ELEMENTARY PACE PROGRAM, Grades 3 – 5
The goal of the PACE Program is to meet the unique needs of intellectually and academically accelerated and/or gifted students. Using State of Illinois guidelines and District 200 criteria, students are identified to participate in the PACE Program, which offers daily instruction in mathematics and/or reading to students in grades three, four, and five.

 
PACE Math Program
The PACE math program is academically rigorous and includes compacting grade-level concepts as well as providing math enrichment and acceleration. The PACE math class replaces the grade level mathematics class and meets one hour daily during math instruction time.  The curriculum aligns with the Common Core State Standards and includes the following mathematical domains:

Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Number and Operations in Base 10
Measurement and Data
Geometry
Number and Operations--Fractions
Ratio and Proportional Relationships (grade 5)
Expressions and Equations (grade 5)
Number Systems (grade 5)
 
PACE Reading Program 
The PACE reading program is academically rigorous and includes compacting grade-level concepts as well as providing enrichment and acceleration. A special emphasis is placed on critical and creative thinking. A list of core novels for each grade level/theme may be obtained from the PACE Office and each school’s PACE specialist. The PACE Reading program meets for 30 minutes per day during the grade level Reading time. The curriculum is aligned to the Illinois State Standards and the National Council of Teachers of English standards.
Elementary PACE Program Identification Process
The process used for identifying students eligible for the PACE math and/or PACE reading programs includes a Level I Screening and Level II Selection. Students may test only once for each school year. New students should contact the PACE Office for testing information, including the testing schedule throughout the school year.
 
Level I Screening 
Grade 2 (Screening for Grade 3 PACE): All second-grade students will take the Verbal, Quantitative, and Non-verbal batteries of the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). Based upon CogAT results and local assessment data, students will be recommended for Level II Selection which includes further testing for PACE entry

Grades 3-5 (Screening for Grades 4-6 PACE): Teachers and parents may recommend their children be tested for the PACE Program by contacting the District 200 PACE Office and completing the Parent Referral Forms  (scroll down the page to locate forms). Parent and/or Teacher recommendations identify the students invited to test for the PACE Program.
 
Level II Selection 
All students who are identified through Level I Screening will have a student profile form completed by his/her classroom teacher and are administered the following tests: 

PACE Math

Mathematics Subtest of the Iowa Assessments 
* an at-level achievement test that could cover the following areas depending on grade level: number sense, problem-solving operations with whole numbers, geometry and spatial sense, measurement, data analysis, statistics, probability, patterns, functions and pre-algebra
Quantitative Battery of the Cognitive Abilities Test (grades 3-5)  
* an aptitude test covering the following areas: number analogies, equation building, number series
Nonverbal Battery of the Cognitive Abilities Test (grades 3-5) 
* an aptitude test covering the following areas: figure classification, figure analogies and figure analysis

PACE Reading

Reading and Vocabulary Subtests of the Iowa Assessments (grades 2-5)
* an at-level achievement test that could cover the following areas depending on grade level: explicit information, inference, analysis, reading comprehension and vocabulary in context
Verbal Battery of the Cognitive Abilities Test (grades 3-5)
* an aptitude test covering the following areas: picture/verbal classification, sentence completion and picture/verbal analogies
 
All PACE Testing is unique to District 200 and therefore ONLY District 200 tests will be used as qualifiers for the PACE Program. NO outside testing will be accepted for this purpose.

All parents will receive a letter with their student’s test results. Students who qualify for the PACE Program must have parent consent to participate in the program. Students do not need to retest for the program from year to year once they have qualified unless they discontinue participation in our program for a school year. Students may test for the program only once for each school year. There is an Appeal Process following each round of testing for students who do not qualify for the program but whose test results do not reflect their capability. Please contact the PACE Office for more information on the Appeal Process (link found in upper left corner of this page).

MIDDLE SCHOOL PACE PROGRAM, Grades 6 – 8
The goal of the PACE Program is to meet the unique needs of intellectually and academically gifted students. Using State of Illinois guidelines and District 200 criteria, students are identified to participate in the PACE Program, which offers daily instruction in mathematics and/or language arts to students in grades six, seven and eight.
 
Fast Paced Mathematics 
Students identified for participation in Fast Paced Math will take Pre-Algebra in 6th grade, Algebra I in 7th grade and Geometry in 8th grade. The classes meet at each middle school and fulfill a student’s daily math requirement. The curriculum aligns with the Common Core State Standards. The critical content for Algebra I and Geometry are the same as the high school level course offerings; however high school credit is not given for these classes. (Note: Students who qualify for A-Level Geometry in 8th Grade will also need to pass an Algebra 1 summer course with A or B level mastery and the District Algebra I Assessment as prerequisites for this class.)
 
Fast Paced Language Arts
Students identified for participation in Fast Paced Language Arts classes will meet at each middle school and fulfill a student’s daily language arts requirement. The program is academically rigorous and includes compacting grade-level concepts as well as providing enrichment and acceleration. A special emphasis is placed on critical and creative thinking. A list of core novels for each grade level may be obtained from the PACE Office or each middle school’s FPLA teacher. The curriculum is aligned to the Illinois State Standards and the National Council of Teachers of English standards.

Grade 7 and 8 Science for Fast Paced Math Students
Sixth-grade students in Advanced Pre-Algebra are scheduled into this course.  Students in the Fast-Paced Math strand may choose to take a 7th-grade science course which includes chemistry, physics, and earth science. Students in the 8th grade Fast Paced Math strand may choose to take Biology. The critical content for Biology is the same as the high school honors level course offering; however high school credit is not given for this class.

Middle School PACE Program Identification Process
The process used for identifying students eligible for the Fast Paced Math and Fast Paced Language Arts programs includes a Level I Screening and Level II Selection. Students may test only once each school year. New students should contact the PACE Office for testing information, including the testing schedule throughout the school year.
 
Level I Screening 
For all other Middle School PACE classes, parents and/or teachers may recommend students for identification testing. Parents may recommend their children be tested for the PACE Program by contacting the District 200 PACE Office and completing the Parent Referral Forms (link found in the left sidebar of this page).  
 
Level II Selection – students entering 6th grade
Students entering 6th, 7th, and 8th grade who are identified through Level I Screening are administered the following tests:

Fast Paced Mathematics

Mathematics Subtest of the Iowa Assessments
* an at-level achievement test that could cover the following areas depending on grade level: number sense, problem-solving operations with whole numbers, geometry and spatial sense, measurement, data analysis, statistics, probability, patterns, functions and pre-algebra
Quantitative Battery of the Cognitive Abilities Test  
* an aptitude test covering the following areas: number analogies, equation building, number series
Nonverbal Battery of the Cognitive Abilities Test
* an aptitude test covering the following areas: figure classification, figure analogies and figure analysis

To qualify for 8th-grade Fast-Paced Mathematics, students must have a CogAT QN greater or equal to 132 and student scores 85% or higher on the district algebra assessment.

Fast Paced Reading
Reading and Vocabulary Subtests of the Iowa Assessments 
* an at-level achievement test that could cover the following areas depending on grade level: explicit information, inference, analysis, reading comprehension and vocabulary in context
Verbal Battery of the Cognitive Abilities Test 
* an aptitude test covering the following areas: picture/verbal classification, sentence completion, and picture/verbal analogies

All parents will receive a letter with their student’s test results. Students who qualify for the PACE Program must have parental consent to participate in the program. Students do not need to retest for the program from year to year once they have qualified unless they discontinue participation in our program for a school year. Students may test for the program only once for each school year. There is an Appeal Process following each round of testing for students who do not qualify for the program but whose test results do not reflect their capability. Please contact the PACE Office for more information on the Appeal Process.

HIGH SCHOOL COURSES, Grades 9 – 12
Many high school courses are appropriate for intellectually and academically gifted students, including Advanced Level courses and Advanced Placement courses.  Placement for these courses is based on criteria established by the high schools. Please refer to the high school course catalog and Guidance Offices for more information on these programs and placement guidelines. Advanced Placement courses offered at the high schools include AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Programming A, AP English, AP European History, AP Government and Politics, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, and AP U.S. History.

More information about District 200’s PACE Program
is available from the District 200 PACE Office, (630) 682-2023.