Notification of the Grade-Level Acceleration policy, procedures, and eligibility criteria are publicly available on the District 39 website. In addition, all families receive annual notice of the Acceleration process within the District Parent Handbook, which requires parent signature each year acknowledging receipt and review. Families of students who demonstrate readiness for acceleration consideration based on a preliminary review of MAP performance results receive additional notification in February of the opportunity to complete an Application for Consideration of Grade-Level Acceleration. Any other family interested in consideration for their child may also request consideration by completing a Request for Consideration of Acceleration.
Understanding Grade-Level Acceleration
Public school districts are required to have a formal process by which students can be considered for Single-Subject or Whole-Grade acceleration. At its core, acceleration provides instruction focused on standards and skills typically taught at a higher grade level. This pathway is designed for students who consistently perform beyond grade-level expectations and whose learning needs cannot be fully met through traditional classroom enrichment and differentiation, as determined by growth measures.
For students that qualify, Grade-Level acceleration places students in the next-highest grade level than is typical for a student's age. In this practice, acceleration occurs for all subject areas and/or courses. Students must meet all criteria for both English Language Arts and Math to be eligible for grade-level acceleration. These criteria are detailed on the Single-Subject Acceleration page.
An Important Note on Grade-Level Acceleration
Because English Language Arts (ELA) and math make up the bulk of a student's core academic day, if a student meets all criteria in both subjects, the determination would be made for grade-level acceleration. This means that students would participate in all classes (specials, language, PE, etc.) with the next grade level. Due to this, parents will be given the option to select single-subject only, and the subject they prefer, if they would like for their child to remain with their grade-level peers for the majority of their day. Please see the FAQ page for more information.
Due to developmental considerations, acceleration for students currently enrolled in kindergarten and first-grade will be reviewed case-by-case at the request of individual families. This process will mirror the district’s early entry practices (timeline, assessment, etc.).
Process
- All 2nd -7th grade students across the district are reviewed for consideration. Families of students who score in the 99th percentile of the next grade on two of three most recent MAP tests receive additional notification in February of the opportunity to complete an Application for Consideration of Single Subject Acceleration. Any other family interested in consideration may complete a Request for Consideration. (K-1st grade students are considered based on family request.) See below for MAP RIT Cut Scores for each grade (2-7).
Note: Math acceleration for students entering 7th grade math and above is governed by the New Trier Math township program. Families are notified of this process in 6th grade.
- Data Triangulation: The assessment process will include a review of multiple reliable and valid measures to ensure we have a holistic view of student readiness. This includes a growth and achievement measure (IAR & NWEA MAP), a cognitive aptitude assessment (CogAT), and curriculum-based measures.
- Results: Families will be notified of final acceleration eligibility results prior to the end of the current school year. Families of eligible students for acceleration will be given a final choice heading into the summer.
Criteria
More information on criteria for acceleration candidacy and eligibility are detailed on the Single-Subject Acceleration page.
Timeline
The following timeline provides a step-by-step overview of the acceleration process. Sometimes date ranges are provided rather than specific dates, as school calendars can change from year to year.
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