• For questions regarding TAG at Hosford, please contact 
    Assistant Principal Nancy Pierce at npierce@pps.net.

     

    PPS FAQ for TAG SBAC - Nomination and Identification

    Q: Why is the TAG department now using SBAC scores for academic screening and nomination?

    Eliminates need for additional assessment for reading and math grades 4 - 8
    Eliminates pulling students out of academic day for additional testing
    Students are given yearly opportunities to be candidates for TAG identification.

    Q: What about families who choose to opt-out?

    If a family chooses to opt-out and a student does not complete an SBAC assessment, the TAG department will administer the appropriate IOWA assessment for reading and/or math just during that academic year.

    No single SBAC score is an automatic identification. School based teams are to use a body of evidence to make decisions. There should be enough quantitative and qualitative data to inform educators of a child’s potential to perform. Educators should be the driver of most nominations, not the parents as sole advocates. THis opens up equitable solutions to the issue. Moving forward, families can nominate the next year and use SBAC as a potential flag for TAG identification, if they so choose.


    Q: What about students who underperform on such assessments?

    Students, who may generally underperform on SBAC, generally underperform on many other assessments. School teams should make the final decision around identification. No one data point should be used as evidence for placement. A body of evidence is used to make placement decisions; looking at the whole child.

     Please visit www.pps.net/tag for current information regarding the TAG program for 2024-25