Gifted Education
Gifted Referral Process
Gwinnett County Public School’s gifted education program provides eligible students with academic enrichment focusing on and extending the GCPS Academic Knowledge and Skills by a homeroom teacher or another teacher. Gifted students transferring to a GCPS school from another school in the state have reciprocity into the GCPS program. Gifted students transferring from out of state schools must meet Georgia requirements to be considered eligible for gifted education services.
All students at Head Elementary have the opportunity to be considered for gifted education services. We follow all procedures and guidelines set forth by the Georgia Department of Education and Gwinnett County Public Schools. To be eligible for gifted education services, students must meet criteria in 3 or more of the following areas: Achievement, Mental Abilities, Creativity, and Motivation. The chart below details the measures that are used to assess these areas and the criteria used to determine eligibility:
Category | Assessment(s) Used | Criteria |
Achievement | i-Ready Reading and Math Diagnostic | Score of 90 or above in either Reading or Math |
Mental Abilities | CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) | Score of 96 or greater in one of 3 areas |
Creativity |
GES (Gifted Evaluation Scale) |
Score of 90 or above on either of the 3 assessments |
Motivation | GES (Gifted Evaluation Scale) Portfolio |
Score of 90 or above on either of the 2 assessments |
*If a student scores 90 or above on the GES in both Creativity and Motivation, scores from the
TTC and/or a portfolio are considered for either Creativity or Motivation.
The gifted referral process is initiated twice a year for students in grades 1-5: August and January. The process for Kindergarten students begins in January. All students are first given the i-Ready Reading and Math diagnostic assessments. From there, any students that meet the i-Ready criteria are referred for further testing. Parent consent is obtained and the other measures listed in the chart are administered. This process could take the entire school year. Parents are notified by letter of their student’s eligibility as soon as their student’s referral is complete.