Program Overview
Highly capable students generally possess the following learning characteristics [WAC 392-170-036]:
- Capacity to learn with unusual depth of understanding, to retain what has been learned, and to transfer learning to new situations;
- Capacity and willingness to deal with increasing levels of abstraction and complexity earlier than their chronological peers;
- Ability to make unusual connections among ideas and concepts;
- Ability to learn quickly in their area(s) of intellectual strength; and
- Capacity for intense concentration and/or focus.
Students identified as highly capable qualify for receiving services designed to meet their unique needs as a learner. These services might include:
- Grade Content Acceleration and/or Compacting
- Cluster Grouping
- Academic Enrichment
- Advanced/AP courses
What is the difference between the terms "Highly Capable," and "Gifted and Talented"?
Highly Capable
A student who has been assessed to have superior intellectual/cognitive ability, specific academic achievement in a specified content area, and exceptional creativity.
Gifted and Talented
The field of study devoted to researching and understanding these children and how to provide for their development (usually within a University setting) is called "gifted education."
Highly Capable Program
The overall program in which a planned continuum of services is determined. The goal is to provide the appropriate academic challenges and accelerated learning opportunities for students in K-12; using research-based models, methodologies, and resources.
Why these programs are needed
Gifted and talented students (and those with high abilities) need gifted education programs that will challenge them in regular classroom settings, as well as in enrichment and accelerated programs, to enable them to make continuous progress in school.
Nominations/Referrals and Timelines
The deadline for nominating/referring students to be assessed for identification as a highly capable learner is January 6, 2023.
Additional information regarding the call for nominations
Why should I have my student tested?
A student who is identified as “highly capable,” has basic educational needs that, typically, extend beyond the general education curriculum. A continuum of services will be designed to meet their unique needs such as accelerated learning opportunities, varied grouping strategies, advanced courses, differentiation of curriculum and instruction, and a variety of other methodologies and resources that are research-based.