Accelerated and Enriched Instruction: Frequently Asked Questions
What advanced-level opportunities are available at the High School (HS) level?
All MCPS high schools (HS) offer a wide range of honors and Advanced Placement (AP) level courses from which students may select. Honors and AP courses are open to all students who demonstrate the ability, motivation, or potential to perform at high levels in multiple content areas. Students who participate in rigorous coursework in high school are better prepared for post secondary education and careers.
Additional advanced-level options for high school students include—
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What advanced-level opportunities are available at the Middle School (MS) level?
All middle schools offer an array of advanced-level courses, with some courses allowing students to earn high school credit while in middle school. All students with the ability, motivation, or potential to perform at high levels are encouraged to enroll in advanced-level courses offered at every MCPS middle school. Students who participate in such challenging coursework deepen and enrich their understanding of content and collaborate with peers on rigorous tasks.
Additional advanced-level options for middle school students include—
There are also challenging opportunities available as extracurricular activities and coursework on college campuses. Destination Imagination provides problems that require both imagination and creativity. The Maryland State Department of Education designs a variety of Summer Center Programs that appeal to students in the middle school years and Montgomery College offers both Saturday programs as well as summer course work at many of its campuses. See Beyond the Classroom.
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What advanced-level opportunities are available at the Elementary School (ES) level?
The MCPS curriculum offers enriched and accelerated instruction in all contents—at all elementary schools, and students can receive advanced-level instruction in a variety of settings at the local school. MCPS Curriculum 2.0 also offers an integrated approach to curriculum which has been shown to be beneficial to gifted students. In addition, critical and creative thinking as well as academic success skills, which in the past were part of the Program of Assessment Diagnosis and Instruction (PADI) enrichment program, are now available to all schools.
All elementary schools provide the following advanced-level instruction to students with the ability, potential, or motivation to perform at high levels.
Reading Language Arts
- New internationally driven standards in reading and writing in Kindergarten and Grades 1 and 2 (coming soon to grades 3-5)
- William and Mary units of instruction
- Junior Great Books lessons
- Jacob’s Ladder Program (not required but helpful for preparing students with potential to participate in William and Mary instruction)
- Above grade level texts for small group reading instruction
- Differentiated literacy centers and independent work in K-5 literacy blocks
Mathematics
- New internationally driven standards in mathematics in Kindergarten and Grades 1 and 2 (coming soon to grades 3-5)
- Mathematics instruction is provided at the appropriate advanced level
- Students who consistently demonstrate proficiency of a mathematics concept are able to enrich their understanding of a grade-level topic or accelerate to a higher-level topic
Science and Social Studies
- Substantial instruction in science and social studies that includes extensions
There are also challenging opportunities available as extracurricular activities and coursework on college campuses. Destination Imagination provides problems that require both imagination and creativity. The Maryland State Department of Education designs a variety of Summer Center Programs that appeal to students in the elementary school years and Montgomery College offers both Saturday programs as well as summer course work at many of its campuses. See Beyond the Classroom.
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What opportunities exist for elementary students whose needs cannot be met at the home school?
Additional advanced-level options for elementary students include the following:
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When are students screened for gifted and talented identification and what does it mean?
All Grade 2 students are screened for gifted and talented identification during the second semester of the school year. Students in grades 3, 4 and 5 who are new to Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) or who have been recommended for re-screening (by parents and/or school staff) are also screened during the second semester of each school year. Gifted and talented screening occurs at the student's school. The data gathered on each student through the screening process is used to make instructional recommendations for the following school year and for GT identification.
All students have an equal opportunity to be considered for identification regardless of special needs, linguistic, or cultural differences. Advocacy is a vital component of the professional decision making process.
Find out more about the screening process.
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