Not all gifted children look or act alike. Start by having a conversation with your child’s teacher about what you are noticing or what they are experiencing. Gifted and talented children are present in all student groups, regardless of gender, disability, English language proficiency, economic status, ethnic or cultural background. Because gifted children are so diverse, their characteristics may vary. 

The following resources may help you determine whether or not your child demonstrates typical characteristics of giftedness:

• Bright Child vs. Gifted Learner

• Universal Characteristics of Giftedness

• Characteristics of Gifted Learners with Other Factors

• Characteristics of Gifted English Language Learners

• The Underachieving Gifted Learner

• Bett’s Profiles of Giftedness

Start with speaking with the student’s teacher(s) about what you are noticing or what they are experiencing to gather more information about the student's capabilities and characteristics. Then, please fill out the TAG Referral Form and contact your building’s TAG Specialist/Coordinator. 

A student must demonstrate outstanding capability or potential that requires special educational services beyond those normally provided by the regular school curriculum in comparison to others of their age, experience, or environment. This is determined by data that is collected from a variety of sources, including but not limited to student and parent interviews, file reviews, teacher checklists, nationally or state-normed assessments, observations, in-class tests and quizzes, work samples, etc. After all data has been collected, a team of educators familiar with the student will meet to discuss all the evidence and determine whether or not the student qualifies for services.

The evaluation team will need to gather enough data to gain a complete picture of the student, including learning needs and behavioral characteristics. Every effort will be made to complete this process in a timely manner (a minimum of six weeks), and families will be notified if there are any changes that may impact this timeline.

Services that address the rate and learning of TAG students will begin within six weeks of a student being identified.

In Oregon, TAG services may be offered in grades K-12. If a primary aged student (K-2) demonstrates academic needs that are vastly different from their peers, a TAG referral may be appropriate. An early identification could help ensure that their unique needs are being met. The same is true for students in grades 3-12; even an identification later in a student’s educational career can help ensure that their unique learning and social-emotional needs are being met.

A TAG identification alerts your child’s teacher that your child may have unique learning needs in the classroom. The identification ensures that their teacher will support their unique rate and level learning needs, as well as be on the alert for social-emotional needs typically associated with gifted students.

Yes. Students who demonstrate the need may be eligible for both services.

Yes. There are a variety of reasons gifted students may not be performing up to their highest potential, and may have poor grades as a result. The evaluation process is designed to collect enough evidence related to a student’s language, learning, social, and cultural characteristics that their giftedness will still be recognized even if they are underachieving. Please refer to the Underachieving Gifted Learner document.

Each student’s TAG identification records are placed in their student files at their current school. You can call the school’s registrar (grades 6-12) or office secretary/TAG Specialist (elementary) for access. The names and contact information of the committee members are included on the student’s TAG ID form. Contact any of them to learn more about their findings and determination.

The student’s file will be transferred to TTSD from their former district and it should include their TAG ID form. Once identified through a defensible process in another district in Oregon, students are considered as TAG for their K-12 education. We would conduct a parent and student interview to learn more about the student’s unique abilities and learning needs in order to ensure appropriate services. Students identified in other states will also be interviewed and we will do a file review to ensure qualifying criteria correlate with TTSD’s.

To request a review of a student’s TAG identification, contact your child’s school’s TAG Specialist (elementary) or Secondary TOSA Alison Heath (middle and high school). They will reach out to you to schedule any needed interviews, further testing, etc.

If a family member or student wishes to appeal the identification decision, a written communication is sent to the Associate Director of T&L, the District Liaison serving TAG students, who will review the steps that were taken during the identification process, along with the data considered by the site-based team, and render a final decision.

Assessments are only one data point among many that are considered for TAG eligibility.

Tigard-Tualatin School District uses universal screeners in grades 3-8 and 11 to find students who may be eligible for TAG services. Universal screeners are a best practice used in gifted identification, because all students have the opportunity to take the assessments. 

Oregon’s state assessments in Math and English Language Arts (OSAS) are the universal screeners used as evidence for an identification as Academically Talented. Other tests that may be used for an identification as Academically Talented in Reading or Math include, but are not limited to, the Stanford 10 and the WIAT-IV.

The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) is the universal screener used in 3rd grade to find students who demonstrate high cognitive abilities and may be used as evidence for an identification as Intellectually Gifted. The NNAT was chosen to remove the barriers of language and background contextual knowledge from the assessment device.

Tests are only one measure we use to determine TAG eligibility. We consider student work artifacts; conduct interviews with families, the referred student, and teachers; observe students in lessons; examine results from SIGS surveys (Scales for Identifying Gifted Students); and more. During the identification process, the team will contact the student’s family if there is a need to conduct additional testing to make a determination.

Before a student takes any of these assessments, you can explain that they will answer questions that allow them to show their unique ways of thinking and problem solving. They should arrive well rested and well-nourished. They do not need to study or complete any preparation/practice.