Based upon your local school experiences, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of Fulton County Schools’ procedures for implementing Georgia Board of Education Rule 160-4-2.38. (GEPO-S1, GEPO-S2, GEPO-D1, GEPO-D2, GEPO-D6)
Before taking this course, I had no idea how gifted students were identified, and I had no clue what Georgia Board of Education Rule 160-4-2.38 was. However, I have learned through my observations and experiences that identifying and assessing gifted students is a central part of gifted education. Without this crucial component, many students would not receive the type of education they need to thrive and excel in their future academic and professional lives.
When analyzing Georgia Board of Education Rule 160-4-2.38, it is clear that Fulton County Schools (FCS) has both strengths and weaknesses in their implementation of this rule. FCS provides parents with a Q&A that outlines the process of identification and assessment of their child. This document is thorough and helps to answer many questions parents may have. Furthermore, FCS works to complete the requirements of the rule including notifying parents, referrals, consent to test, eligibility, data collection and curriculum. With that said, there are weaknesses when it comes to certain situations of testing. There are many students who are tested almost every year that never quite meet all the requirements. In my own experience, I have seen students say with tears in their eyes that they feel “not smart enough,” or have test anxiety, or even feel so discouraged they don’t want to take the test again.
My personal experience with implementing this rule in my local school, has been through the Fulton County mandated CISS process in the Spring. CISS ensures that teachers are looking for the characteristics of a gifted student in the categories of motivation, communication skills, inquiry, problem solving, insight, memory, reasoning, humor, interest, and creativity. Each school is mandated to “train” their teachers on the CISS process, but how and to what extent they do this is left up to them. This is a weakness I see. While each school completes the CISS process, some schools may have better prepared their teachers and given them more helpful resources in identifying gifted students than other schools. For examples, schools with veteran TAG coordinators may be more knowledgeable in how to identify a possible gifted student than those who don’t. This inconsistency from school to school can lead to students not being identified because of teacher misunderstanding of the guidelines. It makes me question why FCS does not create their own CISS training video for schools to use rather than relying on individual TAG coordinators at schools to create a CISS program. With this said, I feel that my school did a great job providing teachers with the resources they needed in order to correctly identify possible gifted students.
When analyzing the county as a whole, I had an opportunity to participate as a volunteer judge in the county’s Academic Bowl. There were no schools from South county present. When I asked about this, I was told, “they just don’t create the teams for this.” To me, this meant that many unidentified gifted students in the southern part of Fulton County are not receiving the same opportunities to expand and excel their academic abilities as those in the northern part of the county.
Since I have only learned how Fulton County identifies gifted students, it is hard to compare their work with others in the state. I know that their guidelines and procedures are similar to other counties in the Metro Area, but I cannot tell you with certainty that Fulton has the best procedures when it comes to identifying gifted students. When noting weaknesses in the way FCS carries out Georgia Board of Education Rule 160-4-2.38, there is a disproportionate number of gifted students identified between North county and South county in identifying the number of gifted students. I would be interested in seeing the plans in how FCS plans on helping to bridge this gap.
Hunsaker, S. (Eds.) (2012). Identification the theory and practice of identifying students for gifted and talented education services. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press Inc.
Before taking this course, I had no idea how gifted students were identified, and I had no clue what Georgia Board of Education Rule 160-4-2.38 was. However, I have learned through my observations and experiences that identifying and assessing gifted students is a central part of gifted education. Without this crucial component, many students would not receive the type of education they need to thrive and excel in their future academic and professional lives.
When analyzing Georgia Board of Education Rule 160-4-2.38, it is clear that Fulton County Schools (FCS) has both strengths and weaknesses in their implementation of this rule. FCS provides parents with a Q&A that outlines the process of identification and assessment of their child. This document is thorough and helps to answer many questions parents may have. Furthermore, FCS works to complete the requirements of the rule including notifying parents, referrals, consent to test, eligibility, data collection and curriculum. With that said, there are weaknesses when it comes to certain situations of testing. There are many students who are tested almost every year that never quite meet all the requirements. In my own experience, I have seen students say with tears in their eyes that they feel “not smart enough,” or have test anxiety, or even feel so discouraged they don’t want to take the test again.
My personal experience with implementing this rule in my local school, has been through the Fulton County mandated CISS process in the Spring. CISS ensures that teachers are looking for the characteristics of a gifted student in the categories of motivation, communication skills, inquiry, problem solving, insight, memory, reasoning, humor, interest, and creativity. Each school is mandated to “train” their teachers on the CISS process, but how and to what extent they do this is left up to them. This is a weakness I see. While each school completes the CISS process, some schools may have better prepared their teachers and given them more helpful resources in identifying gifted students than other schools. For examples, schools with veteran TAG coordinators may be more knowledgeable in how to identify a possible gifted student than those who don’t. This inconsistency from school to school can lead to students not being identified because of teacher misunderstanding of the guidelines. It makes me question why FCS does not create their own CISS training video for schools to use rather than relying on individual TAG coordinators at schools to create a CISS program. With this said, I feel that my school did a great job providing teachers with the resources they needed in order to correctly identify possible gifted students.
When analyzing the county as a whole, I had an opportunity to participate as a volunteer judge in the county’s Academic Bowl. There were no schools from South county present. When I asked about this, I was told, “they just don’t create the teams for this.” To me, this meant that many unidentified gifted students in the southern part of Fulton County are not receiving the same opportunities to expand and excel their academic abilities as those in the northern part of the county.
Since I have only learned how Fulton County identifies gifted students, it is hard to compare their work with others in the state. I know that their guidelines and procedures are similar to other counties in the Metro Area, but I cannot tell you with certainty that Fulton has the best procedures when it comes to identifying gifted students. When noting weaknesses in the way FCS carries out Georgia Board of Education Rule 160-4-2.38, there is a disproportionate number of gifted students identified between North county and South county in identifying the number of gifted students. I would be interested in seeing the plans in how FCS plans on helping to bridge this gap.
Hunsaker, S. (Eds.) (2012). Identification the theory and practice of identifying students for gifted and talented education services. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press Inc.