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VDOE staff push for funded statewide grade‑2 universal screener in SOQ report
Summary
VDOE Director Amanda Navetrell urged the Board to adopt a Standards of Quality prescription to require and fund grade‑2 universal screening for gifted identification, citing disparities across ZIP codes and a $1.74 million estimate to cover one grade level statewide; the board and staff discussed data collection, multi‑grade screening and regulatory changes.
Amanda Navetrell, director of the Office of Advanced Learning, urged the Virginia Board of Education to adopt a Standards of Quality (SOQ) prescription that would mandate and fund universal screening for giftedness at grade 2. Speaking at the board’s work session, Navetrell framed universal screening as a way to find high‑ability students who might otherwise be missed by teacher or parent referrals and described it as an evidence‑based practice many divisions already use.
Navetrell said about 86 school divisions used a universal screener as of 2024 — most frequently norm‑referenced tests such as the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) or the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test — while roughly 45 divisions screen only after a referral. "Depending on ZIP code, some students receive this objective measure of potential and others do not," she said, warning that inconsistent practices create disparities in who enters "the talent pipeline." Navetrell read a statement from the Virginia Advisory Committee for Advanced Learning urging the board to "require and fund universal screening for giftedness at grade 2."
Agency budget staff later presented a fiscal estimate of $1,740,000 to fund one grade level of screening statewide. The SOQ redlined language drafted for the board includes an enactment clause directing the Department to amend regulations and an option to add a data collection requirement so the Department can track which assessments divisions use and the trajectory of students identified.
Board members sought detail on implementation. Dr. Northern and others asked whether the Commonwealth could use existing early childhood instruments such as the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) to identify potential advanced learners earlier; Navetrell and agency staff said VKRP and other data points could complement a grade‑2 screener but that a full, norm‑referenced battery is the preferred route for consistent statewide identification. Members also discussed multilingual accommodations and the value of a nonverbal component; Navetrell recommended a full battery that includes nonverbal measures and native‑language options where available.
Several members asked for regulatory changes and guidance: how the Department would collect and use the data, whether the requirement should be limited to grade 2 or extended to a second screening (for example at grade 6), and how to avoid bias in referrals. Agency staff said the proposed SOQ language and an enactment clause were drafted to give the board authority to prescribe the assessment and to require data collection as part of the Department’s regulatory work, and that VACAL (the advisory committee) could participate in drafting the regulations.
Next steps: staff told the board they would finalize the SOQ redlined language and return the draft for board action. The budget language for the $1.74 million request has been prepared for submission to the governor’s planning and budget office; staff said they can cost out adding a sixth‑grade mandate if the board directs them to do so.
Article provenance: topicintro SEG 013; topfinish SEG 931.
Sources: Presentation and Q&A with Amanda Navetrell and SOQ report draft presented by agency staff.
