Free universal screening for Gifted Education

Posted Date: 08/05/2022

EXCITING NEWS Free Universal Screening Opportunity for Gifted Education for Arizona Public School Students in 2nd Grade   The Arizona legislature once more appropriated $850,000 to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to support the opportunity for all public schools to evaluate all their 2nd Grade students for Gifted Education programs at no cost during the upcoming school year (SY22-23). Participation in this universal screening opportunity is available and optional for all Arizona public schools. ADE will continue to offer the Cognitive Abilities Test™ (CogAT®) from Riverside Insights as the 2nd-grade screening tool for this program. This tool was procured in SY21-22 following a competitive procurement process. Schools can choose to test their students using traditional paper/pencil versions of the assessment or an online testing option. All testing activities must be completed within this fiscal year or by June 2023. “We are excited to continue to provide this opportunity that will help our schools more equitably identify our state’s Gifted learners,” said Superintendent Hoffman. “Universal screening removes barriers to access and is a proven strategy to help identify students traditionally underrepresented in Gifted Education programs – especially students who may be culturally, linguistically and socioeconomically diverse.” Students that score at or above the 97th percentile, based on national norms (age or grade norms), on a test adopted by the State Board of Education (which includes the CogAT® test for this program) will generate a Group B add-on per-pupil funding weight – a “G” weight. Qualifying pupils will generate the new 0.007 Group B add-on funding in FY 2023, and the corresponding funding will appear in payments and on payment reports later in the year. More details about the new “G” weight may be found on our School Finance website, and information regarding the FY2022 payment process may be found here. The program website hosted by Riverside Insights for LEAs to order testing materials and access comprehensive training, technical assistance, and support resources may be found at: https://riversideinsights.com/az-gifted. If your school has questions regarding how to order testing materials, please visit this site to submit your questions. Please contact Peter Laing at Peter.Laing@azed.gov for more information, and visit ADE’s Gifted Education website at www.azed.gov/gifted-education. CONNECT WITH US The Arizona Department of Education advances equity and excellence for all students by serving school leaders, educators and staff, collaborating with communities, and leading with data-driven best practices. LEARN MORE ›