Gifted & Talented Services
All Tomball ISD students have the opportunity to be assessed and identified for the Gifted and Talented (GT) program.
Those identified as gifted are served through programs and courses designed to meet their unique social, emotional, and intellectual needs.
The term giftedness provides a general reference to this spectrum of abilities without being specific or dependent on a single measure or index. It is generally recognized that approximately five percent of the student population, or three million children, in the United States are considered gifted. (National Association of Gifted Children)
A gifted person is someone who shows, or has the potential for showing, an exceptional level of performance in one or more areas of expression.
Some of these abilities are very general and can affect a broad spectrum of the person’s life, such as leadership skills or the ability to think creatively.
Some are very specific talents and are only evident in particular circumstances such as a special aptitude in mathematics, science, or music.
Helpful Links
GT Testing Scores
Below is a brief explanation of the information you received in regards to your child's testing scores.
Your student took what is known as an ability test which is designed to "collectively assess the ability of students for each grade level". Their total score is "considered to be the best overall indicator of school learning ability."
To continue: "The School Ability Index is a normalized standard score with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 16. In the United States, in general approximately:
2% of students will obtain NAIs above 132
14% of student will obtain NAIs ranging from 116 to 132
68% of students will obtain NAIs ranging from 68-115; and
2% of students will obtain NAIs below 68
In Tomball ISD, a student must first obtain an Ability Index (AI) of 126 or higher to continue testing.
If your child has continued in the testing process, the next scores you will see are related to the achievement portion of the testing. Your student needs to obtain a 95% or above in any of the following subjects in order to be considered for gifted and talented services in Tomball ISD: Reading, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science.
As per the Gifted Plan for the State of Texas, we also collect information from other sources besides testing. We collect data from your child's teacher and from you, the parent. This information is compiled with the student's test scores and brought before a committee both at the school school and district levels with personnel who are certified to teach gifted and talented students in Texas. The committee works together to make the best placement decision for the student based on the information presented.