School Provisions and Practices: Evaluation

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Knowledge of the school’s evaluation provisions for gifted and talented students was

limited. In particular, two teachers were unaware of the review processes at the school. One teacher indicated the school provided evaluations of examinations, test results, and competitions, staff and parent evaluations and an external evaluation. The gifted and talented coordinator noted that school provisions were “reviewed each year as part of departmental review.”

Three teacher survey respondents evaluated their practice for gifted and talented students using teacher and student discussion and they evaluated student examination and test results. Two teachers used teacher written evaluation, student oral and written evaluations and external evaluation. One teacher used class evaluation, and another parent evaluation. They also knew accelerated students were consulted through student evaluations (3). There was some knowledge of departmental evaluations (2), and consultation with teachers and parents or caregivers (1).

Other evaluations, as identified by the gifted and talented coordinator, were the evaluation of PD sessions, student evaluations of the gifted and talented coordinator’s

teaching subject which was Thinking, and her role as gifted and talented coordinator in the school.

Acceleration was evaluated in the school by an analysis of the achievement data and discussion by the person with academic responsibility in the school and by the gifted and talented coordinator. This was reassessed each year after consideration of whether the students were “coping” or not. The coordinator had specific responsibility for only “some of the accelerated students,” those that were on the GATE register.

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Achievement Data

The school’s results in New Zealand Scholarship and the International Baccalaureate

are consistently outstanding. (The International Baccalaureate is of a high academic standard and is regarded as an accelerate provision in some countries including the United States and it enables students to gain university credits.) Year 12 students also gain scholarships at the school. For example, as reported in 2014 results, there were six scholarships and one was at Outstanding level.

At this school the emphasis was on the individual learner. Courses can be fully or partially accelerated, with some students being offered one or more standards depending on their area of expertise.

There were more individual subject endorsements for accelerated students at NCEA Levels 2 and 3 than full course endorsements. In 2012 three endorsed NCEA Level 2 certificates, were gained by accelerated students who were studying above their year level. An endorsement can be gained from as few as two or three subjects (subject acceleration), or a full year’s course (grade-skipped) to gain the required number of

credits for endorsement. Most students who were accelerated at Levels 2 and 3 gained subject endorsements which meant they had gained at least 14 credits at Merit or Excellence, of which three had to be from an external standard.

Accelerated results were recorded in a number of subjects, with the most common being Mathematics. For example over twenty Year 11 students were entered a year ahead in Level 2 Mathematics, usually a Year 12 subject. Other subjects included History and Geography. The majority of students were awarded subject endorsement certificates.

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Over 85% of those eligible gained Merit and Excellence endorsements and most were at Excellence.

However, NCEA results do not reflect the whole extent of acceleration nor other positive outcomes such as providing motivation, challenge and stimulation.

Evaluation of Provisions: Participants’ Perspectives

Teacher Perceptions

In general, the four surveyed teachers were satisfied that the school’s provisions for meeting the academic, social and emotional and cultural needs of gifted and talented students were effective. Three of the four teachers agreed, or strongly agreed, for Years 9, 10, 12 and 13 and all agreed for Year 11. One teacher disagreed that the needs were met at Years 9 and 10.

When teachers were asked how they felt they met the needs of the gifted and talented students in their own classes, three teachers provided a range of responses for academic needs from “Disagree” to “Neutral” to “Strongly Agree.” They felt the social and

emotional needs of students were mainly met but were neutral regarding cultural needs.

Three teachers agreed that Years 11 and Years 13 were the most successful in meeting their academic needs. However, one teacher did not agree that provisions at Years 9 and 10 were meeting academic needs. When the teachers offered their perceptions of

acceleration meeting the academic needs of all accelerated learners the overall impression was of ambivalence.

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There was a difference shown in teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the school at acceleration with gifted and talented learners and with all accelerated learners. In general, it was believed that the school catered for accelerated gifted and talented students more successfully in the senior classes of Years 11-13. Social and emotional needs were met for Years 12 and 13 students in both accelerated and gifted and talented learners.

Respondents were asked how satisfied they were that accelerated students in their classes had their academic, social and emotional and cultural needs met. One respondent noted that meeting academic needs was “incredibly complex and has not been

monitored over a significant period of time to track the effects.”

Student Perspectives

Both Year 11 gifted and talented students who had been accelerated were positive about their school journey. The Year 11 student, who was accelerated in three subjects, was very positive about acceleration, “I’m very happy.” She believed that there was school

support from the gifted and talented coordinator, the Deans and the Career Counsellor. She felt supported by her parents, her boarding and school peers. The other Year 11 students who was accelerated in five subjects believed that luck and hard work had contributed to her success. She also felt supported academically, socially and

emotionally. She was confident about her future years at the school, especially with the IB programme. “I’m just excited, I’m just, I don’t want to leave school” because she

would have to make decisions about her future.

Academically, the student accelerated in three subjects was not bored during the school day. However, she would have liked to have had more acceleration at the beginning of

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Year 9 in Economics and English. At the same time she also enjoyed, “if the student can stand it,” having an easy subject in mixed ability subjects at the current year level while

being accelerated in other subjects. At school she knew that to meet one’s needs a student needed to “let it be known if you want more work, if you want to be challenged.”

The Year 11 student who was accelerated in five subjects spoke of her academic progress. In the current year she was gaining excellences in all subjects. Her

performance was also confirmed by the gifted and talented coordinator. As the only Year 11 student accelerated in Economics she was getting top marks in Year 12 “which annoys the Year 12 girls quite a bit.” At the same time she acknowledged that the

school’s academic culture was that merit and excellence were expected at the school and “if you don’t get excellence you don’t stay in a class.” However, she believed there

was insufficient understanding by other students of what to do if they wanted to be multi-levelled. She had been awarded a scholarship and started at the school in Year 9. She did not feel challenged and indicated that at subject selection time for the following year, changing schools for Year 10 was a possibility. She reported that she was asked what could the school do for her that could make her stay. For Year 11, she chose acceleration in some subjects and more in-depth study in others after consultation with her parents and then the school. Her parents supported her decisions even when there were some reservations regarding what they described as difficult subjects, for example, Physics.

Socially and emotionally the student accelerated in three subjects was also very positive about her school, her workload and “I definitely have a life.” She also spent time out with other boarders during the week including her best friend who was a boarder. She

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herself was a weekly boarder and did not normally have to do much work at weekends. She believed that she was able to connect more with Year 12 and 13 students because she was studying a year ahead, not just because she was a boarder. She had high self- esteem in that whatever the future held she believed she was going to be “successful.” She was a boarder and summarised her satisfaction in this way: “I get to live with my

best friend, I have wonderful parents, my classes are really going well in the work.”