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Stephanie Vertalino Student Assessment Plan May 2, 2013 Student Description Kalob is a 14 year old 8th grader at Independence

Middle School who shows a great potential for learning in all of his classes. The Independence Schools are located in a suburban blue-collar community in Virginia. The population of this school is generally white, (like Kalob) with little diversity, but does have a wide range of families coming from both high and low socio-economic homes. Kalob belongs to the lower side of the socio-economic spectrum, and qualifies for a reduced lunch. Kalobs parents are recently divorced, his father, Joe, works in construction, which often causes him to be out over the house overnight. Kalob has an older sister who was earlier identified as gifted, who is currently enrolled in three AP courses in the 10th grade. She sometimes serves as the primary caretaker for him, as well as for his younger brother, who is also currently going through a similar nomination process for gifted education. Kalobs mother lives out of the area and is only able to see him on a bi-weekly basis. Kalobs father moved with the children to the area during the middle of last school year due to a job opportunity. Because of this Kalob has not been tested within our district as of yet for gifted and talented services. No program was existent at the school where Kalob used to attend. Kalob is quite active both in school and out. He often seeks out opportunities for himself to become involved within the school community, including working with the clean sweep recycling team, volunteering to spend his study hall at the bookstore, and handing out passes for students from the counselors office. Kalob is also involved in several after school activities including baseball, soccer, the middle school play, and service club. Kalob is well liked by his peers, but he tends to spend most of his time by himself, and will often decline other childrens invitations to join in their activities. It is my belief that Kalob is growing bored in his classes, especially in social studies, and needs to be in an environment that encourages leadership and an enriched growth of academic skills. It is for these reasons which I believe gifted and talented services are essential for Kalob.

Recommendations Teacher Recommendation Kalob is very interested in Social Studies. In my classroom he constantly has his hand up, and is ready to answer each question before many of the other students in class are familiar with the topic. Kalob constantly scores 100s on tests and quizzes in my class. I have also allowed for Kalob to look at questions from the American History exam given to 11th graders in our district, he proves that the learning ceiling in our class is too low for him, earning perfect scores on these tests as well. Recently, in a unit about the Great Depression Kalob asked if he could deliver a speech he wrote about helping people living in poverty today. I found out that this is an issue Kalob holds very close to his heart as he volunteers at a soup kitchen every Saturday morning, by his own choosing. When I asked him why he does this he informed me

that he just hopes that he can bring happiness to these people, even if it is just for one morning a week. Kalob constantly is asking insightful questions in the classroom, recently he wanted to know to what extent is the popes relationship with leaders around the world, and how his influence affects decisions that leader may make. Kalob is far beyond his age peers in social studies. Grades Subject Parent 100 Social Studies 97 Math 98 English Language Arts 99 Science 94 Spanish Recommendation Joe says he has always seen Kalob as a child who acts much older than his peers. He remembers Kalob being a very dramatic. From a young age he has had an exceptional ability to express himself, and has a tendency to be intensely emotional becoming very upset when he and his sister are not getting along. When this happens he questions her desire for understanding, and has a need to express to her his side of the story. Kalob has a great interest in science; over the past summer he successfully created a working bubble blowing machine to entertain the neighborhood kids. Joe says Kalob has an immense interest in inventing and finding out how different machines work. He also expressed that Kalob is very committed to a task once he begins it, and when things do not go his way the first time around he persists, and finds a new way to complete his goals. Joe believes that Kalob is qualified for gifted services, but has yet to be given the opportunity due to restrictions from his previous school. Since Joe cannot provide extra services for Kalob due to his availability he would like to ensure that Kalob to receive additional services in school beyond the classroom, so he can continue to grow academically. Grades Kalobs first quarter grades are listed below:

Kalob s grade point average for the first marking period was a 97.8, and he has been consistently scoring in the high 90s during the last year he has attended Independence. His scores were similar at his previous school. Based on the knowledge of Kalobs diverse

background it is evident he is completing his assignments for school by choice, not because of the influence of his parents, showing task commitment. With grades as consistently high as Kalobs, it is a possibility that the learning ceiling set up in the general education classroom learning ceiling is too low, and is limiting his potential academic abilities.

Identification Process Parental Inventory Kalobs father, Joe, was given and completed an inventory based on the behaviors that he sees in Kalob at home, which would qualify him as a candidate for gifted education services. This parent inventory is designed to have parents rank their children in overall ability, creativity, intra/interpersonal skills, and task commitment, both on individual ability, and in comparison to other children. It is important to consider the child at home in the identification process because they might exhibit characteristics of a gifted child that are not always given the opportunity to be seen during the school day. Parent inventories however do have to be viewed cautiously, as parents who would like their child to be considered for a gifted and talented program may not tell the truth about their childs behaviors in order to increase their chances of being accepted. It is also important to remember while considering these inventories that there is no measurable way provided to determine one childs giftedness in comparison to others. These inventories have to be assessed on an individualized basis. A copy of the inventory given to Joe is attached. Joe indicated that Kalob is strong in all areas, but is especially strong in task commitment and creativity. As a specific example of Kalobs creativity, Joe indicated that last year during school spirit week the students could dress up like they were from a specific decade, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s etc. Kalob took this opportunity to design a costume from the 1880s, consisting of accurate period clothing. His father indicated that Kalob has high levels of task commitment, scoring Kalob as a 5 for Hyper-focused when working on self selected projects, once again referring to this costume design, which took Kalob five days to complete. For this project Joe indicated that Kalob created deadlines for finishing certain parts of the costume by a specific time, and persisted when things did not go as planned. Joe rated Kalob low (2) on the statement Builds and cultivates relations with others easily. Joe explained this sentiment by saying Kalob does not believe that he has any real friends, the people that he is friends with now do not understand him, and he knows that they will eventually become disinterested with him, and go their separate ways. This indicated that Kalob may have some form of asynchronous development, in which he is more intellectually mature than his same aged peers. Based on the findings of the parent inventory, it seems as though Kalobs behavior is consistent with that of the gifted children in our program and could potentially be considered for his inclusion in the gifted and talented program. Interview I sat down with Kalob after class this past week to interview him with the goal of learning more about him, to find if he would be a good candidate for participation in this

program. I asked him about school, his interests and hobbies, and his goals for the future. Kalob likes school very much, however he is bored in the classroom, and he is having trouble connecting with his peers who are his age, he said, I dont understand them, we are the same, but its like we speak a completely different language. I learned that Kalob would like to become a humanitarian, a military historian, a civil rights attorney, or an astronomer. When I asked him more specifically why he would like to be a civil rights attorney, he replied, I believe that I have adequate rights living in this country, and it helps me to maintain my happiness, I know however that others do not have the same opportunities that I do. I do not believe that this is fair, nor will I continue to let these injustices take place while sitting idly by. The interview was helpful in this specific identification process because it allowed for Kalob to let his voice be heard, and the results of the interview confirm to me that Kalob should be included in the GT program. Portfolio Portfolios are useful in the identification process because it allows for the student to reflect on the original work that they have created. It is however, a qualitative assessment, and can demonstrate bias since it has to be evaluated on an individualized basis. After the initial interview Kalob was asked to find three pieces of work he had completed for school that he was proud of, and to write a reflection for each to include in a portfolio. In addition to this, Kalobs English, science, and social studies teacher selected a piece that Kalob completed for our classes that we wanted him to include in his portfolio. Kalob has included a painting which he completed for art class which he explained he used the colors blue and gray to portray the characters emptiness. He brought two pieces of creative writing from his English class, both focusing on the same character, which he intends to write a series on. From science he brought a lab he completed in which he identified an unknown substance correctly when no one else was able to. Finally he brought an interview with a local war veteran he completed in social studies, along with a paper where he asked the question What human costs are we willing to go through to win a war?. Each of the pieces was impressive and demonstrated the range from Kalobs strengths, which shows his multipoteniallty. His reflections from all of the pieces demonstrated that Kalob is not only learning what he is being taught in his courses, but he is also thinking about the pieces and how he can improve on them. OLSAT The Otis-Lennon School Ability Test tests abstract thinking and reasoning ability of children pre-K to 18, in both verbal and non-verbal formats. This test is group test, administered by the school psychologist and was recently given to a group of Independence Students being screened for gifted and talented services. Kalob scored a 130 on the OLSAT, which puts him in the 8th Stanine. Comparable to other students who have taken this test Kalob scores just below 2 standard deviations above the average score. The cut-off for admission into the gifted program at Independence is a 130. Based on his score Kalob is qualified for the program. The OLSAT in this case does have the potential to give a false reading of Kalobs true abilities, because his verbal skills may be skewed due to his familys lower socio-economic status and his lack of exposure to verbal knowledge.

NNAT2 In addition to the OLSAT Kalob was also given the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test. This test uses progressive matrices to allow for a culturally neutral evaluation of students nonverbal reasoning and general problem-solving abilities, regardless of the individual students primary language, education, culture or socioeconomic background. (From Pearson) Since Kalobs family is from a lower socio-economic background, it is essential that he be given a nonverbal test because he may not have had the opportunity to acquire the same amount of verbal knowledge as his same age peers. It is especially important to incorporate a non-verbal test for Independence Middle School, since many students in this school do come from homes with higher socio-economic status, because we want to ensure that students from diverse backgrounds have an equal opportunity to gain admittance into this program. On this examination Kalob scored a 135 which puts him in the 99th percentile in comparison to others taking this test. This score is consistent with the need to provide services to Kalob, and was higher than expected based on Kalobs OLSAT results. This score indicates that Kalobs verbal abilities could potentially benefit from the enrichment of gifted and talented programming.

Programming Recommendations: I am going to recommend that Kalob joins the gifted pull-out class which meets twice each week for tier two servicing. In these classes Kalob will have the opportunity to engage in enriching learning experiences, such as crime scene investigation, extreme weather watching, historical recreation and screen-play writing. Units in this class are based around themes such as change, pattern, and details, which allow for students to make meaningful connections across different content areas. Lessons in this classroom allow for students to explore these enriching topics with more depth and complexity than is found in the regular education classroom. The program also holds a focus on the development of vocabulary for students, using terminology that an expert would use which will help Kalob bolster his verbal knowledge. This classroom additionally allows for the development of students creative skills through opportunities for risk taking, exploring curiosities, and imagination. Kalob will be supported in this class by a group of peers that are more socially mature and closer to his intellectual age. He will be given opportunities to work with others which will help him develop true friendships that he feels he is missing now. Kalob will also be given opportunities to lead his peers, and others both in the classroom and the community. In Social Studies I would recommend tier three services through the incorporation of an individualized learning contract. Curriculum for Kalob in this classroom will be accelerated and compacted. Kalob will be given the vocabulary and key concepts for each unit and then will be given the option to complete the unit test. Once mastery is demonstrated Kalob will be allowed to begin working within his learning contract, with a focus held on him becoming an acting historian. Through this plan at the beginning of each unit Kalob will work with me to select a topic, plan what he will research, and plan how he will demonstrate his knowledge of that research. Kalob will complete this assignment instead of the work being given to the rest of the

class, and he will be given several checkpoints that he will have to complete along the way. At the end of each unit Kalob will have the opportunity to present his findings in a professional manner of his choosing to fellow students, teachers and community members. The next unit our class will be completing is on the Second World War. Kalob will complete a research project on the needs of soldiers once they return home from war, and how this has changed over the course of the last 70 years. This project will allow for Kalob to research then compare and evaluate the assistance these people have been given during the different time periods and what the government and society can do now in order to better help these veterans. Kalob has chosen that if approved, he would like to create a presentation that he will give to the school explaining how veterans needs have changed over time to kick off a collection campaign to raise money for a local wounded veteran who needs modifications to his house after losing a limb in the war. Kalob, and the members of his gifted class will be responsible for running this campaign, including everything from creating advertisements to inviting the veteran and local media to a ceremony to give him his money. Additionally, I will help Kalob to arrange a mentorship with Keith Kelly, a history professor at a local university, who has experience working as a mentor to young children. Kelly will guide Kalob in his research on historical topics, and will be able to give him a more focused guidance on how to research. Kalob will be able to begin to understand the nature of research, and how to work with various primary sources that the college has access to and, be able to access them for bias. Kelly will also help Kalob find resources within the community, and to come to informed conclusion based on his research. For Kalobs other core classes, contracts such as this could be initiated at teacher discretion. I would however, recommend if nothing else, that it is essential for Kalobs instruction be differentiated at the highest levels in Science (Biology), as well as in English. At the high school level (next year) I would recommend based on Kalobs affective development and reading skills that he be accelerated in English to the tenth grade level. This will allow to Kalob to have more in depth discussions about literature with appropriate peers who are more mature than his fellow ninth graders will be. This programming is based on Renzullis School Wide Enrichment model, which engages students who demonstrate above average ability, task commitment, and creativity. His individualized learning plan allows for Kalob to work as a practitioner in the field in which he is most interested in (history) and the plan focuses on students moving towards autonomy in their learning.

PROGRESS MONITORING After this initial meeting (which includes the RTI board, Kalob and his Kalobs parents, the gifted and talented teacher, school psychologist and myself) the gifted and talented teacher, and I will check on Kalobs progress every 6th Wednesday after school in the Faculty Conference Room. We will evaluate Kalobs progress with his individualized work within my classroom, as well as the work Kalob is completing in her classroom. We will assess the appropriateness of

this program based on his performance, his effort in completing the assignments, as well as his growth in the areas of research, creativity, his development of relationships with his peers. Additionally at the end of each unit Kalob will complete a reflection, and evaluation of his work discussing what he likes about the project he just completed, what he believes he could have done better, how he will use the skills he has learned to better prepare him for the next research problem he will be completing. This will be used to evaluate his growth. Kalobs other teachers will be invited to speak at the meeting if they choose to create this type of learning contracts for Kalob, or if they find that Kalobs grades are changing in their classroom. This will help to ensure that programming is effective on all levels. If at any point in time Kalob begins to perform poorly in any of his classes the matter will be investigated. If it is determined at any point in time that the program is not working, Kalob and his father will be notified, and brought in for a meeting. At this point, the program will be adjusted and modified, or Kalob will return to completing work within the regular classroom. Any further intelligence testing that needs to be completed for Kalob will be completed by the school psychologist.

Attached: Parent Inventory for Gifted and Talented


Student Name:_________________________ Date:_______________________ INSTRUCTIONS: In each of the four sections, indicate the characteristics or behaviors demonstrated by your child. Return the completed form to the TAG Educational Advisor in your childs school. OVERALL ABILITY Exhibits this behavior
Frequently Occasionally Rarely

Outstanding skill compared to children his/her 5 4 3 2 1 NA age in athletics, music, theatre, art etc. Follows complex reasoning 5 4 3 2 1 NA Learns very quickly 5 4 3 2 1 NA Good memory/large fund of information 5 4 3 2 1 NA Develops new skills easily in many areas 5 4 3 2 1 NA Finds or creates patterns in numbers, symbols and/ 5 4 3 2 1 NA or nature Specific examples of behaviors listed above or pertinent comments: CREATIVITY Exhibits this behavior
Frequently Occasionally Rarely

Curious about many topics 5 4 3 2 1 NA Questions rules/policies 5 4 3 2 1 NA Has many ideas (fluent) 5 4 3 2 1 NA Sees connections between seemingly unrelated 5 4 3 2 1 NA objects, events, ideas etc. Risk taker 5 4 3 2 1 NA Makes ideas more interesting (elaboration) 5 4 3 2 1 NA Finds subtle humor, paradox, or discrepancies 5 4 3 2 1 NA Finds creative ways to escape work 5 4 3 2 1 NA Specific examples of behaviors listed above or pertinent comments: TASK COMMITMENT Exhibits this behavior
Frequently Occasionally Rarely

Sets own goals 5 4 3 2 1 NA High level of energy 5 4 3 2 1 NA Needs little external motivation to pursue tasks 5 4 3 2 1 NA Eager for new projects and challenges 5 4 3 2 1 NA Is a perfectionist 5 4 3 2 1 NA Hyper-focused when working on self-selected 5 4 3 2 1 NA projects Specific examples of exceptional abilities indicated above or pertinent comments: INTRA/INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
Frequently Occasionally Rarely

Acutely aware of self and others 5 4 3 2 1 NA Builds and cultivates relationships with others 5 4 3 2 1 NA easily Sensitive to diverse perspectives 5 4 3 2 1 NA Exhibits exceptional leadership ability 5 4 3 2 1 NA Heightened sense of justice 5 4 3 2 1 NA Strong sense of self/independent 5 4 3 2 1 NA Quiet, but profound in thought 5 4 3 2 1 NA Relates well to older children and adults 5 4 3 2 1 NA Specific examples of behaviors indicated above or pertinent comments:

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