Wake County fourth graders will be universally screened for gifted learning next year, too

The district is doing fourth-grade screenings to make sure no third graders this year were missed because of COVID-19 pandemic-related school disruptions.

District leaders announced that decision on Monday at the Wake County Board of Educations Student Achievement Committee meeting.

The district used portfolio reviews during universal screening of third graders this year, during the pandemic, to assess whether a student was eligible for academically and intellectually gifted programming.

The portfolio process involves looking at, among other things, work samples, rather than just test scores.

Portfolios are relatively new to the district’s screening process, although district officials hope that portfolios will help identify more students of color or English-language learners for academically and intellectually gifted programming. Those students nationwide and in Wake County are disproportionately not represented among “academically and intellectually gifted” (AIG) students.

Two schools that did the screening — Wakefield and Millbrook elementary schools — reported identifying more children of color this year.

“It was very promising that we did have some of these gains during the pandemic,” said La’Kesha Spruill-Roberts, district director of intervention and advanced learning.

Using portfolios this year, 6.4% of newly identified children were Black. But the district’s overall student population is more than a fifth Black.

Board Member Heather Scott said she was concerned that the disproportion is still so great even with a new tool, like portfolios, in place.

“The demographics really don’t look that much different from 2019,” she said. “I’m not even sure where to begin on how to break this down, but it’s a problem. it’s a big problem.”

Assistant Superintendent for Academic Drew Cook said the district still has work to do and noted that racial disparities exist across educational statistics.

“We’re pleased with the progress, but we’re certainly not satisfied with where we are,” Cook said.

Board Chairman Keith Sutton asked the district to provide analyses of potential changes in policy or processes that could improve equality in the numbers.

Board Member Jim Martin urged the board to make the disparity part of its ongoing priorities.

“This absolutely, front and center, should be part of our strategic plan,” he said.

Beyond identification, Board Member Roxane Cash asked how the district could support having more students identified.

The state limits its school district funding for AIG students to only 4% of a district’s enrollment. That’s in spite of 13% or more of Wake County’s students being identified for AIG.

The district uses more local funding to plug the gap, Superintendent Cathy Q. Moore told the board.