It looks like nothing but good news and common sense in the new
gifted and talented education strategy being adopted by the Gilroy
Unified School District.
It looks like nothing but good news and common sense in the new gifted and talented education strategy being adopted by the Gilroy Unified School District.
The first smart part of the new GATE strategy is that the district will test all students for eligibility for GATE, instead of waiting for them to be referred for testing.
This move alone should go a long way toward removing the unfortunate “elitist” stigma attached to the GATE program. Often regarded as a program for well-to-do students, this move means that every student who is eligible for GATE has the opportunity to take advantage of the program, whether their parents happen to be aware of the program or not.
With this change, the ethnic and socioeconomic make-up of GATE students in GUSD will much more closely match the general GUSD student population than it does now.
The second smart move is the decision to use a new test to identify GATE students. The new test, called the Raven Progressive Matrices Plus, is a non-reading, non-language-based test. It doesn’t test achievement, it tests cognitive processing skills.
Adopting the Raven test means that students who come from homes where English is not the primary language will be much more likely to test successfully for GATE eligibility. It’s absolutely correct to base GATE eligibility on cognitive potential rather than test-taking skills or memorized knowledge.
But the benefits of using the Raven test don’t stop there: it’s a highly respected test that’s been used for decades, and it’s less expensive than the tests the district has used in the past.
But perhaps the best thing about the new strategy is that it was driven by a dedicated group of parent volunteers – and the district has responded with like enthusiasm. That parent group, OpenGATE, has used an entirely open communication system that should be a model for other involved parents in the GUSD.
Of course, this is just the beginning of transforming GUSD’s GATE program. The number of students GATE serves will expand as a result of wider and better testing, and the district will have to introduce a more comprehensive program to serve their needs.
If the energy and focus stays constant, the result could be a model GATE program that Gilroy can boast about statewide. That kind of program will attract more than attention, it will attract grant dollars and the interest of the business community.
GUSD is on the path to forging a program that will yield a partnership with the community. That’s a very healthy step for better public education. That’s good work.
