I'm with you and see CRTs as limited for gifted children. I would want something that measures growth and has a high test ceiling.
www.oagc.com/files/Value-AddedFAQ(Gifted).pdf
�[Value-added models] concentrate on gains because student gains provide information on educational effects that measures of ability cannot. High achievement scores do not necessarily indicate progress, but high gains do. By focusing on the gains that all students make from year to year, regardless of where they start, the school systems and the individual schools deemed to be most effective by [value-added models] are those that provide educational opportunities for all students--the advanced learner as well as the slower
learner.� (Sanders & Horn, 1995, p. 10).
Good luck with the meeting. It can take a huge amount of effort to move a beauracracy, so you may have to take up Grinity's rallying cry of "for the grandchildren!"
P.S. I thought this was a good example too:
http://www.oagc.com/files/OAGCPostitionontheAchieveReport.final.docThe current Ohio Achievement Test is a criterion-referenced test (CRB) based on Ohio grade-level standards and relies on cut scores to report student skills. The difference between the two is like the weekly spelling list (which one expects all students to know and be able to spell) and the national spelling bee (where the student spellers are eliminated as words become increasingly difficult and one person can spell the last word.) If Ohio wants to ensure that its students can compete nationally and globally, it must look to tests that rank students with others outside Ohio.
