Christine Williamson, Director of Gifted and Talented at KIPP New Jersey, is
Christine first encountered CogAT at her former district in Texas, where she saw its profound impact on identifying gifted learners. Unlike traditional assessments, CogAT provides a multi-dimensional view of students' abilities through its verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal batteries.
“CogAT provided both verbal context and nonverbal context in one assessment,” Christine explained.
This comprehensive approach allows educators to combine scores into composites or analyze them individually, offering valuable insights into students’ strengths and challenges. Importantly, it equips schools to equitably identify gifted students, including emergent bilingual (EB) and English learner (EL) populations, who are often underrepresented in G&T services.
“We could take all of the data, but we could also parse it out to see where students have strengths and where they might have weaknesses,” she added.
Before adopting CogAT, KIPP NJ relied on teacher recommendations and achievement data like iReady scores. While useful, these tests only showed what students had learned—not their potential to learn.
“We wanted to bring an ability component into play. Achievement tests show what students have learned, but ability tests reveal their potential,” Christine emphasized.
Christine aims to position CogAT as a universal screener for 2nd graders, helping to identify students for gifted services earlier. However, she knew implementing a new assessment would require a strategic approach to navigate challenges such as budgeting, logistics, and staff buy-in.
To ease the transition, KIPP NJ will use a combination of iReady scores and teacher referrals to identify candidates for CogAT. Students scoring 90th percentile or higher on iReady or those referred for their classroom performance—despite lower test scores—will be assessed with CogAT.
Christine and her team also focus on training teachers to recognize potential in students who might not fit traditional definitions of giftedness.
“We know we’re going to miss some students at first,” Christine acknowledged. “That’s why it’s crucial to broaden how we think about identification.”
This spring, KIPP NJ will take its first significant steps with CogAT, laying the foundation for more effective gifted education services. Christine hopes this initiative will inspire educators across KIPP to rethink how they identify and support gifted learners.
Stay tuned as we continue to follow Christine Williamson’s journey and explore the transformative potential of CogAT at KIPP NJ!