Gifted and Talented Education

As part of this process, ALL students in 2nd grade not identified for gifted programming will take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)the weeks of February 5th and 12th.   This assessment indicates the level and pattern of cognitive development of a student in comparison to grade and age mates.  These general reasoning abilities, which start developing at birth and continue through early adulthood, are influenced by experiences gained both in and out of school.  

If your child is already identified for gifted programming, they will not participate in this universal screen testing. Your Gifted Education Facilitator will contact you directly with information about this process. 

• If your child is in K or 1st  grade and you believe he/she needs evaluation for Gifted Identification and Services, you may refer your child for testing by initiating the Gifted Identification Process.  
• NOTE: Requesting this assessment automatically initiates the process to evaluate for Gifted Identification. 
• Please request CogAT testing for your child by completing the Referral for Gifted Identification linked CVE Referral Form.
• Upon receipt of this form the Gifted Education Facilitator will connect with you to discuss next steps in the gifted identification process.

• If your child is in grades 3, 4, 5 and you believe they need evaluation for Gifted Identification and Services, you may refer your child for testing by initiating the Gifted Identification Process.  
• NOTE:  Requesting this assessment automatically initiates the process to evaluate for Gifted Identification. 
• Please request CogAT testing for your child by completing the Referral for Gifted Identification linked CVE Referral Form.
• Upon receipt of this form the Gifted Education Facilitator will connect with you to discuss next steps in the gifted identification process.

If you would like your child to be considered for Gifted and Talented programming, please fill out the CVE Referral Form.

NOTE: Completing this referral form WILL NOT initiate the CogAT assessment.

Upon receipt of this form the Gifted Education Facilitator will connect with you to discuss next steps in the gifted identification process.

Gifted Education Referral Testing

All Douglas County Schools adhere to the guidelines put forth by the Colorado Department of Education regarding identifying students as gifted learners. Once a student is identified as a gifted learner in a particular area of learning, we work collaboratively with the parents and student to write an Advanced Learning Plan for the student.

It is important to note that we use a body of evidence to identify students as gifted learners. The CogAT test is just one of these pieces of evidence. We need to have evidence from 3 of 4 categories:

• Student Achievement

  Student Aptitude (scores at 95th percentile or above) e.g. CogAT

• Student Performance Evaluation

• Gifted Education Scale: SIGS- a Nationally Normed Teacher Observation Scale (scores at 95th percentile or above)