Dripping Springs ISD is committed to ensuring the most appropriate educational setting for each student. Our Gifted & Talented (GT) Program is designed to meet the needs of students who exhibit significantly advanced intellectual ability. The program provides an appropriately differentiated curriculum presented in a way that offers greater depth, more complex content, and extensive enrichment activities designed to challenge Gifted & Talented-identified students.  

Student Assessment
Dripping Springs ISD has established a thorough assessment process to identify students and ensure they are placed appropriately into the program.

Referral & Assessment Process
Students must first be referred for Gifted & Talented consideration. This is an open system with recommendations accepted from principals, teachers, parents, guardians, students (both self and peer), psychologists, counselors, librarians, administrators, and community members. The DSISD K-12 referral window is open October 1 - November 14. The GT referral link will be posted for parents to complete on October 1.

Qualitative & Quantitative Assessment
All students referred for Gifted & Talented assessment will complete a testing process. Testing instruments are approved by the district, are aligned with best practices, and are appropriate to the student’s grade level. Parent and teacher evaluations may be included in the assessment process.

Parent/Teacher Evaluation
Parents and teachers rate the student on a variety of areas including vocabulary, expression, mastery levels, critical thinking, reasoning skills, reading level, observation skills, and problem-solving.

Assessment
The assessment results are evaluated by the Dripping Springs ISD Gifted & Talented Assessment Committee. The committee may consider additional evaluation criteria including student portfolios, anecdotal information, and other relevant data. The Gifted & Talented Assessment Committee makes the final determination as to whether or not the student is accepted in the Gifted & Talented program.