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Talented & Gifted (TAG)

Riverdale Grade School is committed to an educational program that recognizes the unique values, needs and talents of all our students, including those identified as talented and gifted.

Central to this commitment is instruction that is specifically designed to challenge all students, at whatever rate and level of learning they require – including those with distinctive academic abilities and intellectual interests to be nurtured. When adopting curriculum, we ensure our selections include levels that are as rigorous and stimulating as needed for our talented and gifted students. We also embrace the notion of asking questions that require a high level of reflection, connection and depth of knowledge.

In order to support our TAG learners, our program includes, but is not limited to, the following:

TAG Identification:

Riverdale Grade School will administer the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) to students in 2nd grade. This assessment helps us identify students as intellectually gifted, recognized by scores at or above the 97th percentile.

Typically, scores do not drastically change for students over time, and we do not wish to assess more often than needed. New students, however, will be given an academic file review. Additionally, we use State Smarter Balanced assessments to identify TAG students. The State Smarter Balanced testing will determine academically talented students in reading or math. We use i-ready assessments as a great tool. We recognize it is classified as an interim assessment, rather than a summative assessment. For this reason, we will use i-ready as another data point when considering identifying a student as TAG.

Aside from the CogAT and State Smarter Balanced assessments for TAG identification, we can also begin a student identification process based on teacher, parent or self referral. The TAG coordinators will gather information from a file review, assessments scores and work samples to work with a team to determine eligibility.

Resources for parents

The Oregon Association for Talented & Gifted:

  • Identify academically talented and intellectually gifted students.
  • All teachers create TAG plans in partnership with parents in order to best differentiate learning opportunities and best meet the needs of each student in each content area.
  • Ongoing professional development and discussion of differentiated learning opportunities that are designed to meet students’ assessed levels of learning accelerated rates of learning.
  • Coordination and support of TAG plans through the TAG coordinator/school counselor.
  • Provide enriched or personalized opportunities for TAG students within the classroom (and all students through classroom field trips and field studies)
  • Assist teachers to provide students with instruction that fosters inquiry, creativity, critical thinking, depth and complexity in their learning.
  • Provide opportunities for qualified students to understand themselves as learners, such as the use of the Habits of Mind instruction in all classes.
  • Provide TAG students opportunities to interact with peers of similar interests/abilities.
  • Advocates for the needs of talented and gifted children
  • Serves as a resource for families, educators and the community
  • Provides direction for excellence in gifted education