LOGOS Lab

The LOGOS Lab program began in 1980 for middle school students with a need for a differentiated instructional program.  Curriculum and identification procedures are approved by the Gifted/Talented Divison of the Indiana Education Department.  Competition is encouraged with self rather than with others so that students may develop their unique strengths and become life-long and self-directed learners. 

The LOGOS Lab program for High Ability students is housed at Test Middle School.  This program was based on Ancient Greek definitions of thinking:

The early Greek thinkers looked at the world about them: cities crumble, iron rusts, teeth decay and the best plans fail. They sought a stability beneath or beyond the instabilities of life: they sought the first principles, the hidden structure of the world.

Logos is Greek for Word and it is used in the deeper sense that an object’s name somehow participates in its reality. When a principle is understood, it is “grasped” – or perhaps the individual is “grasped” by the principle. To express the principles in words is to demonstrate understanding of the complexities of concepts.

LOGOS is a self-contained, multi-grade program for sixth-eighth graders. Students work with certified high ability instructors at least four of five periods each day; language arts and social sciences are combined as a Humanities class and students also study science, math, and French. Students may participate in music, art, physical education, or other elective classes with other Test students during the fifth hour. A key component of the LOGOS Lab is Project Group, where students research a current interest or passion and develop sophisticated presentations to share their learning with others. Successful students in this program tend to be highly motivated, creative thinkers who enjoy this opportunity to pursue their own interests.

Students who are served in the elementary H/A Pull-out program may apply for the LOGOS Lab in the fifth or sixth grade. Students who have not participated in the elementary Pull-out program may also apply. An assessment profile which includes standardized reasoning tests, parent and teacher surveys, and a written response to a prompt is generated for each applicant. A committee of certified high ability teachers and the H/A coordinator reviews profiles and determines placements.