Our state special education
policy requires that student identified as gifted have a
reevaluation determination in their eighth grade year. The
reevaluation determination is conducted to review if the
student is eligible as Exceptional Gifted (EG) in grades
nine through twelve. The
Reevaluation
Determination Plan may determine that current evaluation
exists and no additional evaluation is warranted.
If it is determined that the
student is eligible as
EG
in grades nine through twelve and needs specialized
instruction, then the Team must develop an IEP.
If it is determined that the
student is not eligible as EG or does not need specialized
instruction provided under an IEP, then the Team must develop
a
Four-Year Education/Transition
Plan for the student. WV State Code provides that those
students be served in honors, Advanced Placement (AP) and/or
International Baccalaureate (IB) courses in grades nine
through twelve.
Some school systems have a
justifiable concern about the economic feasibility of offering
AP courses for less than ten students. Therefore, there
are several AP courses available in the WV Virtual School.
As always, the WV Virtual School charges counties no tuition
for the first ten students per course per school. "Every
high school in the state can offer at least 20 AP courses
with the only cost being for the textbook if one is required,"
says Sharon Gainer, registrar for the WV Virtual School.
Her telephone number is 806-593-8065 and her email is
sgainer@access.k12.wv.us.
The importance of taking AP
courses cannot be understated. The research of William Bowen
and Michael McPherson found that colleges and universities
are now giving more consideration to AP scores than other
tests such as the SAT and ACT because "AP scores tell
colleges more about a student's ability to complete college
than other tests."
If a student is concerned
about the challenge of an AP course and the effects on his/her
GPA, encourage the student to take the AP course as colleges
and universities are now considering students who take AP
courses to be better prepared for college/university. "Advanced
Placement courses directly match the curriculum for entry-level
college courses" and are better indicators than high
school grades.
