Olentangy Local School District Gifted Services Program

If your child consistently works above grade level, learns new concepts quickly, solves complex problems with ease, or needs more academic challenge than the regular classroom provides, you may be wondering whether they could qualify for Olentangy Local Schools Gifted Services.

Don’t wait until your child becomes bored or frustrated with work that is too easy. Learn how Olentangy identifies gifted students, ask your child’s school about upcoming assessment opportunities, and find out which tests may be used for your child’s grade level.

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Just as importantly, help your child become familiar with the types of reasoning and academic questions they may encounter during gifted testing.

TestingMom can help. Start with online gifted test practice or work one-on-one with an experienced tutor who can help determine which skills your child should strengthen before testing.

How Does My Child Get Identified as Gifted in Olentangy?

Ohio recognizes gifted identification in several areas:

• Superior cognitive ability
• Specific academic ability
• Creative thinking ability
• Visual or performing arts ability

Parents who believe their child may be gifted should contact their child’s school or Gifted Specialist and ask about the district’s current gifted identification and referral process.

This is an important first step. Don’t assume that strong grades alone will automatically result in gifted identification. Gifted identification may involve standardized assessments and other measures designed to identify advanced cognitive or academic abilities.

Ask your school these questions:

1. When will my child be screened or tested for gifted identification?
2. Which assessment will be administered at my child’s grade level?
3. Is additional testing available if my child is not identified through regular screening?
4. Can I refer or request that my child be assessed?
5. What scores are currently required for gifted identification?

Testing procedures and assessments can change, so families should verify the current requirements directly with Olentangy Local Schools rather than relying on older qualifying scores found online.

What Tests Should My Child Practice?

This is one of the most important questions to ask your child’s school.

Historically, Olentangy has used standardized cognitive ability and achievement assessments for gifted identification, including tests such as the CogAT®, InView™, and TerraNova®. However, parents should confirm which assessment is currently used for their child’s grade and identification area before beginning test-specific preparation.

If your child will take a cognitive abilities assessment, preparation may include practicing:

• Verbal reasoning
• Quantitative reasoning
• Nonverbal reasoning
• Figural patterns
• Analogies
• Classification
• Number relationships
• Sequences
• Matrices
• Critical thinking
• Problem solving

These questions can be very different from the work children see in their regular classroom. A student can have excellent grades and still be unfamiliar with figuring out an analogy, identifying a changing visual pattern, completing a matrix, or applying mathematical knowledge to an unfamiliar reasoning problem.

That’s why familiarity matters.

Practicing doesn’t mean memorizing test answers. Effective preparation helps children understand common question formats, follow directions, develop reasoning strategies, and approach unfamiliar problems confidently.

Don’t Know Which Test to Practice? TestingMom Can Help

If you’ve been told your child will be assessed for gifted services but aren’t sure where to begin, TestingMom offers two ways to prepare.

Practice Online at Your Child’s Pace

A TestingMom membership gives your child access to extensive gifted and talented test practice. Students can work on cognitive, verbal, quantitative, nonverbal, reading, math, and problem-solving skills while becoming comfortable with the types of questions commonly found on gifted assessments.

Online practice is especially helpful when your child needs repeated exposure to a particular question type or wants to practice regularly before testing.

Get One-on-One Gifted Test Tutoring

Not sure which skills your child needs to work on? TestingMom’s one-on-one tutoring provides personalized preparation based on your child’s grade, test, strengths, and areas needing improvement.

Instead of spending valuable preparation time guessing what to practice, a tutor can help your child focus on the skills that need the most attention.

Find the Right Tutoring Support for Your Child’s Gifted Testing Goals at TestingMom.com.

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What Happens After Gifted Identification?

Identification can open the door to educational services designed to provide greater challenge, depth, complexity, and acceleration.

Depending on a student’s identified needs and grade level, Olentangy’s gifted services may include differentiated instruction, advanced coursework, cluster grouping, direct gifted services, consultation with Gifted Specialists, and acceleration.

At the middle and high school levels, students may also have opportunities to pursue increasingly advanced coursework.

Gifted identification and gifted services are related, but not necessarily the same. The services a student receives depend on the child’s identified areas, educational needs, grade level, and the district’s current service plan.

Start Preparing Before Test Day

If gifted testing is approaching, don’t wait until the night before to show your child reasoning questions for the first time. Short, consistent practice sessions can help your child become comfortable with unfamiliar question formats without making preparation overwhelming.

First, contact your child’s school and find out which gifted assessment it currently uses. Then give your child the opportunity to become familiar with the skills and question types they may encounter.

TestingMom has helped families prepare for many of the cognitive ability and achievement tests used for gifted identification.

Start with 100 Free Practice Questions, explore TestingMom’s online gifted test preparation, or schedule one-on-one tutoring to give your child personalized support before testing.

See if TestingMom.com supports your child’s test by your school district. If you don't see your child's school district listed, check with us! We have practice for other tests as well.