Gifted education in Georgia

“Giftedness” under Georgia law

According to Georgia law, a gifted student is:

"a student who demonstrates a high degree of intellectual and/or creative ability(ies), exhibits an exceptionally high degree of motivation, and/or excels in specific academic fields, and who needs special instruction and/or special ancillary services to achieve at levels commensurate with his or her abilities."

Two Options for Eligibility:

Option A - GaDOE rule 160-4-2-.08 (1990): A student must meet eligibility requirements in both Mental Abilities and Achievement.

1. Mental Ability(CogAt): 99th percentile (K-2) or 96th percentile (3-12) on a standard test of mental ability- Composite Score only
2. Achievement (ITBS): 90th percentile in total battery, total reading or total math section of a standardized achievement battery.

Option B - GaDOE rule 160-4-2-.038 (1997): The Multiple-Criteria eligibility rule is based upon (1) mental ability, (2) achievement, (3) creativity and (4) motivation.

1. Mental Ability: To be eligible for programs in grades K-2, a student must score in the 99th percentile on a standardized test of mental ability and in the 96% percentile for grades 3-12.
2. Georgia law also requires that students score at or above the 90th percentile on the battery, math or reading section of a standardized achievement test.
3. A student must also score at or above the 90th percentile on the total battery score of a standardized test of creative thinking, or (b) receive a score at or above the 90th percentile on standardized creativity characteristics rating scale, or (c) receive from a panel of three or more qualified evaluators a score at or above 90 on a scale of 1-100 on a structured observation/evaluation of creative products and/or performances.
4. Motivation is determined with a standardized motivational characteristics rating scale, receive from a panel of three or more qualified evaluators a score at or above 90 on a scale of 1-100 on a structured observation/evaluation of student generated products and/or performances, or (c) have a grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.

Educator requirements

For a teacher to teach a gifted students in a designated gifted education class, they must be certified by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and either hold the Gifted In-field Endorsement or the Gifted P-12 Consultative.

Direct services

Resource Class (K-12) -- All students must have been identified as gifted using criteria established by the Georgia State Board of Education. The Resource Class Model is designed to meet the needs of gifted learners outside the regular classroom/core curriculum—-it provides students time to explore areas of interest in depth; opportunity to dig into complex, interdisciplinary studies; activities to help them develop research skills, creative thinking and creative productivity skills; time to be together with intellectual peers (which is important for both social-emotional and motivational reasons). The Resource Model is not intended for delivery of core content instruction, but the classes should have an academic content foundation focused on interdisciplinary enrichment activities.

Advanced Content Class (6-12) -- This is the most used delivery model for gifted education services in the middle and high schools in Georgia. Students are homogeneously grouped on the basis of achievement and interest in a specific academic content area. The local school district may elect to include other high-achieving students who are not identified as gifted but who have demonstrated exceptional ability and motivation in a particular content area.

Depending on the needs of the students, the services might include:

1. Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) Courses—The teacher must have the appropriate content area certification. In addition, the teacher must (a) have been trained by the College Board in that specific AP course and have had at least 10 clock hours of staff development in characteristics of gifted learners and curriculum differentiation for gifted students; or (b) hold the gifted endorsement.
2. International Baccalaureate (IB) Courses—The teacher must have the appropriate content area certification. In addition, the teacher must (a) have been trained by the International Baccalaureate Program in that specific IB subject area and have had at least 10 clock hours of staff development in characteristics of gifted learners and curriculum differentiation for gifted students; or (b) hold the gifted endorsement.
3. Honors Courses—The teacher of a locally developed honors course curriculum must have the appropriate content area certification and hold the gifted endorsement in order to count the gifted students in the class at the gifted FTE weight.

Cluster Grouping (K-12) -- Identified gifted students are placed as a group of 5-8 into an otherwise heterogeneous classroom, rather than being dispersed among all of the rooms/courses at that grade level. General education teachers differentiate instruction for students based on their area of strength or interest.

Indirect services

Collaborative Teaching (K-12) -- Direct instruction may be provided by a regular classroom teacher, but there must be substantial, regularly scheduled collaborative planning between the content area teacher and the gifted education specialist (the teacher with the gifted endorsement who is serving as the instructional facilitator).

Mentorship/Internship (9-12) -- A gifted student works with a mentor to explore a profession of interest.

Joint Enrollment/Postsecondary Options-- High school students may be enrolled in college, university, or technical school courses.