Portfolio Reviews

If you would like to request a portfolio review for your student, please complete the Highly Capable Eligibility Process Portfolio Review Form. Please note: we have combined the Portfolio Review form and the Appeal form into a single form that can be found below.

If the embedded form does not work for you, click here for the Portfolio Review Form.

What is a portfolio review? 

In a portfolio review, families who are new to Northshore School District submit copies of their student's achievement data to the Highly Capable Department. A Multi-Disciplinary Selection team convenes monthly to review portfolios and determine if the student is eligible for Highly Capable Services. 

For students who have been in Northshore School District at least one year, you do not need to provide any
additional information. We will have access to all of your student's past data and will look at all screener and
assessment data, grades and standardized tests. Please just turn in the form.

Who can submit a portfolio?

Portfolios may be submitted by enrolled students who enroll in Northshore School District after Mid-October. Our district is unable to test students who enroll after this date until Summer, but we will accept portfolios from these students beginning in spring. Qualification as a result of this process is for services beginning in fall of the following school year.

Additionally, currently enrolled students in grades 1-7 who participate in the regular fall screening and assessment process and do not meet threshold scores to be offered placement in the HiCap Program may request a portfolio review of their student's data by the Multi-Disciplinary Selection team. 

What do I need to do before I submit a portfolio?

In order to be considered for Highly Capable Services, families must first enroll their student(s) in their neighborhood school. Please contact your Northshore neighborhood school with questions specific to registration.

My student is enrolled in Northshore School District. What do I do next? 

For students who have been in Northshore School District at least one year, you do not need to provide any
additional information. We will have access to all of your student's past data and will look at all screener and
assessment data, grades and standardized tests. Please just turn in the form.

For newly enrolled students, your next step is to download the Portfolio Review Request Form, which is available above. This form should accompany any materials that you submit to the Highly Capable Program. Materials submitted without the Portfolio Review Request Form may not be processed. 

The district's Multidisciplinary Selection Team will begin reviewing portfolios in March of the current school year. Admission to the Highly Capable Program may be granted following this comprehensive analysis process. 

Per District policy, all students must be residing within the boundaries of the Northshore School District at the time of enrollment. You must also submit the following documents for the MST to consider your student for Highly Capable placement:

• NNAT3, NNAT2, CogAT, or other standardized cognitive test
• Reading and Math sections of the IOWA, ITBS, or other standardized academic achievement test tested at a grade above current grade
• Current Report Card

We evaluate all students using a Cognitive Measure (Cogat, NNAT, etc.), Achievement Measure (IOWA, ITBS, etc.) and multiple data points. If your student has not taken a Cognitive test AND an Achievement test at a grade above current grade, the MST will be unable to consider your student for highly capable services. To be considered, your student will have to participate in our next testing cycle before they can be placed. Please see the Non-Northshore Student page for more info on the screening and assessment process for non-Northshore students. 

What if I don't have the required documentation?

If your student's school does not provide report cards, please submit a letter from their previous school (on the school's letterhead) indicating that the school does not issue report cards.

If your student chose not to participate in state testing, please submit a letter from their previous school (on the school's letterhead) indicating that your student did not participate in state testing.

If your student is coming from a district with a Highly Capable program and your student was offered placement in their Highly Capable Program, you may be able to transfer that designation from your previous school to NSD. Please fill out the Transfer Highly Capable Designation form on the Non-Northshore Student page to apply for transfer. 

We evaluate all students using a Cognitive Measure (Cogat, NNAT, etc.), Achievement Measure (IOWA, ITBS, etc.) and multiple data points. If your student has not taken a Cognitive test AND an Achievement test at a grade above current grade, the MST will be unable to consider your student for highly capable services. To be considered, your student will have to participate in our next testing cycle before they can be placed. Please see the Non-Northshore Student page for more info on the screening and assessment process for non-Northshore students. 

What happens after I submit my portfolio?  

The Highly Capable Program will begin reviewing portfolios in spring. Upon completion of the portfolio review, communication regarding eligibility status will be sent to the adult who filed the Portfolio Review Request Form approximately five (5) business days following the review. Students demonstrating unique and advanced learning needs will be offered Highly Capable qualification and services beginning in the following school year. Enrollment in Elementary Advanced Placement (EAP) and Advanced Academic Placement (AAP) is dependent on capacity at the neighborhood school. If there is not capacity at the neighborhood school, alternative options will be discussed as Northshore School District does not implement a quota for any program, including Highly Capable eligibility. All students, regardless of race, economic status, first language, etc. will be offered eligibility when a student’s scores or portfolio review meets the eligibility threshold.

How will Northshore decide if my student is eligible for Highly Capable Services? 

Beginning in spring, a district team convenes monthly to review submitted materials. The team applies Northshore’s eligibility criteria and looks for evidence of high cognitive potential and high academic ability. 

Communication regarding eligibility status upon review will be sent to the mailing address on file for your student. Please check with your student's school to make sure that your contact information is up-to-date. 

May I submit the results of private testing? 

No. Northshore School District and the Highly Capable Department will only accept tests that were administered by a public or private school. Tests administered by outside agencies will not be accepted.

We submitted a portfolio and have received a decision. Could you send the portfolio back to us? 

By law, Northshore is required to maintain records of its eligibility process. Any materials submitted as part of a portfolio review become property of the district. We strongly recommend sending photocopies of test scores and documentation, rather than the original versions. 

May I email my portfolio to the Highly Capable Department? 

The HiCap Department will accept Electronically submitted Appeal and Portfolio Review forms (see form above). Please ensure that all scans are clear and legible!

If a student is offered a Highly Capable designation after a portfolio review, do they need to participate in further testing to keep their designation? 

This depends on grade level. All Northshore first-graders are re-assessed at the end of first grade. This reassessment may or may not result in continued HiCap qualification. A Highly Capable designation received for a student's 2nd grade year or later will follow them through the end of high school. 

All students in HiCap programs are expected to maintain good academic standing in order to remain in the program. The Exiting the Program page has additional information on how we monitor student progress. 

My student currently attends a local private school. May I refer them for Highly Capable Program assessments in Northshore School District?

Yes, please see the Non-Northshore student page for the Application for Fall Testing for private school, homeschool, and all other non-NSD students.