Assessment Information


	AssessmentInformation The role of assessment in the PISD is to determine which students have demonstrated a need for additional academic services beyond those of the general education classroom. Consequently, our assessment process reflects this focus and is not designed to determine whether or not a child may be gifted in other means. Not being placed in the district’s gifted program (PACE) does not necessarily mean a child is not gifted. For example, an artistically/musically gifted student may not be placed in PACE, but may choose to take advantage of advanced art/music courses in the secondary grades. Placement in PACE (Plano Academic and Creative Education) is based upon demonstrated need as evidenced through quantitative data (test scores) or qualitative data (observable behaviors), or a combination thereof. In each case, a campus placement committee interprets what the “preponderance of evidence” reveals. All decisions are made by a trained committee, and no single source of information is used to make placement decisions. There are three steps in making placement decisions: - Referral - Assessment - Placement Decision
	STEP 1: Referral Anyone may refer a student, though we must have a parent signature to conduct assessment. (PISD does not offer assessment services to the general public, only to PISD students.) Beyond securing the parent’s signature and the return of the necessary information within stated deadlines, there is no prescreening of interested students. Click HERE for a PACE elementary referral form in English. Click HERE for a PACE elemenatry referral form in Spanish. Click HERE for a PACE secondary (6-12) referral form in English. Click HERE for a PACE secondary (6-12) referral form in Spanish. There is no limit to the number of times a student may be referred, but a student must wait one year between assessments. NOTE: It is the PISD’s belief that referring a student year after year for reassessment may not be in the child’s best interest. Parents should be judicious in determining how frequently their child requires reassessment.

	STEP 2: Assessment PACE Assessments and What They Mean Decisions regarding participation in the PACE program are based upon a preponderance of evidence gathered during the assessment process, including both test scores and behavioral data provided by the parent and the teacher. PACE administers selected parts of several aptitude and achievement tests. Results are not considered IQ scores. Instead, the scores reflect specific academic skills and abilities related to the expectations of successful PACE students. A campus committee consisting of at least three individuals reviews the results and the behavioral data to make participation decisions. Only assessment data gathered from PISD administered tests are utilized in making these decisions. Gathering information from identical sources allows a common standard to be used when measuring student abilities. Test results and/or assessment information from outside practitioners, clinicians, and/or psychologists are not admissible. Ability tests measure students’ ability to learn. The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the Naglieri Non-Verbal Abilities Test (NNAT) collect verbal, mathematical, and non-verbal reasoning data for students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Ability scores are considered a representation of the ability “to learn new tasks or solve problems, especially in the absence of direct instruction.” (CogAT Administrator’s Manual, page 1) These are important skills in PACE since much of the instruction is abstract, open-ended, and student-directed, meaning that the student is expected to make complex connections in his/her reasoning and to work and think independently. The ability tests are read to students in kindergarten through second grade and are not timed. The tests are timed in grades 3 through 12. Preferred target scores are 130 or above out of a possible 150. The ability sub-tests administered are: Verbal Ability – verbal classification, sentence completion, reasoning through verbal analogies, Quantitative Ability – quantitative relationships, number series, equation building (arithmetic computation is not assessed), and Non-Verbal Ability – figural classification, figural analogies, figural analysis, figural sequencing.

	Achievement tests measure what students have learned. Beginning in the Kindergarten, the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test is administered to measure reading and math knowledge and skills, such as reading comprehension and math problem solving, to all students. PACE will use the results of the test given closest to the assessment window but not after the conclusion of the window – the fall administration for K and the winter Administration for 1-5. The tests are un-timed and are computer adaptive. Computer adaptive tests are taken on a computer. The difficulty of a test is adjusted to the student's performance so each student sees different test questions. The difficulty of each question is based on how well the student has answered the questions up to that point. As the student answers correctly, the questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier. Though in the conventional sense, it is not possible to ‘study’ for these tests, some find it useful to practice making generalizations from short conversations or passages and having children consider how to solve mathematical problems rather than just completing computation. Others find that exposing their child to any test format at home in a ‘fun’ way is useful in preparing the child to take a standardized test. (Local bookstores stock age specific examples of a variety of tests.) Naturally, the age-old advice to have a restful night’s sleep prior to the testing sessions and to eat a normal breakfast remains wise. Scores are mailed home as indicated in the Assessment Timeline and are shared with your child’s classroom teacher. The goal of assessing students is to gather important information about how your child learns, whether or not PACE is recommended to meet your child’s needs at this time.

	STEP 3: Placement Decisions Phase 1: Students whose test scores are extremely high may be recommended for placement with no additional data needed by the committee. Phase 2: Qualitative data is introduced to the committee to provide a greater understanding of the student’s needs and abilities. Generally speaking, the student still has several high target test scores, but may have a degree of fluctuation in the assessment results. The campus committee considers both the test results and the observable data to determine what the ‘preponderance of evidence’ reveals. Phase 3: The campus committee may send a specific student’s case to a district review committee if extremely strong qualitative data exists; if test results are widely variant and inconclusive; if there are questions about the appropriateness of the tests; or for any extenuating circumstance that may have affected the validity of the data on file. The district committee considers both the test results and the observable data to determine what the ‘preponderance of evidence’ suggests. Parents receive the assessment results and are notified of the committee’s recommendation. Participation can not begin until written permission is received from the parent.
	Click on the light bulb for referral deadlines and testing dates.
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