoring in 2017. How does this impact the use of ACCESS data?

The revised scoring is based on more robust performance expectations; therefore, it is recommended to use data only from 2017 to the present. In order to compare apples to apples, don’t mix pre- and post-2017 data.

How does the Kindergarten ACCESS data compare to Grades 1-12 ACCESS data?

The structure and scoring of the kindergarten test is significantly different from the grades 1-12 test. Therefore, the achievement or growth data may show inconsistencies.

Can WIDA Model or Screener results be used for gifted identification?

No. For qualifying data, use summative assessments rather than diagnostic or progress monitoring measures. However, these other data points could be included as supporting data in the body of evidence.

Can I use WIDA levels instead of the 2.0 increase in Literacy and/or Overall composite scores?

No. The achievement increase is the important metric here. A student could be at the high end of WIDA’s level 1 and move to the low end of level 3 (e.g., 1.8 to 3.2 resulting in a score increase of only 1.4). We have included an overview table of the WIDA levels for your information below:

WIDA ACCESS for MLs Levels

Level	Descriptor	Score Range
1	Entering	1.0 – 1.9
2	Emerging	2.0 – 2.9
3	Developing	3.0 – 3.9
4	Expanding	4.0 – 4.9
5	Bridging	5.0 – 5.9
6	Reaching	6.0

What data should be used for the accelerated trajectory pathway?

Use the student’s first four (4) years of ACCESS data. A gifted multilingual student would likely move to monitor status by the third or fourth year as measured by ACCESS. The fourth year of data is used only to verify the student has moved to monitor status.

Why is it recommended to use the trajectory pathway only with newcomer students?

When students enter the AU at higher levels of proficiency, it may be unclear how long they have been in program, thereby making it difficult to accurately measure their trajectory. The complete ELD history is needed to determine how many years it takes the student to exit the program.

What is the recommended process for using ACCESS Growth Percentile (SGP)?

When using ACCESS SGP, consider two or more consecutive years of growth percentile data to capture language development trends. Growth at the 85th percentile or above is considered significant and should be included in the body of evidence.

Which growth data can be used as qualifying data for gifted identification?

There are three (3) types of growth data provided by CDE – only one of which can be used as qualifying data:

Measure	Acronym	Definition	Eligible for Colorado Gifted Identification
Student Cohort Growth Percentile	SGP	Calculated using cohort-based methodology. Growth represents academic progress relative to students in same annual cohort	Yes
Student Baseline Growth Percentile	SGP-Baseline	Calculated using baseline methodology. Growth represents academic progress relative to students in prior historical cohort.	No
Adequate Student Growth Percentile	AGP	Required for this student to be considered “on track to standard.”	No

Notes:

WIDA’s ACCESS for MLs achievement results are released in May.
CDE’s ACCESS growth data are released in July/August.

Where can I find SGP growth percentile data?

ACCESS growth data must be requested from the AU’s District Accountability Contact.

Why are the skills of listening and speaking excluded as qualifying data?

For a majority of multilingual learners, listening is typically the first skill to develop rapidly in the language acquisition process. As a result, many students tend to score at a high level in the listening domain. In the speaking domain, the pace of development may vary considerably depending on the quality of instruction and opportunities for practice. For these reasons, the listening and/or speaking scores are not reliable measures for the purpose of gifted identification.

Can individual domains be used to qualify a student?

No. While individual domain scores do not currently constitute a qualifying piece of evidence, they may be useful as a component of the body of evidence to support programming for a student’s strength area(s).

How does this guidance align with the Seal of Biliteracy?

For a World Language identification, it is recommended that those districts who have adopted the Seal of Biliteracy consider using that data to further develop a qualifying body of evidence.

How can students learning languages other than English also qualify for gifted identification?

Accelerated Achievement: Per ECEA Rules 12.01(16)(a)(i) and 12.01(16)(a)(ii), students learning any language may be identified in the area of General Intellectual Ability by demonstrating an exceptional capability and/or potential as indicated by twice the expected annual progress in one year through either an overall composite score (all four domains) or a literacy composite score (reading and writing).

Exceptional Growth: Per ECEA Rules 12.01(16)(b)(i) and 12.01(16)(b)(ii), students learning any language may be identified in the area of Specific Academic Aptitude-World Language by demonstrating an exceptional capability or potential as indicated by either of the following:

a) an increase of twice the expected annual progress in one year through an overall composite score (all four domains) or a literacy composite score (reading and writing); or

b) scoring at or above the 95th percentile or in the advanced range on a criterion or norm referenced language assessment (see the CDE Matrix of Commonly Used Measures).

Where can I find more information regarding gifted identification law in Colorado?

The Exceptional Children’s Educational Act (ECEA) Rules can be found on the Colorado Department of Education, Office of Gifted Education website under the Laws and Regulations tab.

Note: If you are not able to access the resources or need additional support, please contact the Office of Gifted Education Program Administrator.