The term gifted and talented refers to students who show evidence of superior intellectual ability and potential in specific academic domains and demonstrate abilities such as leadership, creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking. These children require additional academic services provided in addition to their regular classroom environment.

Program Overview

Our Gifted and Talented program is a project based learning program that challenges third through fifth grade students through activities that encourage critical thinking, creative problem solving, and group collaboration.  Orion is a full day, pull out program where student groups meet once a week on a rotating basis.  Students are bussed from our six elementary schools to the learning center where they are taught by the designated Gifted and Talented teacher in the district.

Entrance Criteria Summary

Students in grades 2–4 are eligible for gifted and talented placement through the InView Assessment, a nationally normed cognitive abilities test. Participation begins with parental request based on perceived advanced cognitive abilities.

The InView test measures skills such as:

• Verbal reasoning
• Sequences
• Analogies
• Quantitative reasoning

It is scored using the Cognitive Skills Index (CSI), which reflects overall cognitive ability compared to age peers.

For the 2025–2026 school year, a minimum CSI score of 110 is required for acceptance./p>

The InView Test

The Terranova InView Test is an aptitude assessment that evaluates cognitive abilities crucial for academic success. Each of the five subtests measures how the test taker comprehends and utilizes information in various ways, highlighting their analytical and high-level thinking skills. Below is an explanation of each subtest:

Sequences

The Sequence subtest presents test takers with a series of figures or shapes arranged in a specific pattern. The task requires individuals to use their analytical and logical reasoning skills to identify the rule governing the sequence and select the object that logically continues the pattern. This subtest assesses the ability to recognize relationships, understand patterns, and apply deductive reasoning to solve problems. It is designed to evaluate how well test takers can comprehend and predict the progression of sequences, reflecting their higher-order thinking abilities.

Analogies

The Analogies subtest assesses test takers' ability to understand relationships between pairs of concepts. In this subtest, individuals are presented with pairs of words or images that share a specific relationship. They must then identify the relationship and apply it to a new pair, selecting the option that best completes the analogy. This subtest measures verbal reasoning, vocabulary knowledge, and the ability to recognize and apply abstract relationships. It evaluates how well test takers can think critically and make connections between different concepts, reflecting their cognitive and linguistic abilities.

Quantitative Reasoning

The Quantitative Reasoning subtest evaluates test takers' numerical and mathematical reasoning abilities. In this subtest, individuals are presented with problems involving numbers, patterns, and relationships that require mathematical operations and logical thinking to solve. The tasks may include arithmetic calculations, recognizing numerical sequences, and solving word problems that involve quantitative concepts. This subtest assesses the ability to analyze numerical information, apply mathematical principles, and use logical reasoning to arrive at correct solutions. It reflects the test taker's proficiency in handling quantitative data and their ability to think critically about numerical relationships.

Verbal Reasoning (Words)

The Verbal Reasoning (Words) subtest measures test takers' ability to understand and reason with words. In this subtest, individuals are presented with tasks that involve vocabulary, word relationships, and comprehension. They may need to identify synonyms, antonyms, or complete analogies using words. This subtest assesses the ability to understand the meanings of words, recognize relationships between them, and apply this understanding to solve problems. It reflects the test taker's linguistic proficiency, including their verbal comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, and ability to think critically about language and word usage.

Verbal Reasoning (Context)

The Verbal Reasoning (Context) subtest assesses test takers' ability to understand and interpret information within a given context. In this subtest, individuals are presented with sentences or short passages and are required to analyze the context to draw logical conclusions, make inferences, or identify relationships. Tasks may involve understanding the main idea, determining the meaning of a word or phrase based on the context, and recognizing how different pieces of information relate to each other. This subtest measures reading comprehension, contextual analysis, and the ability to apply critical thinking to interpret textual information accurately. It reflects the test taker's proficiency in using contextual clues to understand and reason with written material.