Online Application process
Quest students have already been selected for the 2011-2012 school year. The online application process for elementary students currently in grades one through four who wish admission to Quest for the 2012-2013 school year will begin October 3, 2011. Applications will be accepted through October 28, 2011, at 4 p.m. We are no longer testing students who are currently in kindergarten.

Students who are currently in grades five, six or seven will be attending middle school for the 2012-2013 school year due to the district’s change in grade configuration beginning that year. See the Middle School Quest Application & Assessment Process for information.

2012-2013 Elementary Quest Applications are now closed

Application screening procedures
Applicants must meet the screening criteria in order to be considered for Quest assessment. Not all Quest applicants will be eligible for assessment. The district reviews academic performance to determine eligibility. Students must demonstrate strong current performance in both reading and math. Report card data from the end of the previous school year is used for academic performance in first grade through fifth grade.

Private school students
Academic performance on the most recent report card is reviewed along with standardized testing results. Applicants will need to complete a private school application. The application asks for report card information and explains the expectations for performance in reading and math for private school students. Paper copies of the private school application and report card forms must be completed and submitted to the Quest office, in addition to the online application. Proof of residence in the Lake Washington School District must also be provided. 

Home school students
Academic performance is reviewed through student work in reading and math, and creativity. The home school report card form explains the requirements for some applicants to submit work samples and the expectations for performance in reading and math. This completed form must be submitted to the Quest office, in addition to the online application. Proof of residence in the Lake Washington School District must also be provided.

Assessment process
Elementary applicants who meet the screening criteria are scheduled for Quest assessment. There are two rounds of assessment:

• Round I: Cognitive Ability Assessment
  
  • The Cognitive Abilities Test (Cog AT), one level above the student’s current level, is used to measure how well the student uses general thinking and problem-solving skills to solve verbal, quantitative and nonverbal problems. Cog AT is a group ability test administered in small groups.

• Round II: Academic Achievement Assessment
  
  • The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), one level above the student’s current level, is used to measure academic achievement.
  • Current teacher evaluation on Renzulli Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristic for Superior Students is used for creativity.

Placement procedures
Space is limited at every site and not all students meeting the criteria for placement may actually be placed. Placements are made on a space available basis at the site that serves your home address. In the event that space is not available, a waiting list is created. Students on the waiting list are rank-ordered, based on their test results at the time of their identification. Students for each site are placed in rank order, using the Cog AT standard age score and then the ITBS achievement scores. Should there not be enough room to place all students who have the same rank order, a random number lottery will be used to determine who is placed, and also the order of the wait lists. If a student declines an offer for placement or moves out of the district, that place is offered to the next student on the rank-ordered list.

Once the wait list is established, it is not re-ordered when students leave the district and return or when new students transfer into the district. Returning and transfer students are placed at the end of the wait list, regardless of score, after students who are already on the rank-ordered list.

Appeals process
Appeals for reconsideration of students who have not met the assessment criteria are reviewed by an appeals review team after application screening, after round I for Cog At appeals and after round II for ITBS appeals. Specific deadlines for appeals will be provided by the Quest office. Appeals of assessment results must be based upon one of the following:

• a condition or circumstance believed to have caused a misinterpretation of the testing results
• an inequitable application of the identification procedures

All appeals must be submitted in writing and include reasons to support that either situation has occurred. Each appeal is reviewed by a team including the Quest psychologist, and the Director of Accelerated Programs. The final decision of the appeals review team is reported in a letter to the parents, and may not be appealed.