All students in District 7 will be viewed as potential candidates for enrichment and accelerated programs. The program serving gifted students is divided into three levels: the elementary Challenge Program, the middle school Honors Program, and the high school Honors Program. Throughout his/her school experience, a student’s participation in the program may range from one to all levels.

Elementary Level

The elementary level Challenge Program begins the second semester of third grade and continues through fifth grade. At this level identified students work with a gifted education specialist one hour per week with grade level peers. Fourth and fifth graders are also clustered together into regular classrooms where the classroom teacher differentiates the curriculum to meet the needs of these students. To be placed in the elementary level program, students must meet 3 of the 4 following criteria:

1. Score “Exceeds” in Reading and Math on Illinois Standards Achievement Test

2. Receive a minimum of 68 points on the Teacher Recommendation Checklist

3. Score 100 or above on the Williams Test of Divergent Thinking

4. Score 126 or above on the Cognitive Abilities Test

Middle School Level High Math and Honors Language Arts Placement

Sixth and Seventh Grade High Math—Students will be clustered on teams to provide this instruction in both schools.

• Students in high math will remain in high math unless counseled out by current teachers and parents
• A placement test will be utilized to identify students not currently in the program. The placement test will be given to the following students:
  • Teacher-recommended students
  • Parent requests
  • Students new to the district whose grades indicate potential aptitude in math
  • Students currently in high math (to provide baseline data)

Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grade Honors Language Arts—Students who have been in the challenge program will be clustered in teams to provide enrichment activities in language arts, unless they have been counseled out by teachers and parents.

• Additional students may be identified through the following criteria:
• Teacher recommendation
• A student portfolio of five writing samples that must include one expository, one narrative, one persuasive, and two others. Each paper must have a score of 30-36
• Move-in students will complete a writing assessment using current ISAT writing prompts and the ISAT rubric for scoring

Eighth Grade Math Placement—Initially, students fall into two categories: high math students and all others.

• High math students will be placed in Honors Algebra unless counseled out by teachers and parents
• All other students, including those struggling in High Math, will be given the Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test. Student scores on the test will determine individual student placement.
• Students will be placed in Algebra if they meet the following criteria:
  • A score of 36 or greater on Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test
  • Second trimester math grade of C or better
  • Teacher recommendation
• All other students will be placed in Pre-Algebra

High School Level

High school students are recommended for honors or advanced placement classes and may self-select these classes as well. Students must maintain a B average in a content area to select advanced classes the following year. High school counselors will work with students each year to register for appropriate level courses.

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