Asking the Right Questions: A Data-Informed Path to Unlocking Student Potential

Every classroom includes students whose true capabilities lie just beneath the surface, waiting not for harder work, but for the right questions to reveal them.

As the school year settles into its rhythm, educators naturally begin reflecting on the unique learners before them. To build a truly well-rounded profile of our students, we need to venture beyond the traditional fourth question of DuFour's PLC framework ("How will we extend the learning for students who are already proficient?"). Instead of viewing giftedness as a finished product, we can approach it as a landscape of potential waiting to be mapped.

To expand our lens, consider asking:

• Academic Readiness: What level of depth and complexity is this student ready for right now? Have we reached the ceiling of our standard classwork?
• Leadership Potential: How does this student influence, organize, or direct peers? Do they display social intelligence, empathy, or strong task commitment during group work time?
• Creativity Potential: How do they approach novel, open-ended, or ambiguous problems? Do they display flexibility, curiosity, or originality in their thinking?
• Artistic Potential: Does the student demonstrate exceptional technical skill, emotional expression, or original spatial reasoning across non-traditional formats?
• Masked Potential: Are there hidden strengths being masked by language acquisition, learning differences (twice-exceptionality), or behavioral friction?

Building a comprehensive profile is an ongoing process of inquiry: it begins with thoughtful questions, followed by intentional data collection. Because no single assessment can capture the full spectrum of a student's gifts, relying on a solitary test score inevitably leaves gaps. Pairing quantitative metrics with qualitative insights gives us the clearest picture. Resources such as the Department of Public Instruction's (DPI) list of Targeted Screeners, aligned directly with the Domains of Giftedness, offer excellent starting points. Collaborating with colleagues to select the right tool for each specific question ensures your inquiry remains targeted and manageable.

Broadening our assessment toolkit beyond subjective observation serves two crucial purposes:

1. Mitigating Identification Bias: While teacher observations are invaluable, relying on them alone tends to favor high-achieving, compliant, or native-English-speaking students. Objective, varied data acts as an equalizer, illuminating the strengths of quiet, underrepresented, or twice-exceptional learners who might otherwise go unnoticed.
2. Distinguishing Potential from Achievement: Strategic data tools help us separate high achievers (students who have mastered the current curriculum) from those who exhibit high readiness and potential (students who process concepts at an accelerated rate, think divergently, or possess latent talent).

As we continue to move through the school year, let's remember to ask the right questions.

- Mary Ann Hudziak, WATG Board Member