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Board reviews proposal to pilot COGAT for gifted admissions to align K–12 testing
Summary
District staff presented a plan to pilot the Cognitive Abilities Test (COGAT) to align K–12 gifted admissions, replacing the long-used SCAT; the plan includes pilot testing, writing-prompt and rubric development with ELA leadership, and a social-emotional component developed by Social Work.
District administrators told the board they are moving toward a unified admissions process for gifted programs.
Mrs. Tibbs summarized components used for gifted admissions and said the district has relied on the SCAT for more than 30 years. Staff presented reasons to adopt the Cognitive Abilities Test (COGAT) for K–12 alignment, automated scoring, and comparable verbal and quantitative measures; Dr. Gould reported a stakeholder focus group (students, teachers, parents, principals) "unanimously preferred the COGAT over the SCAT." The plan calls for a pilot with current students, refinement of writing prompts and rubrics with ELA leadership, and a return to the board with a finalized admissions process. Dr. Roberts added that the elementary process will include a social-emotional component being developed with the Social Work department.
No final policy was adopted at the March 18 meeting; staff said they will pilot the COGAT and bring recommendations back to the board for approval.
