Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment DA- changing academic level requirements

Here is an excerpt from an email I received from the Davidson Academy. I think it is clear from this response that they are focusing their recruitment on students who are academically ready for advanced high school and college and not at the high ends of middle school or early high school.


"The Davidson Academy serves middle and high school level students who have test scores that are within the 99.9th percentile and are academically ready for a significantly advanced curriculum. The course work available to students, in most cases, is approximately three grade levels above what a student would experience if starting a typical middle school in the community. Therefore we do not have any classes that would equate to a classic middle school level, other than pre-algebra. Most course texts and materials are equivalent to advanced high school and college academics.

The application qualification criteria were reviewed and updated this past summer as we do every year. Updates are made based on the previous year�s application review period. Most importantly we found that we needed to update our qualification criteria to better target applicants who have the academic readiness in place to be successful as an Academy student.

That's interesting; they used to advertise themselves as a middle/high school, with a requirement that a student had finished fifth grade.

So, I guess this means that, say, an eight-year-old who's finished fifth grade (instead of second grade, as would be expected) wouldn't qualify for the DA.

Does this mean they want to focus on older students?

Val

My sources indicate that they have indeed become more selective about admitting DA students. I believe that they are seeking the kind of kids who will enhance their reputation as a world class high school. A number of YS kids have applied in the last year and either been turned away or asked to try again in another year or two.

Can't speak as to whether they have become more selective or to who they're targeting these days, but as a parent who has been there a while maybe I can clarify a little. It is a middle school and high school, in that students take classes for either middle school or high school credit (or dual enrollment high school/college credit for courses taken at UNR). The content of the DA classes, though, tends to be kicked up a notch no matter their designation. So I think, maybe, they're trying to say that a DA middle school class may more closely resemble a freshman or sophomore high school class in a typical high school, in terms of curriculum and the skills expected of students. That said, if it is designated as a middle school class, students receive middle school credit, even though the class may be accelerated by "regular" school standards. So, no matter what age, maybe incoming students need to have completed 5th grade and be ready for the DA version of 6th grade, which may be considerably more rigorous than a typical 6th grade experience. Anyway, that's what it seems like, but, of course, the admissions folks can answer these types of questions best.

One thing that I really value about DA is that they 'know what they don't know' about teaching PG kids. They keep refining their vision and their systems to make the school work for PG kids.

I think that if you think that your child could benifit from DA, then apply. Don't worry about if your child is or isn't a good candidate - let the DA folks decide that. We don't have to be the Judge and Jury about our own kids - just keep plodding along in the right direction.

Does that help?
Love and More Love,
Grinty

On one hand I think you're right, Grinity, but I think it's also important to keep in mind that applying to the DA can mean an expensive trip to Reno (if invited for assessment) for those living far away. To go through all that and then find out that you should try again in another year or two (which does happen and means more costly trips to Reno for more assessment in the future) can be a financial burden. So I can understand families wanting to get a grasp on whether their children are appropriate candidates before paying out-of-pocket to see the process through.

It might worthwhile to just call them and ask.

Val

Absolutely! When we were thinking about applying they were always happy to answer questions -- and I must have had a million. They did realize it was a big step for an out-of-state family and were super patient with all my queries. I really appreciated that.

A number of the kids at my dd's school are working around 5 to 7 grades above age, especially in subjects like maths. My dd is working close to 9 years above age in maths.

I am guessing that they want a certain type of student, one that meets the academic criteria, but not necessarily the younger extreme outliers.

Hello everyone,

Any questions about the 2011-2012 application process for The Davidson Academy of Nevada may be sent to applications@DavidsonAcademy.unr.edu.

Mark