Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Gifted & Talented Program

What is the Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Gifted & Talented Program?

Naperville Community Unit School District 203 gives each student an opportunity to place into the gifted and talented program every year. The district also uses multiple criteria to determine placement in the gifted program, as part of the principle that students’ talents and gifts appear in various, unique ways and at different points during their academic career.

Further Information on Naperville CUSD 203’s Gifted & Talented Program

Naperville Community Unit School District 203 provides a range of services for academically gifted and talented learners.

Honors Mathematics (Grades 3-8)

Qualifying students in grades 3-8 in Naperville Community Unit School District 203 may participate in Honors Mathematics. Eligible students will have demonstrated advanced mathematical, problem-solving, and reasoning abilities. The program may commence as soon as the second trimester of Grade 3, continuing through Grade 8. Elementary school students receive pull-out Honors Math instruction during regularly scheduled math blocks, and junior high students participate in Honors Math classes during regularly scheduled math classes.

Honors Math students may enroll in Honors Geometry in their first year of high school, having met the curricular goals of the Illinois Math Learning Standards at an accelerated pace during the program.

Project IDEA (Grades 4-8)

Students in grade 4-8 in the Naperville Community Unit School District 203 are eligible for Project IDEA (Increase and Develop Excellence in Academics). This is also known as PI–a program for students displaying exceptional ability in reading comprehension. These learners typically display, among other characteristics, advanced vocabulary abilities, critical analysis skills, and an ability to grasp multidimensional perspectives.

Elementary students participate in PI reading instruction during regularly scheduled reading blocks, and junior high students receive instruction during their regularly scheduled English language arts class.

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Project IDEA Plus (Grades 4-8)

Project IDEA Plus (or PI+) is a magnet program for students who have qualified for project IDEA and Honors Mathematics. These students exhibit superior learning and cognitive abilities and exceptionally high levels of achievement.

Elementary students in the PI+ magnet program attend Meadow Glens Elementary school with instruction throughout the day in mathematics, science, literacy and social science. PI+ students in junior high attend the magnet program at Kennedy Junior High School with advanced instruction during their normally scheduled classes for mathematics, science, English language arts, and social science. As PI+ students proceed at an accelerated rate through the Illinois Math Learning Standards, they complete Algebra 1 in the 7th grade, Geometry in 8th, and may enroll in Algebra 2 during their first year of high school.

Honors and Advanced Placement Courses (grades 9-12)

High school students in Naperville Community Unit School District 203 may receive additional challenges and academic rigor through honors and AP classes. Students may qualify by meeting minimum grade standards in the previous academic year.

Eligibility for the Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Gifted & Talented

Students have an opportunity to qualify for the gifted and talented program on a yearly basis. Formal assessments and teacher rating scales determine eligibility for the program and data is entered into a matrix to determine placement. Students who have qualified for the program are not required to re-qualify.

Naperville CUSD uses five criteria to determine eligibility in the gifted and talented program, as follows:

NWEA Map Growth: A nationally-normed, computer-adaptive test measuring a student’s reading and mathematics abilities.
Cognitive Abilities Test: A nationally-normed test capturing a student’s verbal, quantitative and nonverbal reasoning skills
IOWA Assessments: a nationally-normed test that gauges abilities in reading, vocabulary, and mathematics.
Placement Tests: For students in grades 3-6 Honors Math and grades 4-8 Project IDEA, placement tests consist of district-developed, locally-normed assessment. Students in grades 7-8 Honors Math are administered the Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test (IAAT) and those in grades 4-8 Project IDEA Plus take the figural Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT)–both are nationally-normed tests.
Renzulli Scales: The student’s teacher completes these standardized, observational instruments that measure observable behaviors and characteristics typical to gifted students.

The specific matrices for different age groups are available on the school district’s website.

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