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Tennessee and Gifted Students

Tennessee is one of thirty states to mandate identification and services for gifted students.  

State law classifies giftedness as a disability (see Rules & Laws page) so that gifted children can receive special education services and legal protections. In order to qualify for services and protections, it must be shown that the child's educational needs cannot be easily met in the regular classroom or through existing accelerated programming.

Schools are required to screen every child for potential giftedness in elementary school.  If a potentially gifted child is found through the screening process, or if a parent requests an assessment, then the school system will perform a comprehensive evaluation.  Some parents have their children tested by a psychologist in private practice. 

If the evaluation indicates that the child's needs cannot be easily met in the regular classroom or through existing accelerated program, then the parents and school officials sit down together to create an Individualized Education Program (IEP).  An IEP can specify that the child will receive advanced or special instruction in one or more academic areas. 

Some school districts have created gifted programs, such as ENCORE in Davidson County and CLUE in Memphis.  Many districts have magnet programs or schools for academically talented students.  These programs serve a large number of gifted students and are staffed by well-trained teachers.  Very often students in these programs do not require an IEP.  However, all gifted children have different strengths and needs, so some children will need IEPs even though they are enrolled in a gifted program or magnet school.

Tennessee Department of Education

The Tennessee Department of Education oversees gifted identification and services.  They have a gifted education director who works in the the Department of Special Education.  The director devotes 1/3 of her time to gifted administration, and 2/3 of her time to other special education issues.

Tennessee Criteria for Intellectual Giftedness

A Brief History

The criteria for identifying gifted students in Tennessee have changed several times in recent years.  Prior to 2000, a child had to meet two of the following three criteria:

These criteria tended to exclude certain populations of gifted students because they were too closely tied to tests that are culturally or racially biased.  In an effort to reduce discrimination, the TN DOE created a set of guidelines that broadened the criteria.   These new criteria, introduced in July of 2000, required that districts assess students in five areas using multiple assessment instruments.  The areas were:

Students could be identified as gifted using any one of the four, rather complex, formulae.  These combinations were called "tiers" because at each tier the importance of the IQ test decreases while the importance (and required level of performance) attached to other assessment areas increases. 

The year-2000 guidelines also required that schools screen ALL students twice in elementary school ("Grade-Level Screening").  It also required school districts to make a significant effort to inform students, teachers, parents and the community about the characteristics of gifted students and services offered ("Child Find") using radio, newspapers, TV, etc.

Current Guidelines

The new TN DOE guidelines, published in July 2001, contain several changes.  The minimum IQ levels were raised slightly and the minimum scoring in other assessment areas was modified. The "tiers" are now called "options" to eliminate the implication that one identification method is better than another. Children must be screened only once instead of twice during the elementary school years; however, there is a new emphasis on starting the screening process in the early elementary years (K-2). The “motivation” assessment category has been eliminated.

Districts are required to assess children in these four areas as part of a comprehensive evaluation:

 The current identification “Options” are: 

(NB: Alternate scoring, alternate tests, etc., can be used so one should consult the gifted manual for details. IQ scores indicated above are for the WISC3, but other IQ tests can be used which have slightly different equivalent score. For example, a score of 132 is required for Option 1 qualification if the SB4 IQ test is used. Also note that a 5.0 on the TCAP writing test can be substituted for a 96 %tile achievement test sub score.)

The entire comprehensive evaluation, which includes assessment in the areas of IQ/cognition, achievement, academic performance, and creative thinking, must be performed before an IEP team can meet to determine eligibility.  Therefore, if a private-practice psychologist administers only an IQ test and achievement test, the school must administer the other components of the evaluation.

The IEP teams can use alternate scoring on the IQ test for Options 1A and 1B.   If there is a 1.5 standard deviation split (about 23 IQ points) between the verbal and non-verbal IQ sub scores, then the composite IQ is not used; only the highest of the two scores is used.  A 1.5 standard deviation split is indicative of possible learning disabilities or highly reflective thinking on some tests.

As before, gifted children are re-evaluated every three years.  Contrary to popular opinion, an IQ test does not have to be given for a "re-eval."  See REEVALUATION IN IDEA'97 memo.

Counseling and Assessment

All of the professionals listed below have been recommended by parents of gifted children, by pediatricians, or have experience dealing with educational and psychological issues related to giftedness.

East Tennessee

West Tennessee

Middle Tennessee

Gifted Specialists in Academia

Many specialists in academia will counsel parents on testing, curricula, and other matters.  They can also direct you to the right people.

Associations

Gifted Research Centers

Enrichment Programs

See the Region page for out-of-state programs.

Home Education

Legal Advice