Talented & Gifted Services (TAG)

A:  TAG standards for Talented and Gifted.  Elementary students receive gifted services one day per week in a “pull-out” resource class. The students attend the gifted class at his/her home school: Elementary class size is limited to a maximum of 22 students.  The curricula provides challenging interdisciplinary units based upon the Talented and Gifted Standards, Georgia Performance Standards and Georgia Standards of Excellence. 

Intellectually gifted and exceptionally creative students have unique learning characteristics, interests, personal needs, and capabilities.The Fulton County Schools TAG program addresses these unique characteristics and needs by providing an opportunity for gifted students to interact with intellectual peers as they participate in classes that extend and enrich the basic curriculum. Through participation in TAG classes, students will develop advanced research, advanced communication, critical thinking, and creative thinking skills.

A:  If a student was in a gifted program in another Georgia public school, there is automatic reciprocity and he/she will be placed in the TAG program AS SOON AS documentation of gifted services/test scores is received from the transferring school. 

If a student was in a gifted program outside the state of Georgia, or in a private school setting, we need all documentation from the school for all gifted program information and test history from the transferring school. Parents can accelerate this process by sending in documentation rather than waiting for permanent records from the old school.  

Gifted programs vary from state to state, the TAG Advocacy Council will examine all test score information to determine which tests meet Georgia guidelines and can be accepted or if the student needs further evaluations to meet multiple criteria requirements. It is most helpful to obtain and forward scores from: mental ability (“IQ”) tests, creativity assessments, motivation assessments/ratings, and nationally-normed achievement tests. 

A:  Students must qualify to be tested for gifted services and found eligible for the gifted program in accordance with state required multiple criteria. Grade point average (GPA) is not one of these criteria. The need for gifted program services is determined by multiple criteria through our screening-->referral-->testing process.

It is important to note that these scores are reported as NPRs (National Percentile Ranks). They represent how students did in relation to their age-level peers across national testing. They do not indicate a % of correct answers. Therefore, a 50th Percentile would indicate a score in the average range, a 75th Percentile score would indicate above average.

*It is also important to know that scores that appear low do not indicate a deficit. These are merely a snapshot and used only for gifted identification purposes. These types of tests might be new and different than what students are used to*

Important things to remember:

1.  Letters are mailed home through the U.S. mail, so that parents can best decide how to tell their children.  TAG teachers will not discuss results directly with a student.

2.  If the child is referred again, the child may be eligible for testing again in the future before the two-year time period is up through alternative assessments depending upon the scores received during the initial testing.

3.  The scores are just a snapshot in time.  There may be many reasons why the scores are not what a parent might have been expecting (illness, nervousness, not enough time, etc.).

4.  Mental ability tests measure how a student processes information (applying knowledge, processing information, solving problems, finding patterns, completing analogies, and finding relationships).  Achievement tests evaluate skills and knowledge.

5.  Classroom teachers do a wonderful job of enriching the curriculum and challenging students every day.  All students are instructed on their individual reading and math level in the regular classroom. Many SBCE teachers are trained in TAG strategies and implement them to challenge their students.

6.  Students can be referred for testing throughout their elementary, middle, and high school years.

7.  In middle school, students can still participate in advanced classes without being enrolled in the TAG program.  In high school, students can still take A.P. classes without being enrolled in the TAG program.

 *Many students test multiple times before being found eligible. Often they may need time to mature or become more familiar with school and testing*