Indian Prairie School District #204

Academically Talented Students

District 204 offers a variety of academic programs to meet the needs of our students. Students who are academically talented receive services at each elementary school and middle school. Educational opportunities are expanded through differentiated instruction and learning experiences. In order to ensure student success, identified academically talented students are provided services that:

• engage students in learning opportunities that require beyond grade level academic rigor

• provide opportunities to engage in rich complex text, and

• utilize increased depth of knowledge

Identification of Participants
Although assessment occurs throughout the school year for all students, some programs require the gathering of additional information in order to determine appropriate placement. Our identification process for Project Arrow and Accelerated Math programs includes the use of multiple measures when considering the total child for academic programming. We consider standardized and normed assessment data including, but not limited to, the following:

• Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT): a nationally-normed assessment of a student's learned reasoning abilities in three areas most closely related to success in school: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and nonverbal reasoning.

• iReady: a nationally-normed, computer-adaptive test that measures the student’s achievement level in reading and mathematics.

• Classroom assessments and students' learning characteristics

The district believes that year-long algebra instruction is critical for long-term math success. With this in mind, any math qualification or pathway that does not include year-long algebra is not in the students’ best interest and, therefore, will not be permitted. New placement into Project Arrow Math will only occur at the beginning of sixth grade or at the beginning of seventh grade.

Programming
Project Arrow
Identified students will participate in Project Arrow common units of study at each grade level. These units of study align to grade level ELA curriculum.

Students in Grade 3 will be provided differentiated ELA instruction by the PA resource teacher for a minimum of 225 minutes per week. 

Students in Grades 4-5 will be provided differentiated ELA instruction by the PA resource teacher for a minimum of 300 minutes per week. 

Students in Grades 6-8: Here is a document with descriptions for all core courses, including Project Arrow & Accelerated Math

Math Acceleration

Identified students will participate in math coursework that is one grade level above their current grade.

• For additional information about advancement pathways click here

Project Arrow & Accelerated Math: Elementary Identification Timeline
iReady universal screeners of literacy & numeracy development occur three times during the school year (fall, winter, spring)