WV GIFTED EDUCATION GUIDELINES

 Introduction   Foundations    Identification    Planning   Instruction    Assessment  Technology


 Present Levels
      Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance systematically take into consideration an individual's abilities and needs based on ongoing assessment of the individual's progress in the curriculum. Policy 2419 requires that the student's results on the state's standardized assessment, WESTEST 2, be reported. Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance narrative should be written in objective, measurable terms and easy-to-understand, non-technical language. They should establish a basis for the annual goals. For gifted students, a statement is required regarding the impact that giftedness has on making progress in the curriculum and growth in achievement. (See example below.)

     According to WV State Code, the IEP Team must consider acceleration for students identified as gifted. The Team may decide that acceleration is not appropriate for the student, but the Team must document their consideration of acceleration in the Present Levels of Academic Achievement section of the IEP. For example; "At this time, the data does not indicate the need for acceleration to the next grade level in reading/language arts, science and social studies."

      If the Team decides that acceleration to an above grade level course or class is appropriate, there must be evidence that the student has already mastered grade level WV content standards and objectives. The assessment must be included in the benchmark or formative data. For example; "The student will benefit from acceleration in the math curriculum to 7th grade math as she has mastered 6th grade math according to the results of a custom-made 6th-grade math test using Acuity.

INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM

                                                                                                                       Page___ of ___

Student’s Full Name __Betsy Doe Smith____________

Date _4/7/2010

PART VII: PRESENT LEVELS OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE

Narrative Descriptions of Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance
(refer to IEP Instructions) Add pages as needed.

General Information

Jane, who will be in 7th grade in the 2009-2010 school year, scored at the Distinguished Level in Reading/Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies on the 6th grade 2008 WESTEST 2. Using the Acuity assessment tool, Jane demonstrated above mastery level skills in the 7th grade WV math curriculum using an above-grade level custom-made math test in Acuity. Using teacher-made rubrics and checklists, Jane demonstrated mastery and above level skills in the 6th grade Reading/Language Arts, Writing, Science and Social Studies curriculum. General education teachers report that she successfully completes all assignments and participates in class discussions.

Given a learning styles inventory, Jane is a logical/mathematic learner who learns best by using logic and patterns to solve problems. She will benefit from the provision of logical activities involving equations to solve a real-world problem. Jane would also benefit from activities that develop verbal/linguistic skills in order to better communicate math and logic skills.

Given an interest inventory, Jane shows an interest in math and computers and wishes to pursue a career that involves math.

Given the Learning Skills/Behavior Rubric, Jane scored in the Developing range overall. Her weakest area was “Gathering Data” – “uses all available sensory pathways to learn and transfers the information to improve overall learning; can distinguish fact from fiction.” Another area in which she showed limited skills was “Thinking Flexibly” – “considers new information and demonstrates ability to change direction or use different strategies when needed.” In addition, limited skills were demonstrated in “Persisting” – “sustains problem solving process over time” and “Questioning and Posing Problems” – “probes deeper into an issue or problem and sees alternate points of view.”

Writing

Jane has mastered 6th grade Writing CSOs at the distinguished level on the 6th grade WESTEST 2. To further develop her verbal/linguistic skills and to differentiate a writing product as a 7th grader, she will develop an informational brochure. Jane will also benefit from activities that develop effective communication of her research using spoken, written, and visual language for a variety of audiences and for different purposes.


Math

As the assessment of above-grade level skills in math indicates, Jane has already mastered the 7th grade math curriculum. She also has a great interest in math and wishes to pursue a career that involves math. Therefore, Jane will be accelerated in the math curriculum to Algebra I.

Functional Skills

At this time, the data does not indicate the need for acceleration to the next grade level in reading/language arts, science and social studies. Jane continues to need the provision of extension activities and more in-depth study of topics focusing on higher-order thinking skills to enrich the grade-level curriculum.

Activities that develop critical thinking such as analysis of the text by distinguishing between fact and opinion, determining the credibility of the source, evaluating its relevance in present day living, and predicting any impact on future living; the application of the steps of a problem-solving model to complete a project; and planning, developing, organizing, and delivering a research project with documented sources, in-text citations to avoid plagiarism, and computer-generated graphic aids, will be provided.

Link to Goals.

 

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