Regulation 0603.01-AR-01 Student Placement, Acceleration and/or Retention

Initial Placement of Students When Enrolling

The school counselor will place the entering student in the appropriate courses and/or grade level with consideration to:

  • Available documentation – transcripts, report card, test scores, work samples, etc.
  • The student/parent/guardian’s assessment of his/her knowledge and abilities as well as courses believed to be successfully completed
  • Instructional materials with which the student has had experience
  • The student’s age

Appeals may be made to the Director of Curriculum & Instruction. The director’s decision is final.

Acceleration Parents/guardians, teachers, or administrators may refer students who are enrolled and attending kindergarten through grade seven (K-7) by following these procedures:

  • Parent(s) or guardian(s) may request consideration for grade acceleration using the "Request Acceleration" form in the GT Portal of the West Ada Support app found at: https://westada.atlassian.net/servicesdesk/customer/portals. This form includes descriptions of cognitive, academic, and aptitude assessments done for standard acceleration considerations, and includes parent/guardian consent for assessment. If any non-standard assessments are needed, parent(s)/guardian(s) will be informed, and written consent will be obtained before that testing may occur.
  • The Gifted and Talented Coordinator or designee will secure access to the Iowa Acceleration Scale (IAS) or its digital version, the Integrated Acceleration System as well as any necessary advisement to guide the Multidisciplinary Team decision-making process.
  • Building Administration or designee will schedule discussion of the proposed acceleration with the MTSS Team and GT department representative to determine if student data warrants further investigation.
  • MTSS Team determines the process for the collection of data, completion of the IAS, entry of data into Enrich, and scheduling and facilitation of future MTSS meetings as required. (Team members present should include; administrator, school psychologist, parents/guardians, GT representative, counselor, current teacher, and teacher representing grade level of proposed acceleration).
  • Upon completion of cognitive, academic, and aptitude testing as well as the IAS following the data collection procedures outlined in the WA Grade Acceleration document and review by the MTSS team a determination is made by the MTSS Team including parent(s)/guardian(s) on the proposed student acceleration.
  • If there is disagreement among team members determining whether to accelerate or remain in current grade the building administrator makes the final determination based on available data collected by the MTSS team.
  • All students who are formally considered for grade acceleration will also be considered for identification as gifted & talented, if not already identified, using common standards set by the GT department.
  • If the student is not accelerated to the next grade level, the MTSS team should seek alternative methods of meeting the referred student’s needs.

Retention The West Ada School District recognizes the current research on grade retention which clearly indicates retention leads to significantly higher levels of negative impacts than positive impacts. Therefore, referral for retention is not the practice followed by West Ada staff.

Parents/Guardians may refer their student(s) for retention by following these procedures:

  • Parent communicates the desire to have their student retained to school administration.
  • School administration schedules discussion of the proposed retention with the school MTSS Team.
  • MTSS Team determines the process for the collection of data, entry of data into Enrich, and scheduling and facilitation of future MTSS meetings as required. (team members present should include; Administrator, School Psychologist, Parents/Guardians, Counselor, current teacher.
  • Upon the completion of pertinent data and review by the MTSS team, a determination is made by the MTSS Team on the proposed student retention.
  • If there is disagreement among team members determining whether the student should be retained, a notice will be placed in the student’s cumulative file that the retention was a parent's decision and not the recommendation of the school.