GATE Frequently Asked Questions
Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) FAQs.
Gifted and Talented Education (GATE)
Identification
- Must we use more than one test or measure for identifying
GATE students?
Education
Code (EC) Section 52202 (Outside Source) states
"one or more." GATE identification should not be based on just
one factor. Achievement, intelligence quotient (IQ), ability,
and other test scores; motivation; parent/guardian, student,
and teacher recommendations; classroom observations; and portfolio
assessment are some of the possible factors a district may use
to identify GATE students.
- Must we identify and serve students in kindergarten
and primary grades?
State law, Assembly Bill (AB) 2313, requires districts to serve
students in all grades. It is not necessary to identify kindergarten
and primary students formally, although some districts may choose
to do so. Districts are required to provide teachers with the
means to recognize gifted children and use the strategies and
resources to meet their educational needs. This can be done
even if formal identification does not take place until later.
- Should we continue to reexamine students for eligibility
as they get older?
The district should continue to periodically examine student
eligibility for the GATE program. A student who does not meet
the district's criteria for eligibility in the second grade
may very well be eligible later in elementary school. Eligibility
for GATE programs should be reexamined between elementary and
middle school, and between middle and high school. However,
once certified as a gifted student, a student may not be decertified
even though the student's need for specific services may change.
At all levels, children who can be successful in advanced courses
should be encouraged to take them regardless of whether they
are identified as gifted and talented.
- Our testing program uses all of our GATE funding,
and we have no funds left to support the cost of the program.
What should we do?
Try to develop a less expensive identification process. Use
tests that are already administered by the district for other
purposes, such as routinely administered achievement tests as
part of your assessment of high achievement and specific academic
ability. Consider using group administered tests, teacher observations,
parent/guardian and peer recommendations, and student portfolios.
- Are we required to test or serve private school students?
No.
- Must a district governing board consider or identify
as gifted and talented a pupil who transfers from a district
where the student was previously identified as gifted and talented?
Yes. EC Section 52202 states that the governing board
shall also consider identifying as gifted or talented, any student
who has transferred from a district in which he or she was identified
as a GATE student.
Service Delivery
- If we are a school-based coordinated program (SBCP),
are we exempt from all provisions of the EC related
to gifted and talented education?
No. Certain requirements in the EC are requirements
of the district related to identification, the determination
of funding amounts, and responsibility to ensure that funds
are spent according to the district-approved plan. Those requirements
are unchanged, even though a school or schools within the district
become school-based coordinated programs. If GATE is included
in the SBCP, the school should base the program on EC
Section 52853, which outlines the responsibilities of the school
under the SBCP act. Note that the school site plan must specify
"instructional and auxiliary services to meet the special needs
of . . . gifted and talented pupils," as well as a staff development
plan, ongoing evaluation, and a budget.
- Do you recommend any particular service delivery model?
AB 2313 requires that services for gifted and talented students
be planned and organized as integrated differentiated learning
experiences within the regular school day. The following three
service delivery models are named in the law and are appropriate
for most districts: special day classes, part-time grouping,
and cluster grouping. Title 5, Chapter 4 of the California
Code of Regulations provides the following definitions:
(Section 3840a) special-day classes: A class totaling a minimum
school day that is composed of pupils identified as gifted and
talented, is especially designed to meet the specific academic
needs of gifted and talented pupils for enriched and advanced
instruction and is appropriately differentiated from other classes
in the same subjects at the school, and is taught by a teacher
who has specific preparation, experience, personal attributes
and competencies in the teaching of gifted children.
(Section 3840b) part-time grouping: Classes or seminars that
are organized to provide advanced or enriched subject matter
for part of the school day. These classes are composed of gifted
and talented pupils.
(Section 3840d) cluster grouping: Pupils are grouped within
a regular classroom setting and receive appropriately differentiated
curriculum from the regular classroom teacher.
All of these models allow for the participation, when appropriate,
of high ability students who are not formally identified as
gifted and talented. Small districts will need to be creative
in meeting the intent of the law when numbers of students prohibit
the adoption of any of these models. Two approaches that have
been successful in small school or district settings are mixed-age
grouping and individual learning plans that address specific
adaptations in one or more of the core areas to meet a student's
needs.
- How does this approach to gifted education relate
to standards-based education?
Standards-based education is a solid foundation on which to
build appropriate instruction for all students, including gifted
and talented students. Standards-based education requires educators
to have clear content and performance objectives for their students.
Both the Mathematics Framework
for California Public Schools and the Reading/Language
Arts Framework for California Public Schools discuss the
need for teachers to assess students in order to know what must
be learned and to design instruction to move them forward. Both
of these documents apply this principle to all students, including
advanced and gifted students, even if it means working between
grade levels. Key to accomplishing this for all students is
differentiation of the core curriculum to meet various student
needs.
- What about after-school programs, pullout programs,
acceleration, and other service delivery models?
In order to receive funding, a district's GATE program must
be planned and organized as an integrated, differentiated learning
experience within the regular school day. AB 2313 goes on to
say that this service may be supplemented with other differentiated
activities related to the core curriculum, such as independent
study, acceleration, postsecondary education, and enrichment.
Pullout programs may be designed in such a way that they meet
the intent of the law or they may be supplemental enrichment.
Key factors are frequency of meeting and relationship of content
to the core curriculum. Pullout programs may also provide an
effective way to address the social and emotional needs of gifted
and talented students and as such might constitute an important
component of a comprehensive program.
- Must we serve all identified gifted and talented students?
Yes, once you accept GATE funds you must serve all identified
GATE students unless the parent or student declines participation.
You have an obligation to seek out, identify, and serve underachieving
gifted and talented students and to serve unidentified primary
students if your district does not offer formal identification
in the early grades.
- We are a small, rural district and receive a small
amount in GATE funds. How can we design a program which meets
the program standards and regulations?
Program design will of necessity look very different in small
districts than in large districts. Many small districts have
developed successful GATE programs enlisting the help of community
members with expertise in particular areas; using distance learning
arrangements with a college, university, or other public school;
or by focusing funds on a particular area of students' needs
each year. Mixed-age grouping, mentorships, and individual learning
plans may also be successful approaches to planning and organizing
differentiated learning experiences within the regular school
day for gifted and talented students in small schools or districts.
Funding
- How should we estimate GATE funding?
Per EC
Section 52211 (Outside Source), principal
apportionments for local educational agency (LEA) GATE programs
are calculated each fiscal year through a formula that uses
the prior year's statewide average daily attendance (ADA) in
kindergarten and grades 1-12, reported by all participating
districts at the second principal apportionment, to determine
the per pupil GATE funding for each LEA. LEAs with less than
1,500 ADA receive $2,500 or not less than the amount received
in FY 1998-99. No district receives less per ADA than the amount
it received in FY 1999-2000. An additional deficit factor may
be applied in to align the GATE funding calculations with the
available state funding.
- May we buy computers with GATE funds?
GATE funds are to be used to meet the assessed needs of GATE
students through provision of programs described in EC
Section 52200 et seq. and accompanying regulations. While purchase
of computers is not specifically prohibited in the law or regulations,
you must justify these purchases in the written plan and the
plan must be approved by the State Board of Education (SBE).
It is unlikely that devoting large portions of the GATE funding
to the purchase of computers will meet the program standards
outlined in law and regulations.
- If we are a school-based coordinated program, may
we use more than 3 percent of our GATE funding for indirect
costs?
No. California Code of Regulations, Title 5 Section
3870 clearly states that a maximum of 3 percent of the GATE
funds may be used for indirect costs.
- May we fund a special day class teacher with GATE
funds?
No. GATE funds are to be used over and above the regular program.
A classroom teacher should be paid for through the ADA generated
by the students in the class.
- May we use GATE funds to pay for GATE specialists
or part-time teachers on a contract rather than hourly basis?
May we use GATE funds to pay a stipend to teachers for GATE
services beyond their regular assignment?
Yes, in both cases.
- Must GATE funding be distributed to schools based
on the number of identified GATE students at that school?
No. You may allocate funds in this way but you are not required
to. GATE funds should be distributed according to the needs
of students and according to the district's written plan. Some
program options for GATE students may not require GATE funds
(e.g., special day class or advanced placement [AP]), whereas
others may be more costly.
- May we use GATE funds for Odyssey of the Mind (OM),
Destination Imagination, Future Problem Solvers, Science Olympiad,
and other such programs?
Yes.
- May we use GATE funds for summer activities for GATE
students?
Yes.
- May we use GATE funds for the International Baccalaureate
(IB) program, even though it is open to students who are not
identified as gifted and talented?
Yes.
- May we use GATE funds for activities for advanced
learners even though not all students in the activities are
identified as GATE students?
This question applies to programs such as OM, honors courses,
AP, IB, and special day classes when there are not enough identified
gifted and talented students to fill the class. The answer,
generally, is yes. Participation in activities and courses that
are clearly appropriate for GATE students may be supported with
GATE funds, even though not all of the students participating
are identified as GATE. Describe these situations in your written
plan.
For more information about how GATE funds may be used, please
see the authorized use of funds page.
Parent/Guardian Involvement and Evaluation
- How should parents/guardians be involved in the program?
The EC and regulations specifically require that parents/guardians
be involved in the planning and evaluation of programs. Many
districts have a committee composed of parents, school site
GATE advisory committees, or a GATE subcommittee of the school
site council. SBCP programs involve parents/guardians as members
of school site councils. Parents/guardians are a tremendous
source of support for GATE programs, and educators should take
care to utilize that support without abdicating educators' responsibilities
for meeting the needs of all GATE students.
- Are we required to do an annual evaluation of the
GATE program?
Yes, an annual evaluation of the GATE program is required by
law. Per EC 52212, each time a district submits an
application for renewal of its GATE authorization, the district
is required to submit the results of its program assessment
in accordance with the State Board of Education Recommended
Standards for Programs for Gifted and Talented Students
(DOC; 78KB; 9pp.). SBCPs are required to do an annual, school
site evaluation. The evaluation should address the methods identified
in the district's GATE application and be designed to provide
you with helpful information about how to best meet the needs
of GATE students. It can include an annual evaluation at the
end of the year asking teachers, parents/guardians, and students
to provide feedback about the quality of programs and services
for GATE students. It can be coupled with a needs assessment,
which is a set of questions added to the school accountability
report card, or a survey that the classroom teacher would send
home and collect. It must include information on the academic
progress of GATE students, such as an analysis of district academic
assessments or other test results
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