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 they collect and use information to identify TAG students, as well has describing the specific programs and services available to identified students within their district, and at each building. The district or building TAG Coordinator or school principal will be able to describe these procedures to you.
Additionally, these procedures are fully outlined in the District TAG Handbook which is available from the District TAG Coordinator or can be obtained from your school's principal.
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
They may also be identified in the areas of creativity, leadership and performing arts.
Behavioral, learning and/or performance information is used in the identification process, including:
- A score of 97th percentile or greater on a nationally standardized mental ability test for students identified as intellectually gifted
- A score equal to or greater than the 97th percentile on a nationally standardized achievement test in reading or in math for students identified as academically talented in reading or math.
As well, students are identified who demonstrate the potential to perform at the 97th percentile. These may include students from cultural and ethnic minorities, disadvantaged or underachieving students, and learning disabled students. These students, although not identified as TAG, are said to be in the TAG pool.
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 by October 10 | Referral | Referral | |
| First | New to District | Referral | Referral | |
| Second | All 2nd in Fall | Referral | Referral | |
| Third | New transfers and referrals | OSAT NWEA-MAP | OSAT NWEA-MAP | |
| Fourth | All 4th in Fall | OSAT NWEA-MAP | OSAT NWEA-MAP | |
| Fifth | New and referral | OSAT NWEA-MAP | OSAT NWEA-MAP | |
| Sixth | New and referral | OSAT NWEA-MAP | OSAT NWEA-MAP | |
| Seventh | New and referral | OSAT NWEA-MAP | OSAT NWEA-MAP | |
| Eighth | New and referral | OSAT NWEA-MAP | OSAT NWEA-MAP | |
| 9-12 | New and referral | 10th OSAT Retake at 11&12 |
10th OSAT Retake at 11&12 |
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 4/20/2007. 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, 4/20/07
| School | Total Population |
TAG | %TAG | Pool Only | %Pool Only | TAG/Pool | %TAG/Pool |
| Adams | 472 | 90 | 19% | 113 | 24% | 203 | 43% |
| Cheledin | 593 | 210 | 35% | 138 | 23% | 348 | 59% |
| Corvallis High |
1299 | 357 | 27% | 239 | 18% | 596 | 46% |
| Crescent Valley |
1002 | 371 | 37% | 200 | 20% | 571 | 57% |
| Franklin K-8 |
353 | 106 | 30% | 115 | 33% | 221 | 63% |
| Garfield | 378 | 36 | 10% | 49 | 13% | 85 | 22% |
| Hoover | 410 | 107 | 26% | 116 | 28% | 223 | 54% |
| Jefferson | 321 | 51 | 16% | 65 | 20% | 116 | 36% |
| Lincoln | 416 | 31 | 7% | 46 | 11% | 77 | 19% |
| Linus Pauling |
685 | 174 | 25% | 171 | 25% | 345 | 50% |
| Mountainview | 418 | 56 | 13% | 66 | 16% | 122 | 29% |
| Wilson | 312 | 62 | 20% | 69 | 22% | 131 | 42% |
| TOTAL: | 6659 | 1651 | 25% | 1387 | 21% | 3038 | 46% |
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.
- Early Entrance - entering children for a higher level of schooling (i.e. kindergarten, first grade, middle/high school, or college) prior to the standard age for the grade.
- 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.
Parent's & Guardian's Responsibilities and Rights
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.
