Early risers: Schools looking for kindergartners with high abilities

Kindergarten students are getting noticed when they clearly answer their teachers or have insightful questions.

Teachers are trying to figure out which 5- and 6-year-old students have greater vocabularies than their classmates. They’re looking for students who can clearly articulate what they’re thinking and have shown they would do well when working on their own, Clark-Pleasant director of curriculum Sue Whitney and Greenwood high-ability teacher Lisa Bricker said.

Teachers at Clark-Pleasant, Greenwood and Franklin schools also review students’ grades and other assessments to see how well they’re doing in math and language arts-related courses. Kindergartners who have shown they excel in those subjects or that they have the potential to excel qualify for high-ability classes as first-graders.

Now comes a special test to determine who is the best fit for the more challenging classes.

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