Gifted & Accelerated Programs

Under the Illinois Accelerated Placement Act (105 ILCS 5/14A), all public school districts are required to provide fair and equitable access to acceleration for eligible students.

The School District U-46 offers a variety of accelerated placements, which include: 

• IGNITE/Gifted(Advanced Learning Program in grades 4-8)
• Grade-Based Acceleration
  • Early entrance to kindergarten or first grade
  • Whole grade acceleration
  • Early entrance to college 
• Content-Based Acceleration
  • Single-subject acceleration
  • Advanced Placement (AP)
  • International Baccalaureate (IB)
  • Dual Credit (DC)

What Is Acceleration?

Accelerated placement, according to the definition of the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), is the placement of a learner in an educational setting with a curriculum that is usually reserved for learners who are older or in higher grades than the learner. The goal is to match instruction to a student’s readiness and learning needs, particularly for those who demonstrate high ability or achievement. It is designed to support advanced learners in reaching their full potential by meeting them where they are academically.

Why It Matters:

Accelerated placement ensures students are appropriately challenged and supported, helping them stay engaged, reach their academic potential, and avoid underachievement. It also reflects School District U-46’s commitment to equity and access by ensuring opportunities are based on a student’s readiness, not just their age or grade level.

Under the Illinois Accelerated Placement Act (105 ILCS 5/14A), all public school districts are required to provide fair and equitable access to acceleration for eligible students. This state law affirms that academic advancement is not a privilege, but a right, for students who demonstrate a need for it. U-46 aligns with this law by offering multiple, inclusive acceleration pathways to meet the diverse needs of advanced learners.

 

IGNITE/Gifted (Grades 4–8): 

• Milena Nedeljkovic at milenanedeljkovic@u-46.org 

Grade-Based Acceleration

• Early Entrance to Kindergarten or First Grade: Katie Cox at kathleencox@u-46.org
• Whole Grade Acceleration: Milena Nedeljkovic at milenanedeljkovic@u-46.org
• Early Entrance to College: Milena Nedeljkovic at milenanedeljkovic@u-46.org
   

Content-Based Acceleration

Single-Subject Acceleration:

• Elementary & Middle School: Milena Nedeljkovic at milenanedeljkovic@u-46.org
• High School: Contact the Associate Principal at your student’s high school
  • Bartlett - https://bhs.u-46.org/our-school/directory 
  • Elgin - https://ehs.u-46.org/about-us/directory 
  • Larkin - https://lhs.u-46.org/our-school/administration 
  • South Elgin - https://sehs.u-46.org/our-school/directory 
  • Streamwood - https://shs.u-46.org/about-us/staff-directory 

Advanced Placement (AP) – High School Only

• Contact the Associate Principal at your student’s high school
  • Bartlett - https://bhs.u-46.org/our-school/directory 
  • Elgin - https://ehs.u-46.org/about-us/directory 
  • Larkin - https://lhs.u-46.org/our-school/administration 
  • South Elgin - https://sehs.u-46.org/our-school/directory 
  • Streamwood - https://shs.u-46.org/about-us/staff-directory 

International Baccalaureate (IB)

• Jeremy Burnham at jeremyburnham@u-46.org

DUAL Credit 

• Michele Chapman at michelechapman@u-46.org 

• Alexa Charsha-Hahn at alexacharshahahn@u-46.org

Assessments for Accelerated Placements

Accelerated placements for School District U-46 students are determined by ability, achievement, aptitude, and social-emotional assessments.

Ability

CogAT

The CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) is a norm-based assessment that evaluates the level and pattern of cognitive development of students, as well as their abilities in problem solving using Verbal (word), Quantitative (number), and Nonverbal (picture-figure-spatial) symbols. An individual's score on the CogAT primarily reflects his or her ability to discover relationships and to demonstrate flexibility in thinking at the current stage in their cognitive development. The CogAT is a measure of a student’s potential to succeed in school-related tasks. It is not a measure of general intelligence or IQ. 

Because these measured abilities are closely related to an individual’s success in school in most subjects, data gathered from these assessments will be included as one aspect of the multiple measures that help inform the identification process for a gifted program or acceleration. The full battery of tests (Verbal, Quantitative, and Nonverbal) is given to all 3rd, 5th, and 6th graders.

Achievement

i-Ready

The i-Ready test is a computer-based, adaptive assessment that is used to evaluate students' skills in reading and math. It is designed to provide a personalized measure of a student's academic achievement. The test adapts to the student's responses, adjusting the difficulty of questions as they progress, ensuring that each student’s results accurately reflect their knowledge. i-Ready generates detailed reports for educators, identifying specific areas where students excel or need additional support. These insights help teachers tailor their lessons to meet the needs of each student, fostering targeted learning and growth. 

ALEKS

ALEKS (Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces) is a web-based, artificial intelligence assessment and learning system for grades 3–12. ALEKS uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what topics a student knows and doesn’t know in a course. ALEKS then instructs each student on the topics they are most ready to learn. ALEKS is used to measure math achievement. 

ALEKS is purposefully designed to help educators:

• Identify instructional gaps
• Personalize learning paths
• Track the progress of student learning and mastery

Aptitude

Iowa Assessment

The Iowa Assessments are rigorous, norms-referenced measures of what students have learned. This type of assessment provides a clear picture of what students know and what students need to learn, allowing educators to immediately differentiate instruction, group students by skill or domain area, and maximize planning time and instructional resources.

Results from the Iowa Assessments are reported with both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced scales, allowing educators to utilize the data for a variety of purposes, including tracking student readiness.

PSAT

The Preliminary SAT, also known as the PSAT/NMSQT® (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test), is a practice version of the SAT exam. Students can only take the PSAT once per year, and many students take the test in both 10th and 11th grade. The PSAT is 2 hours and 45 minutes long and tests your skills in reading, writing, and math. The highest score possible on the PSAT is 1520. 

Pre-ACT/ACT

PreACT assessments offer 8th, 9th, and 10th graders an early experience with ACT test items, provide a predicted ACT test score, and offer a wealth of information to help students begin the process of being college-ready.

Anchored on the ACT College and Career Readiness Standards, PreACT assessments help educators, students, and parents identify areas of academic strength and opportunity.

Social Emotional

DESSA

The DESSA (Devereux Student Strengths Assessment) is a standardized, norm-referenced behavior rating scale designed to assess the social-emotional competencies of children in kindergarten through eighth grade. It's used by educators to understand students' strengths and needs in areas like self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. 

 

Elementary Gifted Services (Grades 4–6)

School District U-46 offers Core Academic Gifted Classes for students in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade who qualify for the IGNITE program.

Students in IGNITE:

• Receive advanced instruction in core academic subjects (e.g., reading, math, and social studies)
• They are integrated with grade-level peers for all other activities, including homeroom, lunch, and extracurriculars

For students who are identified for gifted services and participate in the district’s Dual Language Program, U-46 offers Dual Language Gifted (Dual IGNITE) classrooms at select schools.

IGNITE Site Locations

To support geographic access across the district, IGNITE programming is housed at the following schools:

• IGNITE Sites: Clinton, Creekside, Glenbrook, Horizon, Sunnydale, Sycamore Trails
• Dual IGNITE Sites: Lincoln, Ridge Circle, Ronald D. O’Neal

 

School Year 26-27

• IGNITE Sites: Creekside, Glenbrook, Horizon, Lincoln, Sunnydale, Sycamore Trails, Willard
• Dual IGNITE Sites: Huff, Ridge Circle

 

 

Middle School Gifted Services (Grades 7–8)

Gifted services continue into middle school for students with an existing gifted placement. These students are automatically enrolled in the middle school gifted core program through 8th grade. Gifted programming is available at all U-46 middle schools, allowing students to attend their home school.

Universal screening occurs in the fall of 6th grade to identify potential new gifted learners. SY25-26, we will test all 5th and 6th-grade students as they transition to our new middle school model.

Students in Middle School Gifted Program:

• Receive differentiated instruction in science and social studies through interdisciplinary, enriched coursework that replaces the general education curriculum
• All middle school students, including gifted learners, are placed in leveled math and English Language Arts (ELA) classes based on performance data.

Dual Language Gifted (Middle School)

The Dual Language Gifted program is offered at the following middle schools: Abbott, Ellis, Kimball, Larsen, Tefft

TWO-WAY DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAM

Dual IGNITE

For fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade students who are identified for gifted placement and are enrolled in the district's dual language program, U-46 provides two-way dual language sections for core academic classes. Participants receive the benefits of IGNITE programming with the added bonus of a two-way curriculum that embraces dual language pedagogy and philosophy to support optimal student educational experiences. These students will have a rich and robust bilingual, bi-literate, and bicultural learning environment.

Dual IGNITE Sites: Lincoln, Ridge Circle, Ronald D. O’Neal

PROGRAM OVERVIEW 

Universal screening means:  

• Universal screening means that we look at all students in a grade level to find those who may have exceptional abilities or potential. This helps make sure every child, including those from groups that are often overlooked, gets a fair chance to be considered. Unlike traditional tests that focus mostly on what students have already learned, universal screening looks at their abilities and potential. In our district, we use two tools for this: i-Ready and CogAT.

Identification Process

• A Gifted Identification Committee carefully reviews this data to make sure students are placed in programs that best match their needs and readiness. 
• The district also considers outside test results if they align with our own screening tools. Final placement decisions are based on how a student performs compared to U-46’s local norms.

 

Current (School District U-46)Students

• For the elementary program, screening begins with the administration of the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) in the Spring of second grade, i-Ready testing as 3rd graders, and the identification process concludes in the fall of third grade. Identified students begin the program in the fourth grade.
• In the fall,  fifth and sixth graders are administered the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the i-Ready test for consideration to enter the middle school program. Middle school placement is only applicable for students who are currently not in the IGNITE program. IGNITE 6th-grade students will continue participating in the program while in middle school.

Students who are new to School District U-46 and are currently enrolled in one of our schools can still take part in the screening process, even if their current grade level is not included in universal screening. Make-up testing will take place at their school, and parents do not need to schedule or request it—this will happen automatically.

Students planning to attend School District U-46- The request window is now open. It closes on September 15th. We will NOT have any other testing dates this school year.

• A student’s gifted participation in another school district does not automatically qualify the student for gifted services in SD U-46. This is because gifted screening varies from district to district and state to state. Students transferring in from another state or school district must qualify using SD U-46 criteria.
• Gifted Program Parent Request: To participate in the selection process, parents/guardians must complete the following steps:
  • 1. Parents/guardians must use the New Family Registration link to the online registration application.
    2. Once the online application is complete, please fill out the FORM. The form requires the application number from the Online Registration.  The selection process is for SY26-27.

 

August 11-September 15	Private/Charter school requests to test FORM open
September 22- September 26	Private/Charter school testing for SY26-27
October 6-October 15	Gifted Identification window
October 17-21	Accept/Regret letters sent out
October 22	Parent Information Session at the Welcome Center, 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm in C100, for parents who are not able to attend Information Night
October 29	Parent Information Session Zoom 7:00 pm-8:00 pm, for parents who are not able to attend Information Night.
October 31	Accept letters responses due
October 17-October 31	Accept/Regret letter window open
October 20-October 31	Information Sessions at the Gifted program schools -schedule coming soon
October 20-October 31	Appeals window open
October 31	Appeals window closes
November 3-November 7	Appeals data review window
November 10	Appeals acceptance/regret letters sent out
November 10-November 17	Appeals decision acceptance window opens
November 17	Appeals acceptances due

 

 

Current (School District U-46) Students

• For the elementary program, screening begins with the administration of the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) in the Spring of second grade, i-Ready testing as 3rd graders, and the identification process concludes in the fall of third grade. Identified students begin the program in the fourth grade.

• In the fall,  fifth and sixth graders are administered the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the i-Ready test for consideration to enter the middle school program. Middle school placement is only applicable for students who are currently not in the IGNITE program. IGNITE 6th-grade students will continue participating in the program while in middle school.

Students New to School District U-46

Students who are new to School District U-46 and are currently enrolled in one of our schools can still take part in the screening process, even if their current grade level is not included in universal screening. Make-up testing will take place at their school, and parents do not need to schedule or request it—this will happen automatically.

Students planning to attend School District U-46- The request window is now open. It closes on September 15th.  We will NOT have any other testing dates this school year.

• A student’s gifted participation in another school district does not automatically qualify the student for gifted services in SD U-46. This is because gifted screening varies from district to district and state to state. Students transferring in from another state or school district must qualify using SD U-46 criteria.
• Gifted Program Parent Request: To participate in the selection process, parents/guardians must complete the following steps:
  • 1. Parents/guardians must use the New Family Registration link to the online registration application.
    2. Once the online application is complete, please fill out the FORM. The form requires the application number from the Online Registration.  The selection process is for SY26-27.

 

Parent Information Session designed to help families learn more about the U-46 gifted program, including the IGNITE program for elementary students. These sessions will provide an overview of the identification process, program structure, and what to expect if your child is identified for gifted services.

Both sessions will cover the same topics. 

Parent Information Session 1
U-46 Welcome Center-1019 E Chicago St, Elgin, IL 60120

• Wednesday, October 22, 2025
   
•  6:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Parent Information Session 2- Zoom 

• Wednesday, October 29, 2025
•  7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
• Zoom LINK

Information Nights will be held at our gifted program schools for students who were offered a seat for SY 26-27 and are going to be new to the program. They will be providing families with an opportunity to visit the campuses, meet the staff, and learn more about the learning environment and daily experiences of our high-achieving and high-ability students. 

 

• Parents have the option of submitting an appeal request when they disagree with the identification committee's decision.
• Information on the appeals process and how to complete one is included in the regret letters that are emailed out to parents. 
• The appeals process timeline is strictly enforced to allow for the timely placement of students; late applications are not accepted.
• More information can be found in our Gifted Education Parent Guidebook

 

Appeal requests do not guarantee acceptance; decisions are final!

If a parent or guardian intends to withdraw their child from the U-46 IGNITE/Gifted program, they should send an email to the Assistant Director of Postsecondary Success at milenanedeljkovic@u-46.org, including the reason for the withdrawal in their email.

For requests made after the school year has begun:

• The student will be transferred to their home school (primary enrollment school of record) if space is available. If no space is available, the request will be considered for the following school year.

• The student will be transferred to their home school if transportation is available. If space is available but district transportation is not, parents may choose to provide their own transportation.