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Acceleration

Kildeer Countryside School District 96 provides a robust acceleration program for students who are academically advanced and demonstrate skills at levels well above their grade level. Acceleration options include accelerated placement, full grade skipping, or strategic exposure to accelerated content in the classroom grade level.

  • Accelerated Placement involves a student being “moved up” to another grade level for either literacy or math.
  • Grade Skipping is available for those students who meet the qualifications for accelerated placement in both literacy and math.
  • Strategic Exposure to Accelerated Content: If students do not qualify for accelerated placement or grade skipping, KCSD96 offers strategic opportunities to engage with accelerated content, within the current grade level classroom, for students demonstrating consistent mastery and extension on grade level standards. This happens inside the current grade level classroom and is delivered by the teacher - only after students demonstrate mastery and extension on the grade level standards. These opportunities are available in both math and literacy and are designed to be implemented flexibly, adjusting to the student’s needs throughout the year.
     

Process for Elementary Acceleration in Grades 1-5

For students entering grades 1-5, Kildeer 96 offers opportunities for acceleration each spring for the following school year. Adults must refer the child to the school district by April 1 in order to have their child take part in the assessment process for accelerated options. To refer your child, please email Jason Keenon, Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning, at jkeenon@kcsd96.org. Accelerated placement will be determined using a variety of criteria including, but not limited to, the following:

NWEA MAP assessment data from throughout the school year
Teacher Input on the consistency of academic patterns and class conduct
Results of acceleration assessments
A Social-emotional screener
 

Elementary Acceleration Process Timeline

● April 1st: Deadline for parents or teachers to request entrance to the assessment process.

● Early April: Families receive the initial letter outlining the next steps from the Teaching and Learning Department.

● Late April/ Early May: The Teaching and Learning Department will gather teacher input and MAP data for all students who have entered the process.

● Mid May: Students who are eligible to test after the teacher input and MAP data are gathered and analyzed will receive an invitation to the testing date. Students who are not eligible to test will be notified as to why they will not move on to the assessment date.

● Late May/Early June: Subject specific assessments are administered to students who have passed the teacher input and MAP data stage.

● Mid June: Results sent to families.

 

Portrait of an Elementary Student who has Accelerated

Typically, students who have qualified for accelerated placement have the characteristics below:

● They have consistently mastered (3.0) AND extended (4.0) on grade level standards prior to the summative assessments in the subject area.

● They have consistently scored in the 99th percentile two to three grade levels above their current grade level on the NWEA MAP assessment.

● They are able to engage with novel concepts, ideas, texts, content, or tasks and demonstrate knowledge and skills above their current grade level.

● They are socially and emotionally mature enough to be in a classroom setting with older students.

 

Middle School Level Changes

Initial placement in middle school courses is determined by a robust placement process that takes place over the course of the second half of the 5th grade year and includes multiple measures for each subject. Once students are in middle school, level change opportunities are available in Language Arts, Math, and Spanish. Middle school level changes differ from the elementary acceleration process in the number and frequency of opportunities to change levels. Because of different math course progressions and the transition to high school, opportunities to change levels in math are limited.

Mathematics

Students enrolled in Core 6/7 are screened for a level change to Algebra 1 in the spring of their 6th grade year using the NWEA MAP assessment or by teacher recommendation. Students enrolled in Algebra 1 or Geometry are NOT screened for acceleration. Why?: All students must have a full year treatment of all prerequisite coursework through an accredited middle or high school for each course in the following sequence: Algebra 1 - Geometry - Algebra 2. We do not accept "testing out," enrichment programs, online work, self-study, tutoring, NU CTD, Saturday/Sunday programs, etc.

Language Arts

Language Arts students are screened for a level change to Advanced Language Arts each spring of grades 6 and 7 (8th grade students will not be screened) using the NWEA MAP assessment or by teacher recommendation. Students meeting the requirements on the screener or are recommended by the teacher will participate in secondary assessments, and teacher input will be gathered in order to determine if a change in placement is appropriate.

Spanish

KCSD96 offers two Spanish pathways in middle school: Spanish I, designed for students with limited or no previous Spanish experience, and Spanish Communication and Culture, intended for students with prior experience in Spanish.  


Students in Grades 6-–8 who consistently meet or exceed Spanish I standards prior to summative assessments and receive a teacher recommendation may participate in a secondary screening each spring to determine whether placement in Communication and Culture (Spanish II) is appropriate for the following school year.


All fifth-grade students enrolled in the English/Spanish Dual Language Program are eligible for placement in Communication and Culture (Spanish II) if they select Spanish as their elective choice.


Additionally, if fifth-grade students with Spanish experience indicated on their Home Language Survey indicate Spanish as an elective choice, they may be screened using language proficiency assessments to determine the appropriate pathway of Spanish for their 6th grade year.  (either Spanish I or Spanish II).