INITIAL THIRD GRADE PLACEMENT

During their second grade year, all Issaquah students are tested using three different measurement tools:

●  The Stanford 10 achievement test

●  The CogAT abilities test

●  The Structure of Intelligence creativity test

The tests are administered in the child's regular classroom between February and April.  The exact schedule can be found on the District Assessment Calendar.

Scores from all three tests  are considered when determining placement for the following school year. Typically, students who score in the top 2 percent or above qualify for MERLIN, and those who score in the top 4 percent qualify for SAGE. All students who qualify for MERLIN automatically qualify for SAGE.

A committee of educators and parents review test results, approve selections for the programs, and review placement appeals. They meet in early fall and late spring to determine placement, hear appeals, and consider any students new to the District. Students who come to the District during the other times of the school year can have an admissions request considered by the Executive Director of Elementary Education and the Director of Assessment.

Students are placed by rank order of their test scores. Wait lists are established by this process.

Students qualifying for SAGE and MERLIN will be notified of their placement as soon as available for the following school year.

Based on committee recommendation, students not qualifying outright for placement into SAGE or MERLIN may be placed into one of the programs on a provisional basis.   As long as the student is functioning well in that placement, they will continue on in the program through 5th grade.
 

PLACEMENT AFTER THIRD GRADE

Students not placed into the SAGE or MERLIN programs by third grade still have the opportunity to qualify for their 4th and 5th grade years.  Every spring, each 3rd and 4th grade student's Stanford results are screened to determine if they meet minimum qualifications to retest for the two programs.  Students meeting these qualifications will be invited to take the CogAT and SOI tests the following September.  Qualifying students will be placed into the appropriate program when testing results are known (typically, late October/early November.)

NOTE:  MERLIN placement is based on space availability. 

Students who move into the Issaquah School District from another district during the school year who had been served by a gifted/highly capable program in that district, will be given an opportunity for CogAT testing at least once during the school year outside of the fall testing window.

The District will test a student for the SAGE and MERLIN programs a maximum of two times.