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Screening & Eligibility

The Lee's Summit R-7 Gifted Education Program uses a comprehensive screening process designed to identify students whose educational needs extend beyond the general education classroom.

Missouri guidelines recommend screening students across multiple measures to ensure gifted identification reflects a student's overall potential rather than performance on a single assessment.

Eligibility

Gifted identification is based on multiple measures. Students must meet the identification criteria in three of the four screening areas to qualify for gifted services.

Areas of Screening

Students are evaluated across four areas of gifted potential

1. General Mental Ability: Measures a student's ability to acquire knowledge, think abstractly, and solve problems.

  • Assessment Used: Naglieri General Ability Test (NGAT) – Nonverbal
  • Identification Criteria: 95th percentile or above

2. Academic Ability: Measures a student's demonstrated achievement in reading and mathematics.

  • Assessments Used: NWEA MAP Growth Reading, NWEA MAP Growth Mathematics
  • Identification Criteria: 95th percentile or above

3. Reasoning: Measures a student's ability to analyze information and solve novel problems.

  • Assessment Used: Naglieri General Ability Test (NGAT) – Verbal and Quantitative
  • Identification Criteria: 95th percentile or above

4. Other Evidence: Provides additional evidence of exceptional academic performance.

  • Evidence May Include: MAP Grade-Level Assessment (Reading, Mathematics, or Science); Missouri Traits, Aptitudes, and Behaviors Scale (MOTABS)
  • Identification Criteria: Advanced Achievement on any MAP Grade-Level Assessment; meets criteria on the MOTABS rating scale

Additional Evaluation

In some cases, additional information may be needed before an eligibility determination can be made. When appropriate, additional assessments may be administered to provide a more complete understanding of a student's strengths.

Additional assessments may include:

  • Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
  • Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), when creativity is evaluated in place of reasoning

Appeals

If a family believes the screening process did not fully identify a student's gifted potential, an appeal may be submitted. Appeals are reviewed by the LSR7 Advocacy Team to determine whether additional information supports further consideration for gifted identification.