Home

General Information

About Us


CVC Audit Information Download


Contact Us


Display Advertising


Ad Sizes and Samples


Classified Advertising

Communities

Communities Served


Community Resources

-$- Online Store -$-

Digital Online Subscription


Order A Classified Ad Online


Place Assumed Name Notice


Cook County Legals Printed Here


Kane County Name Change - $85


Place Obituary Notice


Download Sample Paper

Submission of News

Engagement Submittal


Birth Announcements


News & Photos


Sports Scores

Lifestyle Features and Videos

Food and Lifestyle


Lifestyle Videos


Seasonal Widget


Crossword and Sudoku Puzzles


Mug Shot Mania News

Online News and Commentary

The Examiner U-46 News Feed


Cheap Seats 2024 By Rich Trzupek


Cheap Seats 2023 By Rich Trzupek


Cheap Seats 2022 By Rich Trzupek


Guest Seat By Harold Pease, Ph.D.


Cheap Seats 2021 By Rich Trzupek


Cheap Seats 2020


Cheap Seats 2019


Cheap Seats 2018


Cheap Seats 2017


Cheap Seats 2016


Cheap Seats 2015 B


Cheap Seats 2015


Cheap Seats 2014


Cheap Seats 2013


Cheap Seats 2012


Cheap Seats 2011


Cheap Seats 2010


Ramey DUI Video


Representative Randy Ramey pleads guilty to DUI


Bartlett Volunteer Fire Department Street Dance


The Truth about Global Warming


Examiner Editorials and Cheap Seats from the past

Forms and Newsstand Locations

Newsstand Locations


Carriers needed


Legal Newspaper

The Examiner U-46 News Feed

U-46 changing way it identifies gifted students


By Seth Hancock
  School District U-46 is changing its approach on how it will identify gifted students.
  For the 2019-2020 school year, students will now use building norms along with its current use of looking at group-specific norms according to a presentation given to the Board of Education last month. The group-specific norms compare students with other students in their same racial subgroups rather than viewing all students, regardless of race, as having the same potential to succeed.
  “Building norms are really the  most acute or the most succinct way to really look at developing and providing pathways for the talent that we recognize is available in all of our U-46 elementary buildings and then feeding into our middle school programs,” said April Wells, gifted coordinator.
  U-46 CEO Tony Sanders said that in 2014 the district changed its gifted selection process due to a federal settlement agreement. U-46 moved from national norms at the time to local norms and started universally screening students.
  Wells said the district uses three different screening methods including CogAT and MAP testing as well as a teacher inventory of learning strengths in which teachers score students. The criteria for gifted status is determined each year.
  One of the focuses of the presentation was the district’s claimed need for more “equity” in the selection process. The presentation stated: “Gifted education is only as equitable as the students with most marginalized identities experience it to be.”
  Wells said that U-46 is focused on “recognizing the untapped potential for students who come from underserved populations” as she said students from certain subgroups are less likely to be identified as gifted.
  “It’s certainly not an effort where we’re taking away from any students, but we just recognize that when it comes to addressing underrepresentation or equity in gifted we have to make sure that we’re consistently checking our practices and our policies to actually see that we’re doing what we purport that we’re doing on a larger scale,” Wells said.
  The district has a talent development program according to Wells who said “we micro target students at 22 of the 24 Title I schools” while “front loading experiences” by exposing those students to materials before the identification process begins.
  Wells said that there have been arguments against local norms based on portability and lowering standards.
  Regarding portability, Wells said there is a national problem with mobility.
  “I can only pray that someday in this nation that we do have that social mobility,” Wells said. “That students from lower income neighborhoods are really moving into neighborhoods where they would be in higher income schools. That’s not what’s happening.”
  Wells never denied that standards are lowered but said: “Our role as a district is to provide pathways for programming that will allow them to develop those pursuits.”
  Board member Jeanette Ward asked: “It sounds like from your presentation that you’re taking race into account when choosing candidates for the gifted program. If that’s only my perception, can you explain why that’s incorrect?”
  Wells said all students are tested which “doesn’t take into consideration the student’s race or ethnicity.” The scores are compiled while the selection criteria will now be determined at each building.
  “In some of our situations our schools are setup in ways where there are significant populations of students from various backgrounds or similar ones in certain buildings,” Wells said. “Because of that, that treatment is applied to all those students there, but this is allowing us to move away from what we have used in the past that’s group specific norms.”
  Wells added: “So solely using that have been something that honestly, we do feel that race-based criteria is going to be under attack. It is and will continue to be, but we are able to do something where we’re moving to remove some of those barriers but we’re honoring what’s happening with the data of the powerful things that’s happening in our schools.”
  Prior to the meeting, Ward noted a quote used by the district in the presentation from Scott Peters who said: “Certain student groups score differently than others because as a society we treat them differently.” Ward asked: “If we are changing the admission criteria or process for certain groups, isn’t that treating them differently?”
  “In alignment with our Board Policy on equity, we have a commitment to remedy any practice that leads to underrepresentation," the district responded via a memo.
  Ward and board members Sue Kerr and Melissa Owens all inquired about the possibility of having different standards at each building. The district said along with building norms there will be district norms, but it admitted a student could meet the gifted criteria at one school but not another and schools may have different percentages of students identified as gifted.
  “This year, we identified students at the top 10 (percent) at each building,” the district stated in the memo and also stated: “U-46 does not have limits on gifted programming. We provide services for students who are identified.”
  Ward said: “I was concerned that if you do those building norms then there could be certain buildings where people say ‘well your building has a lower standard so your gifted program is, for lack of a better word, not as good as this other building.’ So how do we avoid that perception if you do admit that you can be identified for gifted in one building but not another?”
  Wells analogized IHSA sports and that all students can compete in track and field while qualifying times are set at each sectional.
  “All of those students show up at the state meet and race at the same 400-meter line,” Wells said. “So that’s what we’re doing.”
  Kerr asked about students who may be gifted in one subject but not another to which Wells said U-46 uses a “general mobility index” and “that does happen to be student who have that propensity or higher ability in namely reading language arts and/or math.” Kerr said some students may not be good test takers and could “slip through the cracks” which Wells said: “Unfortunately the search for the ideal or perfect test does not exist.”
  Asked how success will be measured by Kerr, Wells said: “We need to look at one of those rates of participation by some of our groups that have been disproportionate in the district, not only the rates of identifying them but the rates of retaining those students.”
  Board member Veronica Noland asked if along with the teacher inventory if there was a parent inventory and Wells said “there is a corresponding parent inventory,” but the district needs to educate parents. Wells also said there are gifted specialists at 22 Title I schools.
  Board member Phil Costello asked if the district has investigated “peer or external organizations” using these methods and Wells said they have.
  Ward asked if the district could provide the board with current gifted data which the administration said it would.

.

.

.




©2024 Examiner Publications, Inc.

Website Powered by Web Construction Set