[Ohiogift] Dispatch article on gifted value-added sub-groups

[anngift at aol.com]

Some high-rated districts failing with gifted students
						    					    	    	    
				




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						        			        				               				                	The Columbus Dispatch			                			                Monday April 22, 2013 7:41 AM			        			        			        			        			
										    			    
	
	
				
 
					    					    		    
		    		    			    		                                 		    
Most Ohio schools earn passing grades for making progress with gifted students.


The unexpected news: Those that received low grades for gains among gifted students are amongthe state’s highest-performing districts.
“It’s an eye-opener,” said Ann Sheldon, executive director of the Ohio Association for GiftedChildren. “We’re seeing districts that you think would knock it out of the park with D’s and F’s."


Among 49 central Ohio districts, six that received overall grades of A+ and A on this year’sstate report card received D’s and F’s for their work with gifted students in a simulation of a newstate report card released this month. Statewide, 55 out of 610 districts fell into the samecategories.


The report card is based on last school year’s data and includes measures that haven’t beenreported before, such as achievement gaps among student groups and gains made by gifted,low-performing and special-needs students.
The simulation offers educators their first look at how gifted students are performing, and itshould compel districts to look at how they are serving those students, Sheldon said.


In Ohio, districts are required to identify gifted students, but they don’t have to provideservices.
Sheldon said the report-card simulation doesn’t show a complete picture of a district’s giftedprograms because it’s based only on the measure of how much progress students in grades 4 to 8 aremaking.


Leaders of Reynoldsburg schools are reviewing the district’s gifted services, said spokeswomanTricia Moore.
The district received a D for its progress with gifted students; it earned an A+ on this year’sreport card.
“We’re not very happy,” Moore said. “It’s embarrassing.”

Reynoldsburg provides a gifted program for elementary students and opened an academy for giftedstudents in grades 5 to 8 last year.
The Granville district, rated an A overall, earned an F for its gains with gifted students. Morethan half of the district’s 2,480 students have been identified as gifted.


Superintendent Jeff Brown said educators have spent the past year addressing the issue,examining curriculum and visiting districts that have had success with similar student groups.


The district provides gifted instruction in all grades, where groups of students meet withgifted-certified teachers on advanced coursework.
Other educators say the simulation validates the work they’ve done with gifted students.


South-Western educators noticed five years ago that gifted students were not learning as much asthey should in a year. So teachers reviewed lessons and quickly made changes, said Jackie Traini,who helps coordinate South-Western’s gifted-education program.
“They knew we needed to be pushing these kids more than we were doing,” she said.


Under the simulation, the district earned an A for covering ground with gifted students. Thedistrict pulls gifted third- and fourth-graders out of their normal classes once per week forspecial lessons. Gifted fifth- and sixth-graders have daily sessions with a gifted-certifiedteacher. Middle-schools also offer advanced courses.


Groveport Madison can afford to provide a gifted program only at its middle schools and relieson classroom teachers to serve gifted elementary students. The district received an A for itsgrowth with gifted students. Three elementaries — Glendening, Groveport and Sedalia — had enoughgifted students to earn a grade for how much progress is made.


“It was a nice surprise,” said Glendening fifth-grade teacher Kelly Oldaker, whose school earneda C. “It comes from internally making sure their needs are met as much as other students.’  ”
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