School System Sent Inaccurate 'Gifted and Talented' Letters
A computer glitch caused everyone who received the letter to be told they were eligible for the gifted and talented program, even if they were not.
UPDATE - 3:15 p.m. - This post was updated with information from a schools spokesperson.
Parents receiving letters about their students' eligibility for gifted and talented classes at Howard County Public Schools may get a surprise.
A software glitch caused every letter to state that the student is eligible for gifted and talented classes, even if their score didn't meet the eligibility requirements, according to notice sent home by the school on Thursday.
Of the 3,513 letters that went out, 2,210 were incorrect, according to Howard County schools spokesperson Rebecca Amani-Dove.
The notice stated the student scores in the letter are accurate, "So, even those students whose scores are below the minimum eligibility scores, received letters of eligibility and parent permission forms."
The school system apologized for the error and stated it would send out new letters as soon as possible.
Amani-Dove said that historically the school system tests students who scored advanced on Maryland state testing or were recommended by teachers or parents for the gifted and talented program in elementary, middle and high schools. The test is called the School and College Ability Test and measures students' ability in verbal and mathematical reasoning, according to Amani-Dove.
She said the glitch in the letters was due to a coding error.
Jack
1:18 am on Saturday, March 16, 2013
Make GT available to everyone would be a huge improvement over tracking our children and besides the "School and College Ability Test", what a joke.
Colliemom
3:11 pm on Saturday, March 16, 2013
This is an absolutely terrible, elitist program that does not belong in a public education system. And I say this as the parent of kids who were included in it. I remember volunteering in my young daughter's classroom and hearing the overhead page that "everyone who is Gifted and Talented should report to the auditorium"....duh, how do they think that makes the other students feel? That they are all neither gifted nor talented? Think they should abolish it; or retitled it as enrichment and allow all children who want to participate to be able to enjoy it.
EL
7:15 pm on Saturday, March 16, 2013
I can see issues with how things are handled - especially referencing the announcement as you did. However, truly there is a population that needs to be serviced. I will agree that the numbers in HoCo are probably top heavy (probably because obviously I cannot see the records). But this group of students - call them what you will - really do need to have some differentiation.
'An adult GT'
1:26 pm on Monday, March 18, 2013
I agree with 'CollieMom' regarding this program; it is divisive among other things. In the past, gifted and talented did not mean someone who scored high on a test; remember child prodigies. Based on my personal experience - including myself, many of these kids are not GT, just bright and/or good test takers. Going forward if these kids don't live up to this designation, it can be harmful. Get rid of the designation or change the name, along with 'Inclusion' and the names of the other academic 'tracks'.