Gifted Education

Harrisonville Academically Talented Students (HATS) offers gifted instructional services for students who qualify in grades three through eight.Program Description Guide

Many parents wonder what it means for their child to be gifted. All children are curious and capable learners, but the Missouri definition of giftedness is “precocious development of mental capacity and learning potential as determined by competent professional evaluation to the extent that continued educational growth and stimulation could best be served by an academic environment beyond that offered through a standard grade-level curriculum.” HATS provides that academic environment beyond the regular classroom.
 

The qualification process 

In order to be identified as a gifted learner, students need to score well on an achievement test as well as an intelligence (IQ) test. The district screens all students in grades two through eight in the spring and fall using nationally-normed standardized achievement tests like FastBridge or the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP). Students who score above the cut scores in both reading and math on one of the screeners are placed on a list for further evaluation. With parent consent, an intelligence test is then administered by a school counselor. An IQ score at or above the 95th percentile compared to other students of that age in the country is required for admission to HATS. 

Students not qualifying with the screening assessments may also be referred by a teacher who sees evidence of gifted thinking in the classroom.  With parent permission, those students are given a paper-pencil achievement test called the SAGES-II. With a score in the 90th percentile on any subtest of the SAGES, the student moves on to the IQ test.

Score reports are mailed home. If the child qualifies, the HATS teacher will contact parents to set up a short meeting and the child begins HATS at the beginning of the next semester. This process will happen in the spring and fall.

Students who are evaluated but do not qualify as gifted may be re-evaluated one calendar year later if desired with parent permission to test again. Once students qualify for HATS, they may stay in the program until the end of eighth grade and do not have to retest.

Transfer students who were in a gifted program at another district will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.