Application process
Quest students have already been selected for the 2008-2009 school year. The open application period for first through fifth grade Quest for the 2009-2010 school year will begin late fall, 2008. Please check this Web site early in the 2008 school year for further details.

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 in order to determine eligibility. Students must demonstrate strong, current performance in both reading and math. Most recent report card data is used for first 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. This form must be completed and submitted along with the application.

Home school students
Academic performance is reviewed through student work in reading and math. 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 along with the application.

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

• Round I: Academic Achievement Assessment
  
  • The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), one level above the student’s current level, is used to measure academic achievement. Students who meet the ITBS achievement criteria will be scheduled for Round II of assessment, the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT).

• Round II: Cognitive Ability Assessment
  
  • The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) is used to measure how well the student uses general thinking and problem-solving skills to solve verbal, quantitative and nonverbal problems. CogAT is a group ability test administered in small groups.

Creativity
After students have met screening and achievement criteria, teachers are asked to complete a Renzulli Creativity Scale for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students. This rating scale is based on the characteristics of highly capable students and obtains an estimate of a student’s characteristics in the area of creativity. The Quest office will arrange for these scales to be completed. Elementary applicants who meet the achievement criteria will be considered for placement in the program.

Placement procedures
Placements are made on a space available basis. 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. This list is not re-ranked or re-ordered when students leave the district and return or when new students transfer into the district. Returning and transfer students are placed on the waiting list 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 ITBS appeals and after round II for CogAT 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, the Director of Student Services and the Chief Academic Officer. The final decision of the appeals review team is reported in a letter to the parents.