Do schools/teachers consider GT status at all?

[Anonymous]

I know that GT status doesn't mean much-- but does it influence anything at all? Does it show up in students' records and influence teachers'/schools' decisions on anything, or even just the way they perceive kids? Or does it just disappear in a file somewhere and everyone ignores it?

My 2nd grader just missed being identified as GT. She has been getting the "above grade level" reading indicator/has been in the highest reading group, and the "consistently receives enrichment in mathematics." What does enrichment look like in 3rd grade, and is there a chance that she is less likely to get it because she doesn't have the GT label? I would say that in my opinion she is mildly gifted, but definitely not highly gifted, so I could see her being a bit borderline as far as enrichment decisions go. And are there other decisions later on through the grade levels in which having a GT designation or not will make any difference?

[Anonymous]

Ask your school's GT coordinator like the school's Assistant Principal. Or ask Principal. If you have an approachable counselor- ask them whom to ask. In a nutshell, in a home school (not magnet) in this county of ubiquitous gifted students or at least families claiming their darling little one is, your kid doesn't get much, an extra worksheet or problem to complete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know that GT status doesn't mean much-- but does it influence anything at all? Does it show up in students' records and influence teachers'/schools' decisions on anything, or even just the way they perceive kids? Or does it just disappear in a file somewhere and everyone ignores it?

My 2nd grader just missed being identified as GT. She has been getting the "above grade level" reading indicator/has been in the highest reading group, and the "consistently receives enrichment in mathematics." What does enrichment look like in 3rd grade, and is there a chance that she is less likely to get it because she doesn't have the GT label? I would say that in my opinion she is mildly gifted, but definitely not highly gifted, so I could see her being a bit borderline as far as enrichment decisions go. And are there other decisions later on through the grade levels in which having a GT designation or not will make any difference?

By which measure did she just miss being labeled as GT?

[Anonymous]

Many kids who are not actually gifted are identified as such. If your child wasn’t identified then it’s highly unlikely they are “mildly gifted”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know that GT status doesn't mean much-- but does it influence anything at all? Does it show up in students' records and influence teachers'/schools' decisions on anything, or even just the way they perceive kids? Or does it just disappear in a file somewhere and everyone ignores it?

My 2nd grader just missed being identified as GT. She has been getting the "above grade level" reading indicator/has been in the highest reading group, and the "consistently receives enrichment in mathematics." What does enrichment look like in 3rd grade, and is there a chance that she is less likely to get it because she doesn't have the GT label? I would say that in my opinion she is mildly gifted, but definitely not highly gifted, so I could see her being a bit borderline as far as enrichment decisions go. And are there other decisions later on through the grade levels in which having a GT designation or not will make any difference?

3rd grade is when GT students are tracked into Centers for Enriched Studies. There are 6 CES in the school district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know that GT status doesn't mean much-- but does it influence anything at all? Does it show up in students' records and influence teachers'/schools' decisions on anything, or even just the way they perceive kids? Or does it just disappear in a file somewhere and everyone ignores it?

My 2nd grader just missed being identified as GT. She has been getting the "above grade level" reading indicator/has been in the highest reading group, and the "consistently receives enrichment in mathematics." What does enrichment look like in 3rd grade, and is there a chance that she is less likely to get it because she doesn't have the GT label? I would say that in my opinion she is mildly gifted, but definitely not highly gifted, so I could see her being a bit borderline as far as enrichment decisions go. And are there other decisions later on through the grade levels in which having a GT designation or not will make any difference?

By which measure did she just miss being labeled as GT?

The district assessments-- she met the standards for DIBELS, MAP, and teacher survey (2 out of 3 subcategories), but she would have also needed to get a 5 on either the ELA or math district assessment (not sure what those even are) but didn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know that GT status doesn't mean much-- but does it influence anything at all? Does it show up in students' records and influence teachers'/schools' decisions on anything, or even just the way they perceive kids? Or does it just disappear in a file somewhere and everyone ignores it?

My 2nd grader just missed being identified as GT. She has been getting the "above grade level" reading indicator/has been in the highest reading group, and the "consistently receives enrichment in mathematics." What does enrichment look like in 3rd grade, and is there a chance that she is less likely to get it because she doesn't have the GT label? I would say that in my opinion she is mildly gifted, but definitely not highly gifted, so I could see her being a bit borderline as far as enrichment decisions go. And are there other decisions later on through the grade levels in which having a GT designation or not will make any difference?

3rd grade is when GT students are tracked into Centers for Enriched Studies. There are 6 CES in the school district.

GT status doesn't mean a student is automatically "tracked" into the CES. ALL students who meet the criteria are entered into the lottery. I've had GT students in the CES and GT students in non-CES classes.

[Anonymous]

The GT testing is done because the state requires it. In practice it has no effect. GT screening is intended to catch overlooked talent. As our ES principal put it, “If I’m doing my job correctly, nothing should change academically because the teachers are already challenging your child at the level they need.”

There’s so much transiency in and out of MCPS that by HS only about 50% of students in the most advanced classes have the designation. It’s not a factor for consideration for magnet programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many kids who are not actually gifted are identified as such. If your child wasn’t identified then it’s highly unlikely they are “mildly gifted”.

This. My dc is leveled gt but isn't. Bright? Yes. Gifted? No.

Also. DIBELS is not a giftedness screener and teacher assessments are highly biased.

[Anonymous]

Short answer: meaningless in the medium or long term.

Longer answer: only useful if the metrics identify a learning deficit of some kind.

[Anonymous]

My daughter didn't make it in 2nd grade because of her Dibels score, despite her MAP-M score being 99th percentile, but she made it this year (in 3rd). The way they set it up means the GT program doesn't recognize kids who excel in only one of math/reading, it requires both. As far as I can tell, it doesn't change anything at our school (I don't even remember if our older one got it, but probably not, since it took him longer to become a strong reader, despite similarly strong math scores.) They just told us she'll be in Compacted Math starting next year, which is an actual difference, but her GT status wouldn't have made a difference for that anyway... (And she was in the CES lottery but didn't get picked, which also doesn't depend on GT status.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know that GT status doesn't mean much-- but does it influence anything at all? Does it show up in students' records and influence teachers'/schools' decisions on anything, or even just the way they perceive kids? Or does it just disappear in a file somewhere and everyone ignores it?

My 2nd grader just missed being identified as GT. She has been getting the "above grade level" reading indicator/has been in the highest reading group, and the "consistently receives enrichment in mathematics." What does enrichment look like in 3rd grade, and is there a chance that she is less likely to get it because she doesn't have the GT label? I would say that in my opinion she is mildly gifted, but definitely not highly gifted, so I could see her being a bit borderline as far as enrichment decisions go. And are there other decisions later on through the grade levels in which having a GT designation or not will make any difference?

By which measure did she just miss being labeled as GT?

The district assessments-- she met the standards for DIBELS, MAP, and teacher survey (2 out of 3 subcategories), but she would have also needed to get a 5 on either the ELA or math district assessment (not sure what those even are) but didn't.

FWIW a teacher needs to mark 3/3 for the teacher survey to weigh in favor. Unclear to me what their thresholds or quotas are if they are completely subjective.

[Anonymous]

As an MCPS teacher, I can tell you the GT status means absolutely nothing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter didn't make it in 2nd grade because of her Dibels score, despite her MAP-M score being 99th percentile, but she made it this year (in 3rd). The way they set it up means the GT program doesn't recognize kids who excel in only one of math/reading, it requires both. As far as I can tell, it doesn't change anything at our school (I don't even remember if our older one got it, but probably not, since it took him longer to become a strong reader, despite similarly strong math scores.) They just told us she'll be in Compacted Math starting next year, which is an actual difference, but her GT status wouldn't have made a difference for that anyway... (And she was in the CES lottery but didn't get picked, which also doesn't depend on GT status.)

This is isn’t true. My kid qualified this year solely for Math scores and teacher letter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know that GT status doesn't mean much-- but does it influence anything at all? Does it show up in students' records and influence teachers'/schools' decisions on anything, or even just the way they perceive kids? Or does it just disappear in a file somewhere and everyone ignores it?

My 2nd grader just missed being identified as GT. She has been getting the "above grade level" reading indicator/has been in the highest reading group, and the "consistently receives enrichment in mathematics." What does enrichment look like in 3rd grade, and is there a chance that she is less likely to get it because she doesn't have the GT label? I would say that in my opinion she is mildly gifted, but definitely not highly gifted, so I could see her being a bit borderline as far as enrichment decisions go. And are there other decisions later on through the grade levels in which having a GT designation or not will make any difference?

By which measure did she just miss being labeled as GT?

The district assessments-- she met the standards for DIBELS, MAP, and teacher survey (2 out of 3 subcategories), but she would have also needed to get a 5 on either the ELA or math district assessment (not sure what those even are) but didn't.

FWIW a teacher needs to mark 3/3 for the teacher survey to weigh in favor. Unclear to me what their thresholds or quotas are if they are completely subjective.

Huh, hers said 2/3 for the teacher survey but then was labeled "met"...