JH 7-8
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Advanced Math 7
Advanced Math 7
Open to qualifying 7th-grade students (iReady Math 85th Percentile Rank in 6th grade or the 90th percentile on a Nationally Normed Gifted Approved Achievement Test within the last 24 months and a score of accelerated or higher on math 6 state test).
Students will focus at an accelerated pace on the 5 critical areas of 7th grade Mathematics as well as the following 8th-grade critical areas: (1) formulating and reasoning about expressions and equations, including modeling an association in bivariate data with a linear equation, and solving linear equations and systems of linear equations; (2) grasping the concept of a function and using functions to describe quantitative relationships; and (3) working with irrational numbers, integer exponents, and scientific notation; and (4) understanding and applying the Pythagorean Theorem.
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Advanced Science 7
Students successfully completing this course will be prepared to take Advanced Science 8. Students should have excellent organizational skills and work ethic to be successful in this accelerated class.
Advanced Science 7 is based on Ohio’s Learning Standards for Science and consists of 7th-grade content for advanced scientific thinkers. Content will consist of Life, Earth, and Physical Sciences.
Life Science: Cycles of Matter and Flow of Energy – Students will learn how matter is continuously transferred between organisms and between organisms and their physical environment. Students will
learn about factors that affect organisms in certain biomes. Students will also learn about different factors that affect organisms in certain biomes.Physical Science: Conservation of Mass and Energy – Students will learn about elements and compounds and their properties and ways energy can be transferred and transformed but always conserved.
Additional: Prerequisite: 118 or higher SAI/IQ or 80 Percentile Rank on a Nationally Normed Science Achievement Test in Science or 90th percentile on iReady Math in 6th grade and proficient or higher on math and ELA state tests were taken in 6th grade. -
Advanced Science 8
Advanced Science 8 is based on Ohio’s Learning Standards for Science and consists of 8th-grade content for advanced scientific thinkers.
Content will consist of Life, Earth, and Physical Sciences. Life Science content from the 8th grade is expanded upon in the advanced course. This course will investigate the standards at a deeper level and include more rigorous tasks to learn and demonstrate learning than the Science 8 course.
Life Science: This topic focuses on the continuation of species, specifically how species continue successfully or not through geologic time. Investigations into extinction and natural selection will be
investigated, along with reproductive strategies and their strengths and drawbacks. Patterns of inheritance will also be investigated.Physical Science: This topic focuses on forces and motion within, on, and around the Earth and within the universe. Newton's 1st and 2nd laws of motion will be investigated, as well as different non-contact
forces (magnetism, electric charge, gravity).Earth Science: This topic focuses on the physical features of Earth and how it formed. This includes the interior of Earth, the rock record, plate tectonics, and landforms.
Additional: Prerequisite: 118 or higher SAI/IQ or 80 Percentile Rank on a Nationally Normed Science Achievement Test in Science or 90th percentile on iReady Math in 7th grade and proficient or higher on
math and ELA state tests taken in 7th. -
Algebra & Geometry
Algebra and geometry are rigorous high school math courses that are taken for high school credit and impact high school GPA. Algebra has an AIR end-of-course exam that must be passed as part of the Ohio High School Graduation Requirements.Gateway and MathPlus students continue their accelerated and enriched math curriculum at the junior high level with Grade 7 Algebra and Grade 8 Geometry. These are the only students eligible for these classes, as these students have already completed MathPlus 7/8 through Gateway Academy or MathPlus in Grade 6 and achieved a score of Accelerated or higher on the state Grade 7 Math AIR test as Grade 6 students on written acceleration plans.
An additional pathway to Grade 8 Algebra is available for students who have not qualified for MathPlus or Gateway. Students who score in the 90th percentile on a STAR/i-Ready math test during their 6th grade year or in the 90th percentile on a nationally normed math achievement test and have earned a score of Accelerated or higher on the Grade 6 AIR test are eligible to take Advanced Math 7/8 in 7th grade. Completion of this course and a score of Accelerated or higher on the Grade 7 AIR test allows a student to take Algebra during 8th grade.
All students taking Algebra for high school credit must take the AIR End of Course Exam. There is no longer a pass/fail option for Algebra or Geometry courses and the grade earned will count toward the high school grade point average.
There will be no exceptions to this policy.
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Gifted English
Gifted English 7, Gifted English 8, and Gifted English 9 are enriched courses offered at the junior high school level, where students are offered a wider breadth and deeper exploration of the grade-level content standards. Students complete additional and above-grade-level readings, written work, and projects to extend their learning beyond the traditional classroom.Gifted English 9 is a high school English course that is taken for high school credits and affects high school GPA.
Gateway students continue their accelerated and enriched ELA curriculum in junior high, with Grade 7 students enrolling in Gifted English 8 and Grade 8 students enrolling in Gifted English 9. These are the only students eligible for these classes, as they have already completed Gifted English 7 at Gateway Academy and achieved a score of Accelerated or higher on the state Grade 7 ELA AIR. These students also have identifications as Superior Cognitive Ability and Gifted in Reading/English Language Arts.
Students who entered Gateway as Grade 6 students will not automatically be accelerated in English language arts because they have not covered the prerequisite materials in Grade 4-5. The plan will be for these students to prepare to take Gifted English 7 as Grade 7 students.
Any student who meets all of the following requirements shall be eligible for consideration for selection to the Gifted English 7 in Grade 7 or Gifted English 8 in Grade 8.
- School Ability Index (SAI) or Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as measured by a standardized group intelligence test administered within 24 months before initial placement with a performance of 122 or higher.
- Specific academic ability in reading/ELA, as measured by a standardized group achievement test related to specific academic ability and administered within 24 months before initial placement with a performance at or above the 95th national percentile.
- A score of accelerated or higher on the previous year’s ELA AIR test.
There will be no exceptions to this policy.
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For JH Students New to Pickerington Schools
New families to the district should contact Leanne Ross for questions about gifted placement into junior high classes.
All current Pickerington Schools students are automatically scheduled into any advanced and gifted classes for which they qualify.
Grade 7 Classes:
Gifted English 7Your Grade 7 student has an IQ /SAI score of 122 or above and meets the identification criteria for Specific Academic Ability in Reading/Language and scored Accelerated or higher on the Grade 6 AIR ELA assessment.Gifted English 8Your Grade 7 student successfully completed Gateway Academy and scored Accelerated or higher on the Grade 7 AIR ELA assessment and has a qualified Written Acceleration Plan.Advanced Math 7/8Your Grade 7 student has a score in the 85th percentile or higher on an iReady MATH test during Grade 6 or has a score in the 85th percentile or higher on a nationally normed math achievement test in 5th or 6th grade and a score of Accelerated or higher on the Grade 6 AIR test.Algebra 1Your Grade 7 student successfully completed Math Plus 6 or Gateway Math 6 and scored Accelerated or higher on the Grade 7 AIR test and has a qualified Written Acceleration Plan.Advanced Science 7Your Grade 7 student has a score in the 80th percentile on a nationally normed science test or an IQ /SAI score of 118 or above or the 90th percentile on i’Ready math in the previous year and Proficient or higher on both the Grade 6 AIR ELA and Math assessments.Grade 8 Classes
Gifted English 8Your Grade 8 student has an IQ or SAI score of 122 or above and meets the identification criteria for Specific Academic Ability in Reading/Language and scored accelerated or higher on the Grade 7 AIR ELA assessment.
Gifted English 9Your Grade 8 student has successfully completed Gifted English 8 and scored Proficient or higher on the Grade 8 AIR ELA Assessment and has a qualified Written Acceleration Plan.
Algebra 1Your Grade 8 student successfully completed Advanced Math 7/8 or Math 8 and scored Accelerated or higher on the Grade 7 AIR test or scored Proficient or higher on the Grade 8 AIR test.
GeometryYour Grade 8 student successfully completed Algebra 1 and scored Proficient or higher on the Algebra AIR test and has a Gifted in Math identification and a Superior Cognitive identification. Please note: completion of Integrated Math 1 alone does not replace all of the above criteria – students must meet the gifted ID criteria and AIR test proficiency criteria as well or they will be placed in Algebra.
Advanced Science 8Your Grade 8 student must score in the 80th percentile on a nationally normed science test or have an IQ /SAI score of 118 or above or be in the 90th percentile on i’Ready math in the previous year and Proficient or higher on both the Grade 7 AIR ELA and Math assessments. -
Availability of Services
All gifted services placement is based on space available in the program and at each location. If there are no spaces available in the new building or if scheduling issues prohibit the placement, students who move buildings mid-year may not receive the same placement in their new building.
Students may only begin services in Grades 4-8 at the start of an academic school year. No transfers in placement will be made after the first day of an academic school year due to the results of subsequent testing or gifted identifications. The only exception to this policy are students on district wait lists. Initial placement into services is based only on standardized test scores and gifted identifications within the previous 24 months.
Students who apply for and are approved for intra-district building transfer are not guaranteed a spot in a similar class or program at their non-home school if space is not available.
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Waitlist Policy
In the event that any class in a program is full and there are not enough spaces for all qualified students, seats will be offered to all currently enrolled Pickerington students before any new student enrolling in the district for the subsequent school year is given a seat. Students who currently attend a school building will have priority over students who come to that building from a different building within the district. The following exclusions apply:
- Students who qualify for placement via outside testing may also be placed on a waitlist if no seats are available in a given program. All placements using outside testing data are made based on the date the testing results are received and verified by the district.
- Additionally, students who have previously declined an invitation to a given program or withdrawn from a gifted program and now wish to attend in subsequent years or in a different program may be waitlisted to make room for students who are newly qualified for a program.
- Students who exercise intra-district building transfer may be waitlisted if the building to which they transfer does not have open seats for a program for which they have previously qualified at their home building. This should be of particular consideration at the middle and junior high school levels when making intra-district building transfer decisions.
In cases of students who have identical qualifications as listed above, spots will be determined by a lottery and students will be placed on a waitlist via the lottery order.
Families with students receiving gifted services who plan to move within the district should notify Gina Komorowski in the gifted services office as soon as they are aware of the potential change in school buildings.
Every effort will be made to offer the students the same services in the new building. However, if the class is at capacity in the new building, the student may be placed on a waitlist. There is no guarantee of the same placement in the new building. Scheduling issues and class sizes may both impact the availability of placement in the new building.
