Kindergarten students may be referred for possible HiCap services by a parent/guardian, teacher, peer, community member, or themselves in the fall.

Identified students will begin receiving HiCap services in the second semester of their kindergarten year. Students will remain in the same class with the same teacher as the first semester.

Complete the 2021-2022 Kindergarten HiCap Referral Form online between October 18 and November 24, 2021.

Referred students will complete the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) online between December 6 - 17.

The CogAT assessment measures the student’s learned reasoning abilities, or aptitudes, in verbal analogies, number analogies, and figure matrices.

In addition to the CogAT, we will also review data for referred students from other assessments.

• Independent Reading Level Assessment (IRLA)
• Math i-Ready Benchmark Assessment
• Reading i-Ready Benchmark Assessment
• WaKIDS Assessment

We will consider input from teacher(s) and parent(s)/guardian(s) using rating scales.

English Language Learners

Students with a first language other than English will also be evaluated for rapid language acquisition using the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA).

Special Education Students

Students who qualify for HiCap and also qualify for either special education services or a 504 plan are often referred to as twice-exceptional students. It is important that staff from both programs collaborate when planning for students who are eligible for multiple services. Additional data available for students with IEPs may also be used in the identification process.

The Multidisciplinary Identification Committee will meet on January 18 to select kindergarten students who will receive HiCap services in the second semester of the 2021-2022 school year.

The Multidisciplinary Identification Committee is made up of teachers, principals, a school psychologist, and district Highly Capable program staff. In accordance with state requirements, the committee makes identification decisions for services using multiple objective criteria to identify students who are among the most highly capable.

Decision letters (identification or non-identification) will be mailed to the families of all referred students the week of January 19.

The families of all referred kindergarten students must accept or appeal the HiCap decision by January 31, 2022.

• If the student was identified for HiCap, the family must return signed acceptance letters.
• If the student was not identified for HiCap, the family may submit an appeal form.

The Multidisciplinary Selection Committee will review all appeals for kindergarten students on February 1 and communicate the decision in writing to families.