Frequently Asked Questions
“To throw a non-swimmer in the deep end of the pool is inhumane. To demand an Olympic swimmer remain in the shallow end until the rest of the class learns to swim is a ludicrous restraint.”
Q: Why TAG?
A: The Gifted and Talented Education Program serves students who, when compared with others of their age/grade level, require learning experiences beyond the standard curriculum.
Q: How does a student "apply" for TAG?
A: A student may be referred for TAG identification and testing by a teacher, parent, or they may refer themselves. In addition, they may be automatically identified through standardized state test scores.
Q: What type of test does a student take?
A: A student may be identified for TAG from certain state standardized tests (such as the OSAT), or through intellectual tests (such as the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test, Aprenda, or the Cognitive Abilities Test).
Q: What is the score needed to qualify as "gifted"?
A: Students who score in the 97th percentile are identified as either academically gifted (gifted in reading or gifted in mathematics) or as intellectually gifted.
Q: How long does the qualification process take?
A: Testing and data collection can take weeks or months.
Q: What is the difference between percentage and percentile?
A: Percentage refers to the percent of questions a student scored correctly on a test. For example, a student who correctly answered 5 out of 10 questions would score 50%. Percentile refers to a student's performance in comparison to other students. For example, a child who scores at the 42 percentile , is doing as well as, or better than, 42 percent of the students who took the same test.
Imagine that 100 students took a test and that we graphed the number of students that took the test in order from lowest score to highest score, as shown in the graph above. Most students are “average” and would score somewhere in the middle of the graph. That is why it peaks in the middle. Very few students score in the extremely high or extremely low range, which is why both ends of the graph are very low: they represent only a few students. TAG students scoring in the 97th percentile are represented by the orange box.
Q: What is the benefit of being identified as Talented and Gifted?
A: TAG students receive instruction at their rate and level, which may include acceleration enrichment, independent study, curriculum compacting, etc. They may also qualify to attend a special pull-out program, additional field trips, and other services as appropriate.
Q: Who determines if a student is TAG?
A: Parental input in the process is key to student success. The TAG coordinator, working with the student's parent, teacher, principal, and the school's Special Services Team, makes the final determination based on test scores, work samples, behavioral traits, and other factors.
Q: What are the traits of a Gifted and Talented child?
1. Has advanced oral and/or written language skills; expressive language
2. Makes unique connections; understands systems; sees the "big picture"
3. Asks many questions; seeks in-depth information
4. Is nonconforming; risk-taking; independent
5. Has broad and varied interests, at times, simultaneously
6. Is resourceful at finding unique solutions
7. Exhibits keen powers of observation; is highly sensitive and insightful
8. Has intense and sustained interests; transfers learning to new situations
9. Exhibits an early moral concern; is empathetic
10. Makes nontraditional responses and/or products
Q: How does the qualification process work?
A: It depends on how the student is referred. Please contact your school's TAG coordinator for specific information about your student's situation.
Q. My student seems very gifted, but he/she was not identified as TAG. Why?
A. The TAG identification process is regulated by Oregon Law which groups students into specific classifications of giftedness that may not account for all students giftedness. (These classifications are described in another FAQ.) Ironically, under our current TAG laws, Einstein and Beethoven would probably not be identified as TAG!
Q. Where can I get more information?
A. You can get more information from the school's TAG coordinator or by contact us at OATAG.
Failure to help the handicapped child reach his potential is a personal tragedy for him and his family. Failure to help the gifted child reach his potential is a societal tragedy, the extent of which is difficult to measure, but which is surely great. How can we measure the sonata unwritten, the curative drug undiscovered, the absence of political insight. They are the difference between what we are, and where we could be as a society. (James Gallagher, Summer 1994 Delta Kappa Gamma)