REACH Testing and Placement Information
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The REACH program identifies students in accordance with Arizona Revised Statutes. Students who receive a score in the 97th percentile or above in verbal, quantitative, or non-verbal reasoning (on a state approved test) are provided with services beginning in kindergarten.
Amphitheater Public Schools provide several opportunites for testing throughout the school year. If you choose to have your child tested for REACH, you must first contact the REACH teacher, or click on the link below, to obtain a referral form. A checklist on the back of the form will help you identify the characteristics in your child that indicate a need for REACH services. The completed form should be returned to the REACH teacher on site. The REACH teacher will contact you when the next testing session at that site is scheduled.
If a child does not meet the criteria for placement after the first testing, a parent may choose to have their child retested. A student may be tested twice in grades K-5, once in grades 6-8 and once in high school. The REACH department will only test a child twice.
Students in grade 2-5 who are referred for the REACH program will be given the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) to obtain a score in the verbal and quantitative areas, and the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) to obtain a score in the non-verbal area.
Students in kindergarten and first grade will be given the Otis Lennon School Abilities Test (OLSAT) to obtain a score in the verbal and non-verbal area. The test is administered in three sittings. The first time the child meets with the REACH teacher to take a practice test. This gives the child the opportunity to learn what is expected of them. The REACH teacher will then meet with the child for two more 45 minutes sessions to administer the actual test. The REACH teacher works with the classroom teacher to schedule the testing, which is usually given over a 3-4 week period.
Test results are sent to the parent 4-6 weeks after testing occurs. Students who test in the spring will begin services the next school year.
If you have any questions about the testing process, please contact the REACH teacher on site.
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Arizona Department of Education, Gifted Ed. |
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