Advanced Learner Education

Advanced learners are students from all cultural and socioeconomic groups who perform at, or show the potential for performing at an outstanding level when compared with others of same age, experience or environment. They have cognitive and affective needs that require a differentiated and challenging learning environment. 

Students are identified as advanced learners to match the most appropriate level of service (curriculum, instruction and support) to the student's needs in order to produce advanced achievement. Some students with advanced learning needs require services beyond Levels I and II.  The core curriculum is differentiated by the classroom teacher trained to provide greater depth, complexity, novelty and/or pacing based on individual strengths, talents and sustained interests.  Instructional practices for advanced learners and grouping are emphasized in Level III services.

MPS & Burroughs currently screens and identifies students yearly in grades 2-5:

• All second grade students who are enrolled in any MPS school are universally screened.
• Any third or fourth grader may be referred for screening, in early fall, by a parent or teacher.
• All fifth graders who have not been previously screened will be screened and fifth graders referred by staff or family will be screened.

Students may be screened yearly in grades two through five.  Once a student has been identified as an Advanced Learner in MPS, they do not need to be evaluated again and retain their identification through out their MPS career.  The process begins in October with final decisions made by Spring each year. There is no screening available outside of this scheduled process.

Decisions about Advanced Learner identification for currently enrolled MPS students will consider the following multiple-measure identification criteria:

• Assessment of cognitive ability (Cognitive Abilities Test - CogAT7) 
• Assessment of academic achievement in reading and mathematics (FastBridge Math and FastBridge Reading)
• Information from teacher rating scales and parents surveys about demonstrated Advanced Learner characteristics or behaviors in and out of the classroom (e.g., motivation, leadership, creativity, constantly questioning, and intellectual curiosity)

The majority of Burroughs K-5 classroom teachers hold Advanced Learner Education certificates that they earned by completing coursework offered by the Advanced Academics department in MPS. This advanced training means they are able to provide robust core instruction to engage the needs of all learners according to Level 1 in the Levels of Service Model.

Many Burroughs students are officially identified as Advanced Learners starting in 3^rd grade. These students are then clustered in classrooms to more easily provide differentiated content to meet their needs. Additionally, Burroughs currently provides additional literacy enrichment coursework to students in Grades 3-5 who are identified as Advanced Learners.

Burroughs also provides additional report card items for Advanced Learners. More details can be found on the Talent Development & Advanced Academics webpage.

More detailed information is available on the Talent Development & Advanced Academics webpage.