Frequently Asked Questions

Q: My 4th grader or 5th grader wasn’t found eligible for gifted services. Can he/she be evaluated again this year?

A: LCPS students may be evaluated for gifted services once in a calendar year. Since 4th graders went through the gifted identification process last spring, they’ll need to wait until February to participate in the process again. A fifth grader who is referred for evaluation will participate in the fall/winter program. If identified for gifted services, the student will join the middle school SPECTRUM program in the fall of 2023.  Any parent who wishes for their 4th or 5th-grade student to be re/evaluated for gifted services should email Martha Rombach, EMES Gifted Resource teacher martha.rombach@lcps.org.

Q:  During the last gifted identification process, my 4th-grade student was given DCI - Differentiated Classroom Instruction. Will my child be reconsidered for FUSION this year?

A: Yes, all 4th-grade students who are receiving DCI gifted services for Math and/or Language Arts will be evaluated for FUSION during the fall/winter GATE identification cycle.

Q: My child is new to LCPS this year (moved from another county, state, country, or homeschooled), and I’d like him/her to be considered for gifted services.

A: All third graders will participate in the fall/winter gifted identification process. Fourth and fifth-grade students who are brand new to LCPS may participate in the fall/winter gifted evaluation program if referred by a parent or teacher. CogAT and MAP test scores are required, in addition to the student portfolio (which is produced in school during in-class lessons or pull-out sessions). For students who enroll at Evergreen Mill after November 1st, please email Martha Rombach at martha.rombach@lcps.org.

Q: My child’s original CogAT scores don’t represent his/her abilities. Is it possible to retake this Cognitive Abilities Test?

A: Students may retake the battery of CogAT tests (Verbal, Nonverbal, Quantitative) only if their test scores are at least three years old. If your 5th grader qualifies and wants to participate in the fall/winter gifted identification process, please email Martha Rombach martha.rombach@lcps.org.

Q: What is the range of elementary-level gifted services provided by LCPS?

SEARCH - KG - 3rd Grade

Evergreen Mill’s Gifted Resource Teacher delivers interactive, bi-weekly lessons to all children in grades K-3. SEARCH lessons are developed to foster an environment that encourages students to take intellectual risks and to develop an excitement for learning and discovery across a variety of thinking skills. The curriculum spirals developmentally through five components:  reasoning, perceiving, connecting, evaluating, and creating. 

FUSION - 4th & 5th Grade

The school-based, collaborative FUSION program is a new model for delivering gifted services for formally identified 4th and 5th grade gifted learners. FUSION, formerly FUTURA, provides gifted services for students at their home schools. A gifted resource teacher collaborates with classroom teachers to challenge gifted learners in their regular classrooms by enriching and extending the general curriculum.  In addition, gifted learners meet in the Gifted Resource Room for two-hour sessions to collaborate on a variety of challenging, project-based learning activities designed to integrate the five C's of 21st-century learning: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, and Contribution to Real-World Problem-Solving.

DCI - 4th & 5th Grade

Beginning in Spring 2022, the LCPS Gifted Education Department added a new level of gifted services for 4th and 5th grade students. It is called Differentiated Classroom Instruction or DCI. Students who, during the gifted evaluation process, demonstrated exceptional performance in one domain, language arts or mathematics, were found in need of DCI in their area of strength. Students are identified for DCI mathematics and DCI language arts--or, on occasion, both domains.

The gifted resource teacher will meet weekly with DCI students to provide enrichment via deeper learning, rigor, and hands-on, project-based learning. 

EDGE - 2nd - 5th Grade

The EDGE program’s mission is to identify,  nurture, and challenge high-potential students who have been historically underrepresented in LCPS advanced academic and gifted programs. The classroom and gifted resource teachers work in tandem to promote academic rigor, foster a growth mindset, and prepare these young learners for more challenging and rigorous academic pathways.

EDGE takes place in the Gifted Resource Room.

• 2nd Grade - Weekly pull-out sessions - Winter launch

• 3rd Grade - Weekly pull-out sessions - Starts w/o September 19

• 4th & 5th Grade - Biweekly pull-out sessions - Starts w/o September 19