We just in-serviced today on our ISTEP+ scores with the focus on what mistakes were being made by those not passing........but the one point that was emphasized was that our GLARING problem is we were not bringing our top kids where they needed to be. (We are teaching to the middle and those not passing the test.) Surprise!!! Surprise!!!
I've never heard of ISETP+, but you can use it as a screener, even though way above level kids often are too bored to do well on this kind of test. If you can use old copies to bring the 3rd grade test to the first graders and see how they do at the begining of the first grade year on a test designed to measure kids at the end of 3rd grade, that will give you a cheap ID, and a more accurate way to find kids with 'special educational needs.'
Based on my personal experience, I would screen every trouble maker from K to 3, 'just to be sure.'
I don't want to be a downer, but a key problem is that you have funding, or at least political will for ID, but not for accomidation, so I think your first job is to start building interest in meeting the needs of the teachers who will get these clusters. BUT we all have to start somewhere. Actually - the parents themeselves might be a great source of support - once the children are IDed perhaps you can get the parents to come to school and do math or literature pull outs?
Smiles,
Grinity
