Wake County Public School System Gifted Program

What is the Wake County Public School System Academically or Intellectually Gifted Program?

The Wake County Public School System’s Academically or Intellectually Gifted (AIG) program caters to students who have demonstrated, or shown potential to demonstrate, remarkably high levels of accomplishment compared to their peers, either in specific academic fields, intellectual areas, or both.

Students in Kindergarten through 12th grade may qualify for the AIG program. Its services include differentiated curriculum and instruction beyond and enriching the general state curriculum.

The Wake County Public School System also offers single Subject Acceleration (SSA) to provide gifted students with above-grade-level elementary or middle school instruction. To provide appropriate challenges, students are assigned to a higher grade level in language arts or math than they would otherwise be assigned. SSA is only available in either language arts or math.

For students with a mastery of grade-level curriculum and a demonstrated ability to succeed in a higher grade level, Whole Grade Advancement (WGA) allows students to access a differentiated curriculum that is appropriately challenging.

AIG high school students receive accelerated opportunities through honors, AP and IB classes. Most high schools also offer other specialized programs for high achieving students.

100 Free Practice Questions

Wake County Public School System AIG Eligibility

Students in grades K-2 may be identified for AIG identified services based on teacher observations, standardized test scores, or the results of the CogAT® or Iowa Assessments® test by scoring at or above the 95th percentile. The School Based Committee for Gifted Education (SBCGE) then evaluates nominees on the basis of additional information about the student including achievement, classroom behaviors, performance, interest and motivation.

Screening for Wake County Public School System’s AIG program occurs universally in third grade, although individual screening can be requested in grades K-2. Screening involves a variety of testing instruments to measure potential and performance. On the basis of screening results, the SBCGE will consider a student for identification through various gateway indicators.

Nominations for Wake County Public School System AIG

Grade 3 Nominations

Nomination for Grade 3 uses at least one of the following instruments for screening:

A completed nomination packet
Teacher and/or parent checklist
3rd grade Explorers Program data (1st quarter data)
District-administered benchmark assessments for reading and math
CogAT® test: 3rd grades scoring at or above the 85th percentile on any battery or composite CogAT score will be eligible to take the Iowa
Iowa Assessment (Iowa™): Achievement assessment in reading and math. Students scoring at or above the 95th percentile on both the Iowa and CogAT tests will be referred for further consideration.
District and/or state reading assessments

Grades 4-8

Students in grades 4-8 who have demonstrated exceptional ability can be nominated by parents, students and teachers for gifted services. Students will take the CogAt and Iowa Tests, to be evaluated for further consideration by the SBCGE on the basis of prior assessments and informal indicators. These may include, but are not limited to:

Teacher and parent checklists
Academic grades in reading/language arts and mathematics
writing samples
End-of-Grade and End-of-Course test
Literacy and mathematics profiles
Work samples, projects and additional information in the portfolio.

Students may be referred to the AIG program through one of six gateways, combining various indicators of giftedness. For further information on these gateways, please see the Wake County Public School System website.

Ready to help your child prepare for the Wake County Public School System’s AIG program? Start with Testing Mom’s expert tutors and test prep! Try out our resources with 100 Free Questions today!