I would definitely appeal. I can't believe they excluded him on such a tiny difference in achievement scores. The whole purpose of giving the CogAT is to catch those kids whose ability level may not be demonstrated by their achievement scores. If they are going to ignore CogAT scores of that level, they might as well not even give the test and just go by achievement scores.
I have found at my school district that there is some wiggle room on these things if you advocate. However, my sense is that in some districts there is absolutely no wiggle room. IMO, such criteria suggest that the program is not really for the gifted (ie out of the box, original thinkers) but for high achieving students who fit nicely into the boxes that the school wants them to fit in. Not that those kids aren't gifted but that is only one kind of gifted. If this is the case in your district, it may not be that much of a loss to miss it. But I would call up GT coordinator and discuss it. Was there a teacher observation component as well or were the tests the only criteria used?
Good luck!
Last edited by LNEsMom; 05/22/12 01:01 PM. Reason: clarification
