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Gifted and Talented Education

Mission Statement

The MUSD Gifted Program’s mission is to offer a broad base of experiences to identified students.  By providing a qualitatively differentiated curriculum, this program facilitates the growth of students as independent, life-long learners, with the development of skills, concepts and positive attitudes within the cognitive, emotional and social domains. A major goal of the curriculum should be the teaching and practice of thinking skills at all levels of the hierarchy. 

Philosophy Statement

The philosophy of the MUSD Gifted Program is to meet the diversified cognitive, emotional, and social needs of talented and gifted students, regardless of gender, ethnic origin, socioeconomic status, or physical ability.
Since there are great differences between students’ abilities, special educational provisions are often necessary for those students whose needs cannot adequately be met through the standard curriculum. This program is intended to create an environment in which deliberate efforts are made to recognize students’ emerging strengths, talents, and interests and then nurture them through appropriate and challenging educational experiences. 

Gifted and Talented Testing

Maricopa Unified School District uses the NGAT (Naglieri General Ability Test) to identify students eligible for gifted education. Students may only test once each school year. Testing is offered in the fall and spring for grades K-1 and 3 -12. In addition, all second grade students are tested in the winter. Results from an approved test on the Arizona Department of Education list will be accepted.

A gifted student is defined as a student who scores at or above the 97th percentile on a state board approved test. This means that a student scored in the top 3% of their same age peers. 

Students may qualify in one or more of the three areas:

  • Verbal reasoning
  • Quantitative (math reasoning)
  • Non-verbal reasoning

Parent Evaluation and Consent Form

Upcoming Testing Information

The NGAT assessment will be administered during the fall testing window from August 26, 2024 through August 30 2024.  

The spring NGAT testing window will be February 10-14, 2025.

Universal NGAT testing for second grade students will be from January 21-24, 2025.

Contact Information

Gifted Education Resources