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Accelerated Placement Act

Orland School District 135 provides programming to meet the needs of gifted and talented students in grades kindergarten through eight.  Orland School District 135 also provides the opportunity for the early (according to age) admission of students into kindergarten or first grade.

Gifted and talented students in Orland School District 135 have the opportunity to deepen their levels of knowledge and demonstrate their learning through the use of curricular resources, instructional practices, and modes of communication.  While a gifted and talented curriculum starts with core curricula and standards to avoid learning gaps, students may benefit from accelerated educational experiences designed to further extend their thinking.
Students will be assessed using the NWEA MAP and CogAt assessments for Accelerate Placement requests. 
Acceleration may be defined as any of the following types of programming; all of these programs have set criteria for student qualifications. 
  • Early Admission to Kindergarten - the admission of a student to kindergarten who will not yet be five years old by September 1 of that school year.  The criteria include all of the following: 
    • The child has completed at least 1 full year of pre-school or private kindergarten as evidenced by a progress summary report.
    • The child scores at or above the 90th percentile on the NWEA MAP assessment on reading and math, compared to kindergarten students.
    • The child scores at or above the 90th percentile on the CogAt assessment, compared to kindergarten students. 
  • Early Admission to First Grade - the admission of a student to first grade who will not yet be six years old by September 1 of that school year and who has not completed kindergarten at a school with a properly licensed teacher. Students who are younger than six upon starting first grade but who were admitted early to kindergarten do not need to be reevaluated prior to admission to first grade. The criteria include all of the following: 
    • The child scores at or above the 90th percentile on the NWEA MAP assessment on reading and math, compared to 1st grade students.
    • The child scores at or above the 90th percentile on the CogAt assessment, compared to 1st grade students.
  • Subject-Matter Acceleration/Partial Acceleration - grade level acceleration for a specific subject. The criteria include all of the following: 
    • The child scores at or above the 90th percentile on the NWEA MAP assessment, compared to students at the grade level and subject being requested.  
    • The child scores at or above the 90th percentile on the CogAt Complete assessment, compared to students at the grade level and subject being requested. 
  • Grade-Skipping - full grade level acceleration. The criteria include all of the following: 
    • The child scores at or above the 90th percentile on the NWEA MAP assessment, compared to students at the grade level being requested, for reading and math.  
    • The child scores at or above the 90th percentile on the CogAt Complete assessment, compared to students at the grade level being requested. 
Acceleration is reserved for students who are exhibiting academic skills significantly above grade level. Criteria for grade level and subject acceleration includes assessment scores at or above the 90th percentile at the grade level being requested.  
Who can refer a child for acceleration?
  • Parent(s)/Guardian(s), Licensed Educational Professionals, Student (with written consent of a parent/guardian), or Peer (through a licensed educational professional who has knowledge of the student’s abilities) may all refer a child for acceleration.
  • In addition to the above-noted individuals, referrals for possible early entrance to kindergarten or first grade may also come from: a Preschool Educator, Non-public Kindergarten Teacher, Pediatrician, or Psychologist who knows the student.
It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to provide supporting data/documentation that demonstrates skills far beyond those of typical peers.  Testing from an outside source may be provided by the requestor at his/her own expense.  Any Request Forms submitted without supporting documentation will not be acted upon, as they will be considered incomplete.
Accelerated placement testing for early entrance to kindergarten and 1st grade and grade level acceleration will take place in July each summer. Therefore, requests for accelerated placement for Kindergarten and 1st grade must be received by July 1 each year.  Subject level accelerated placement requests received after July 1st will be acted upon once the school year begins and testing opportunities are available.  Subject Level Requests for the current year must be received no later than September 15. 
Orland School District 135 also offers various enrichment opportunities for our high-achieving students. Families do not need to make requests through the Accelerated Placement Process to qualify for the enrichment and honors programs.  To learn more about the enrichment opportunities, click on the Enrichment Tab on the Curriculum page.  
Submit an Accelerated Placement request by using the Accelerated Placement Request Form, linked to this page.