Gifted and Talented Education (GATE)

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Testing & Eligibility

As determined by the Board of Education of San Diego City Schools Education Policy, every public school student enrolled within its boundaries shall have the opportunity to take the GATE test in 2nd grade. Students may be retested in grades 5 or 7, if they meet eligibility requirements set by School Board Policy (School Board Policies and Procedures were reviewed by the Cluster Task Force Review Committee and on September 13, 2005, the policies and procedures were revised according to the findings.). Parents are asked to fill out a form providing valuable information about the child and giving permission for the test to be administered. A characteristics rating scale is given to the teacher to supply additional information. Both of these pieces are valuable to the psychologist in the review of the student's case study.

Students who are new to the district and attending grades 3 through 7 are also eligible to be tested. Schools must make the request and provide a list to the GATE psychologist attaching the appropriate parent and teacher forms for each student to be tested.

The preferred testing used by San Diego Unified School District for identification of GATE students, along with academic records, is the Raven Matrix. For several years, the GATE Program personnel conducted research in the area of assessment in order to find the fairest measure available to seek out giftedness among all ethnic groups and learning styles. The Raven Progressive Matrices was found to be the best available measure of general intelligence for all the diverse populations in the San Diego Unified School District. Assessment and evaluation is done every year to make sure this remains true.

The Raven, as with all intelligence tests, requires some visual skill as well as verbal skill. The Raven, however, is a nonreading test, effectively cutting across language barriers, but containing many elements necessary in word usage, decoding (reading), abstract reasoning skills, and language acquisition. Findings have shown that gifted traits identified with the Raven include strong verbal skills as well as visual skills. Both sides of the brain are used for the Raven, so nether a verbal or visual student will be penalized and/or marked down.

The Raven, as offered in San Diego Unified Schools, is an untimed test. The length of time to take the test depends on the student taking it. The average time is 45 minutes, however, some students have taken up to 4 hours. There is no penalty for either being quick to finish or being more detailed oriented in taking the test. Receiving the results from the testing can take up to four to five weeks after the testing date. Those students scoring into the GATE Programs will receive the appropriate booklets and paperwork necessary to enhance their educational experience. The parents of non-placing students will also receive notification of the test results.

Testing is conducted throughout the year for private school students residing within the San Diego City Schools boundaries. For further information and to sign your child up for testing, please contact the GATE records clerk for an appointment at (858) 573-5986.

Please note: San Diego City Schools GATE Program is no longer able to test students who reside outside of the school district boundaries. Please contact the school district in which you reside to discuss testing for your child.

GATE Psychologist School Assignments
Cluster Identification Criteria

PARENT INFORMATION FORMS FOR 2007
Parent Letter/ Information Form (Español) for 2nd grade ONLY
Opt Out Form (Espanol) for 2nd grade ONLY
Parent Letter/Information Form (Espanol) for all other grades

Retest Criteria

Contact Information

GATE Program Office
Madison High School, Room B6
4833 Doliva Drive
San Diego, CA 92117

(858) 573-5998 - Phone
(858) 637-6214 - Fax (Main Office)
(858) 637-6215 - Fax (Psychologists' Office)
(858) 573-5939 - Fax (Resource Teachers)

Questions? Comments? Please email us at:

giftedandtalentedGATE@sandi.net

Key Contacts

Marcia DiJiosia Interim GATE Program Manager/Senior Psychologist mdijiosia@sandi.net

Aline M. Hendricks GATE Program Secretary II ahendricks@sandi.net

Rhonda Zawadzki Program Specialist, Secondary/High School rzawadzki@sandi.net

Rick Leighton Program Specialist, Secondary/Middle or Junior High rleighton@sandi.net

Rolena Jones Program Specialist, Elementary rjones4@sandi.net

GATE Psychologist School Assignments