Corvallis School district 509J

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TAG in the 509J School District
 

The 509J district adheres to the polices and  procedures outlined by  Oregon TAG Law.   These rules  apply to all children, grades K-12, in all public schools.   The three major sections of the TAG law discuss identification of TAG students, programs and services for TAG students, and the specific rights of parents.

The 509J school district has  written policies and procedures describing how we collect and use information to identify TAG students, as well as describing the specific programs and services available to identified students within the district. The District TAG Coordinator or school principal will be able to describe these procedures to you.

Briefly summarized, the procedures are outlined below.

Identification

Students are identified in the following areas:

• Intellectually gifted
• Academically talented in reading
• Academically talented in math

Multiple measures are always used prior to any formal TAG identification.  Behavioral, learning and/or performance information can be used in the identification process, including:

• Scores of 97th percentile or greater on nationally standardized mental ability tests for students identified as intellectually gifted
• Scores equal to or greater than the 97th percentile on nationally standardized achievement tests in reading or in math for students identified as academically talented in reading or math.

Many students also perform just below the 97th percentile.  These students, although not identified as TAG, are said to be in the TAG pool.  Students who are formally identified or in the TAG Pool are eligible to participate in many enrichment programs, such as those offered by Oregon State University

Identification Testing Schedule

The district  tests to identify TAG and Pool students  according to the following schedule:

Grade	Non-Verbal Reasoning	Cognitive Skills	Academic: Reading	Academic: Math
Kindergarten	All Kinders in Fall		Referral	Referral
First	New to District		Referral	Referral
Second		All 2nd in Fall	Referral	Referral
Third		New transfers and referrals	OAKS NWEA-MAP	OAKS NWEA-MAP
Fourth		All 4th in Fall	OAKS NWEA-MAP	OAKS NWEA-MAP
Fifth		New and referral	OAKS NWEA-MAP	OAKS NWEA-MAP
Sixth		New and referral	OAKS NWEA-MAP	OAKS NWEA-MAP
Seventh		New and referral	OAKS NWEA-MAP	OAKS NWEA-MAP
Eighth		New and referral	OAKS NWEA-MAP	OAKS NWEA-MAP
9-12		New and referral	OAKS NWEA-MAP	OAKS NWEA-MAP

509J TAG Population

The following  table shows, the  population and distribution of students in the Corvallis 509J School District  who are either identified as TAG or in the TAG pool,, as of June 2010.  The TAG counts reflect the number of students who are identified as TAG in one or more areas, but the student is only counted once.  The Pool counts reflect students who are in the pool in one or more areas, and not TAG in any.  The TAG/Pool counts reflect the number of students who are identified as TAG, or in the pool, or both, but the student is counted only once.

TAG and Pool Populations in 509J School District, June 2010

School	Total Population	TAG	%TAG	Pool Only	%Pool Only	TAG/Pool	%TAG/Pool
Adams	443	81	18%	123	28%	204	46%
Cheldelin	657	241	37%	166	25%	407	62%
Corvallis High	1271	309	24%	339	27%	648	57%
Crescent Valley	1073	365	34%	244	23%	609	57%
Franklin K-8	325	91	28%	96	30%	187	58%
Garfield	410	50	12%	64	16%	114	28%
Hoover	436	111	25%	104	24%	215	49%
Jefferson	343	87	25%	67	20%	154	45%
Lincoln K-8	448	26	6%	80	18%	106	24%
Linus Pauling	730	184	25%	190	26%	374	51%
Mt. View	397	42	11%	99	25%	141	36%
Wilson	402	55	14%	84	21%	139	35%
TOTAL:	6935	1642	24%	1656	24%	3298	48%

Programs and Services

The law requires that the district  provide instruction to identified students which addresses each student's assessed level and rate of learning in all relevant subjects.  

A student's level of learning is the instructional level in the curriculum and the place where the student will be successful but will encounter knowledge and skills not yet learned or mastered.  This is different from simply advanced grade level--it involves complexity and sophistication of concepts.

The student's rate of learning is a measure of the pace at which the student successfully progresses through the curriculum after being placed at the appropriate instructional level.  A student's rate of learning will vary, depending on the subject, point in the learning process, degree of interest, level of difficulty, and learning style.

The level and rate of learning are considered acceptable when the student is challenged, learning new concepts, pursuing deeper and more complex work, and is not frustrated by work that is too easy or too hard.

Although there is no distinct pull-out TAG program in the  district ,  the following programs, services, and techniques are used to provide the appropriate instruction for identified students:

• Acceleration - altering the pace or speed of learning and providing more sophisticated strategies and structures to meet the learning level and rate requirements.
• Flexible Skill or Ability Grouping - grouping students of similar ability for a specific skill area, within a classroom, at grade level, or across grade levels.
• Differentiation - modifying the content (curriculum, standards, goals), the process and activities to learn the content, the product that demonstrates what has been learned, or the environment where the learning takes place, to match the differing needs of different students.
• Cross-grade Grouping - grouping students of similar ability for specific skills or content, with students in a higher grade.
• Compacted Curriculum - reducing the amount of time normally required to master a subject. Often a  pre-test determines the current level of mastery and students are given a decreased amount of review of previous skills, and/or less practice for new skills.
• Grade Skipping - placing students in a higher grade ahead of usual placement.
• Advanced Placement - a formal curriculum for high school students who may take an AP exam for college credit after completion of  the AP course.
• Concurrent Enrollment - allowing students to take classes in the next higher level of school and obtain credit in both settings. 
• Independent Study - identifying problems or topics of personal interest to the student, and assisting in planning a method of investigation and identifying the product.

Parents & Guardian's Responsibilities

The major responsibility of parents is to be informed about and involved in their child's education, so they can be supportive advocates.  Good communication between parents and the school allows for questions to be raised and addressed.

The Oregon TAG Act guarantees the following specific rights to parents of children identified under it:

• Parents are to be notified of their children's identification as talented and gifted, and of the programs and services available in their district.
• Parents must be given the opportunity to provide input to, and discuss the programs and services to be received by their child.
• Parents must be informed of the procedure for a complaint or appeal.  This procedure, contained in the 509J District TAG Handbook, provides for resolution at the local level. The policy  directs parents to bring their complaint or appeal first to the teacher.  If not satisfactorily resolved, the complaint may then go to the building principal or building TAG contact, then to the district TAG contact, then the district superintendent, and finally to the local board of education.  After local complaint procedures are exhausted, parents may address a written complaint indicating which state standard is being violated to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
• Parents may request access to the records used in the identification process along with an explanation by a knowledgeable district employee.