Visual Arts / Specific Talent Aptitude

Visual Arts abilities are exceptional capabilities or potential in the talent area of art. Visual arts abilities are demonstrated by advanced level performance, 95th percentile and above, on standardized tests/rubrics and the student art portfolio review. Evidence of Visual Arts (Spanish)

Identification Process for Visual Arts

• Your child’s school will likely offer one testing date per academic school year. Please contact your school’s GT Coordinator for this information. Your child may take part in cognitive testing and/or other assessments for gifted identification in Visual Arts.

• The gifted identification process begins with either a recommendation from the parent, teacher, or student. The parent will download, print, and complete the GT Identification: Parent Form (Spanish). The teacher will complete the GT Identification: Teacher Form. The completed forms will then be submitted to the school’s GT Coordinator. In order to be tested on the school’s testing date, the student is required to have a completed parent form, which serves as the permission to test. Parents and students have the opportunity to provide more input through the Parent-School Partnership (Spanish) and the Student Interview (Spanish). 

• The GT Coordinator will collect a complete Body of Evidence (BOE) for each student being recommended for gifted identification. The BOE may include achievement data, cognitive assessment scores, behavior scales, work samples, or other evidence of advanced performance in the Academic/Intellectual Domain.  

• Students must submit an Art Portfolio (Spanish) consisting of 5 works following ALL criteria, which includes one Artwork Written Response Sheet (Spanish) for each piece submitted. Student Art Portfolios are due April 6 each year. 

• Once the testing is complete, the Advanced Academic & Gifted Services Department (AAGS) will review the complete BOE and make a gifted identification determination. Based on the BOE, the student may be identified as gifted in Visual Arts. The student may also receive a Pending status, which means more data needs to be collected over time. The AAGS Department may determine that the student is not gifted at this time.

• Once an identification determination has been made, a letter is sent home to families. If the student is identified as Gifted, an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) will be created in Infinite Campus (IC). For more information on ALPs click here.

Identification Information for Specific Talent Aptitude

• The Specific Talent Aptitude identification processes have been developed for students so exceptional or developmentally advanced that they require special provisions to meet their educational needs.

• Identifications in the talent areas are mainly designed to meet the needs of students competing and/or performing at the National level and are considered on an individual case by case basis. If you have a student competing and/or performing at the National level and would like to discuss this area of identification, please contact your school's GT Coordinator for further information, including the evidence guide specific to the talent area. 

• Assessments are most often not available in the talent areas; therefore a student portfolio including performance evaluations is an important component in the body of evidence. Two or more performance indicators (completed by experts) may be used to meet identification criteria along with an exceptional rating on a norm-referenced observation scale. Evidence may include an expert juried performance evaluation, an award or distinction earned, a top place or ranking, and/or the documentation of attendance and participation at a multi-state or national level competition or national talent contest. This evidence must be included and submitted in the student portfolio. 

• Identification in the area of psychomotor is designated for national-level athletes who require programming accommodations to address the number of school days that might be missed during training and/or competitions. According to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), districts are not required to provide or financially support athletic coaching, training or competitions for students identified in this area.

Other Talent Areas include Performing Arts/Drama (Spanish), Musical (Spanish), Dance (Spanish), or Psychomotor (Spanish) abilities, which are exceptional capabilities or potential in the talent areas (drama, music, dance, body awareness, coordination, and physical skills). Talent area abilities are demonstrated by advanced level performance, exceptional ability/95th percentile and above, on standardized tests/rubrics and the student portfolio review. Students considered for gifted identification in a talent area present an extreme need for special provisions. Parents will download, print and complete the GT Identification: Parent Form form linked above. Parents and students have the opportunity to provide more input through the Parent-School Partnership (Spanish) and the Student Interview (Spanish). Please contact your school's GT Coordinator for more information on the specific Talent Areas.