By: Sara Davis, Zachary Dill, Rusty Ramsey and Emily Singleton
How do educators identify students who will
benefit from gifted education services?
 What are some characteristics of students who
are considered gifted?
 Are there any outside influences that affect the
probability of a student being identified as
gifted?
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What is the process used to identify 2nd
grade students within Plano ISD who qualify
to receive gifted instruction and services?

Our plan is to answer
this question through
research and
observations of the
gifted program. We will
be collecting data from
the gifted instruction
specialist and attending
grade-level placement
meetings.
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Met with gifted
instruction specialist to
learn about the criteria
for students who qualify
for gifted instruction and
services
Attended grade-level
placement meetings
Analyzed data from
student placement
matrix and work
samples for 2nd grade
students

Through our research we discovered the
following
 The gifted and talented program in Plano ISD is
called Plano Academic Creative Enrichment or
PACE.
 Students considered for PACE placement can
qualify through three different phases.
 A committee meeting is required to discuss and
analyze a student placement matrix.
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1: Students may be referred for assessment at any time
during the school year by a teacher, a parent/guardian,
him/herself.
2: Test are administered by PISD and no outside testing is
accepted.
3: The campus committee meets to consider each
assessed student and his/her special needs as indicated by
the data collected.
4:The committee’s decision is mailed to each assessed
student’s home.
5:All PACE students are reviewed annually to determine if
performance warrants continued participation.
To qualify for PACE through phase 1 the student must
score 90 percentile or higher on their overall test
scores.
 To qualify for PACE through phase 2 the student’s
overall test scores fell slightly below the required
phase 1 standards. However, their work samples
indicate the need for gifted and talented services.
 To qualify for PACE through phase 3, a teacher or
parent must advocate for the student because their
scores were well below the required phase 1
standards. The committee meets with the parents and
teacher to discuss the individual needs of the child
and to determine placement into the PACE program.
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During the meeting the
committee analyzed authentic
work samples and the Student
Placement Matrix which shows
the overall test scores including:
COGAT, NNAT, MAP, and
corresponding scoring
percentiles.
COGAT is a standardized
intelligence aptitude test for
measuring verbal, non-verbal,
and quantitative reasoning.
NNAT is a nonverbal measure of
general ability.
MAP is an academic normreferenced test to measure
math and reading skills.

Using authentic work samples
including evidence of higher order
thinking such as: writing prompts,
questions posed by student, and
higher level discussions the
committee decided

The data collected
shown on the next
slides represents the
second grade students
who were placed in the
gifted and talented
program for the
following school year.
Each student’s data
was presented and
discussed during a
placement meeting.
 The committee
members in
attendance included
administration, the
gifted specialist, and
second grade teachers.
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Research student-1 was placed into PACE in phase 1. This means the student scored 90 percentile
or higher on her overall test scores. Work sample shows interesting perspective and sense of
humor. At this point poetry was not introduced yet.
Research student-2 was placed into PACE in phase 3. This student required advocacy represented
by their teacher. The committee looked at work samples to determine placement approval. The
writing sample is a narrative written in 3rd person which is a difficult style of writing for this age.
This shows a higher level of creativity and advanced understanding.
***Research student-1 and 2 are identical twins.
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Research student-3 was not placed in phase 1 because of test scores not meeting required
standards. Nor was the student recommended by their teacher. The parents of the student
advocated for them to be place in phase 3. The committee agreed that PACE would meet the
needs of the student. Also, the work sample shows the student’s abstract thinking, ability to use
personification appropriately, and high level vocabulary.

Research student-4 scored lower than 90 percentile on the “Non-Verbal” (NNAT) which
disqualified being placed into PACE in phase 1. However, the student was represented by the
parent in phase 2. The committee reviewed the students special needs and work samples. The
student understands how to sequence events correctly, use dialogue appropriately, and greater
sense of connections with real-world situations. The committee agreed based on the substantial
evidence considering the one test score below the 90 percentile.