MES Gifted Program

Due to the high percentage of our students qualifying for the Gifted Program, Montgomery does not pull students from their regular classroom for gifted coursework. Instead, we require that all MES primary teachers become gifted-certified. Regardless of Gifted eligibility, teachers use the MAP test to differentiate instruction for each student and to determine the type of tasks needed to challenge them and help them excel.

Please direct questions regarding the Gifted program to Assistant Principal Ms. Moiya Nsele at moiya_nsele@dekalbschoolsga.org.

Gifted Identification and Eligibility Process

To qualify for the gifted program, 3 of 4 measures of eligibility must be met:

1) Achievement - MAP

2) Mental Ability - CogAT
3) Creativity – Renzulli, TTCT

4) Motivation – Renzulli

1) MAP Assessment

• MAP assessment is used as the initial screener for all students in grades K-5 during the winter window. The MAP creates a personalized assessment experience by adapting to each student’s learning level, precisely measuring student progress and growth for each individual.
• We use the Percentile Range (PR) to evaluate student performance. The Percentile Range is from 1 to 99. The national average on all subtests is 50. For example, if your child’s PR was a 75 in Reading, this would mean that your child scored higher than 75% of the students in the norming group.
• Students scoring >90% RT (Reading Total) and/or >90% MT (Math Total) meet necessary criteria proceed to the next step in Gifted eligibility and will receive notification further evaluation in the following 3 areas of Mental Ability, Creativity, and Motivation.

2) CogAT Test

• The CogAT is administered to students who meet necessary criteria on the MAP assessment.
• Students take the CogAT during the spring testing window.
• (CogAT) measures students’ reasoning abilities in the three areas:
  • Verbal: verbal classification, sentence completion, and verbal analogies
  • Quantitative: quantitative relations, number series, and equation building
  • Nonverbal: figure classification, figure analogies, and figure analysis 
• Students must score a 96% or higher in any ONE of the above categories to qualify for the Gifted program.

 3) Renzulli

• As part of our district testing program for elementary and middle schools, all students in grades K-5 are assessed using the Renzulli.
• The Renzulli is a standardized behavioral rating scale for creativity and motivation.
• The Renzulli is completed by the homeroom teacher.
• Students must achieve a Creativity/Motivation score of 90% or higher to qualify for the Gifted program.

4) Torrence Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT)

• Students who qualify for further testing also take the TTCT.
• The TTCT is a highly reliable assessment given to students to measure creative thinking.
• A qualifying score for the TTCT is 90% or higher to qualify for the Gifted program.

Please direct questions regarding the Gifted program to Assistant Principal Ms. Moiya Nsele at moiya_nsele@dekalbschoolsga.org.