Gifted Education Guidelines

WV GIFTED EDUCATION GUIDELINES

Student Assessment - Program Evaluation Gifted Education Home

Assessment is essential to instruction and teaching in gifted education. Gifted educators use the results of assessments to adjust their instruction and enhance student learning.

Gifted educators understand that performance and achievement cannot always be measured by multiple choice, mass-graded tests. They must employ alternative assessments such as performance-based assessments, rubrics, rating scales and portfolios.

Type of Assessment	Examples of Assessments
Academic Skills	ACT SAT WESTEST 2	ACT PLAN and EXPLORE Woodcock-Johnson
Learning Styles	Rating Scales	Learning Inventories
Interest Inventories	Inventories	ACT PLAN and EXPLORE
Life/Learning Skills	Rating Scales Rubrics	Learning Skills Rubric

Assessing Content

West Virginia special education teachers are required to enter the student's WESTEST 2 scores on the assessment section of the Individualized Education Program (IEP). WESTEST 2, the state's standardized assessment is given at grade level. Therefore, in order to assess above-grade level content, gifted education teachers may use Acuity and create customized tests. Acuity training site. Acuity Power Point Presentation.

Assessing Performance

     Not all types of knowledge and skills can be assessed using multiple choice tests (Acuity, DIBELS, etc.). Problem-solving and higher-order reasoning skills are better assessed with performance-based measures, such as rating scales or rubrics. Learning Skills Rubric - Word      Learning Skills Rubric - PDF     Learning Skills Rubric - Elementary (Word)
Functional Learning Skills

Authentic Assessments

     Authentic assessments are performance assessment that call on the student to "perform real world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills" (Jon Mueller).

     There are many rubrics available on-line that measure components of a finished product, such as research project and writing rubrics. There are also rubrics available that measure higher order thinking, such as creativity rubrics and problem solving rubrics. These types of assessment may be included in the Present Levels of Academic Achievement in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) when appropriate.

     Although rubrics are available that measure separate components of higher order thinking, some gifted education teachers in West Virginia saw the need for a holistic rubric to assess gifted students' work and behavior that may be used as benchmark or formative data to describe present levels of academic achievement and functional performance in developing annual goals for an IEP in WV. The result of much study and writing is our "Learning Skills/Behavior Rubric." (See above.)

Learning Styles

Interest Inventories

Multiple Intelligences

IEP - Assessment Page

Preassessments

Types of preassessments to assess content (Roberts, 2010)

1. End of the unit assessment
2. End of the previous unit assessment
3. K-W-L Chart
4. Five most-difficult questions
5. Open-ended question
6. Experience survey

Assessing Deeper Learning - How Deep is Deeper? - Jim Bellanca

Program Evaluation

Four questions to ask in evaluating a program:

Does it provide for academic progress?

Does it remediate academic weakness?

Does it enhance psychological adjustment?

Does it provide socialization?

Resources

Roberts, J. L., (2010, Winter). Preassessment: The linchpin for defensible differentiation. The Challenge, Bowling Green, KY: the Center for Gifted Studies, 10-12.

Roberts, J. L. & Inman, T. F. (2009). Assessing differentiated student products: A protocol for development and evaluation. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Roberts, J. L. & Inman, T. F. (2009). Strategies for differentiating instruction: Best practices for the classroom (2nd ed.). Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

NAGC Pre-K--Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards