tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/gifted-children-27128/articlesGifted children – The Conversation2022-07-11T12:30:32Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1790622022-07-11T12:30:32Z2022-07-11T12:30:32ZGifted-student screenings often miss poor students who should qualify<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468296/original/file-20220610-28923-w6iof2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C81%2C5973%2C3919&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some students aren't identified as gifted but should qualify.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/school-children-teacher-having-class-outside-with-royalty-free-image/1049275916">Klaus Vedfelt/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>High-achieving students from low-income backgrounds are half as likely to be placed in a gifted program as their more affluent peers, according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01623532211063936">a study we published in 2022</a>.</p>
<p>Arkansas, like all the other states, has a unique process for identifying gifted kids. We wondered whether <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721412455052">academically advanced</a> students – the top 5% of scorers in math and literacy, who are ready for greater academic challenges – would be placed as gifted irrespective of their socioeconomic background. We examined test scores of third grade students from 2014 to 2019. </p>
<p>We found that of the 4,330 students who made up the top 5%, 1,310 – about 30% – were left out of gifted programming. This rate of identification was about equal across various racial backgrounds, but economic differences mattered. Among low-income students, about 37% were missed, a greater proportion than the overall number.</p>
<p>Once we statistically controlled for variation in district enrollment, location, region and differences in gifted selection or school policies, being from a low-income family was associated with a 50% lower likelihood of being identified as gifted relative to similar peers from higher-income backgrounds.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>States have <a href="https://www.nagc.org/gifted-state">different gifted identification policies</a>. In Arkansas, students are first <a href="https://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Files/20201223145241_2009_GT_Revised_Program_Approval_Standards.pdf">nominated</a> by parents, school personnel or community members. Next they are evaluated on multiple measures, including a creativity test. Finally, a team of educators uses all the information to make the placement decision.</p>
<p>Nationally, students from disadvantaged communities, such as low-income communities and communities of color, are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/001698620605000103">underrepresented</a> and are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986216656256">less likely to be nominated</a> for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858415622175">gifted programs</a> than other students. </p>
<p>Other research has found that when nomination is a first step, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986216656256">some gifted students are missed</a>, particularly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2332858415622175">those from low-income backgrounds</a>. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1605043113">screening all students</a> significantly improves the chances that a disadvantaged student who is gifted will be identified for gifted programs.</p>
<p>We suggest using state standardized tests as universal screeners to increase the number of low-income and other disadvantaged students in gifted programs. These tests are already given to all students, so districts could use the tests without added expense.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>We do not know what specific measures were taken into account when students were placed into their school’s gifted programs or not. </p>
<p>We examined gifted identification rates of students scoring in the top 5% in both math and literacy in Arkansas. We do not know why so many high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds were not identified as gifted, but we hypothesize the difference may be the result of inconsistent identification practices. </p>
<p>Wealthy parents may be more active in seeking and providing services for their children. And low-income families may lack information, available programs or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986219833738">access</a> to testing services to identify gifted students.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Future research can provide insight into why academically advanced students from economically struggling backgrounds are left out of gifted programs. We would like to know more about how decisions are being made and what criteria are being used to identify students for gifted programs. In addition, ensuring programming matches student needs might lead to serving more students who are ready to learn something new each day.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179062/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Wai receives funding from the Walton Family Foundation, Schmidt Futures, and the Institute for Education Sciences for projects related to gifted education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span><a href="mailto:scmcken@uark.edu">scmcken@uark.edu</a> receives funding from the Walton Family Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bich Thi Ngoc Tran does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Common methods for identifying gifted students often miss students from lower-income families who should qualify for gifted programs.Bich Thi Ngoc Tran, Research Associate, The Dartmouth Institute, Dartmouth CollegeJonathan Wai, Assistant Professor of Education Policy and Psychology and Endowed Chair, University of ArkansasSarah McKenzie, Executive Director of the Office for Education Policy, University of ArkansasLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1714572022-01-10T13:39:02Z2022-01-10T13:39:02ZWatch for these conflicts over education in 2022<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439216/original/file-20220103-37443-15i668j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C21%2C3631%2C2402&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Louisiana residents object to mask mandates at a state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting in August 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakLouisiana/63969424eeb445a0bd0a8c217e038a34/photo">AP Photo/Melinda Deslatte</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At school board meetings across the country in 2021, parents engaged in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/14/us/loudoun-county-school-board-va.html">physical altercations</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/back-to-school-live-updates/2021/08/30/1032417970/school-board-members-hostile-meetings-mask-mandates-politicized">shouted at</a> school board members and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/16/podcasts/the-daily/school-boards-mask-mandates-crt-bucks-county.html">threatened them as well</a>.</p>
<p>These disagreements entered state politics, too, such as the 2021 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/12/us/politics/virginia-governor-republicans-schools.html?referringSource=articleShare">Virginia governor’s race</a>, which was largely shaped by conflicts over the <a href="https://www.baconsrebellion.com/wp/yes-virginia-there-is-critical-race-theory-in-our-schools/">how issues of race and racism are taught in the K-12 curriculum</a>, and <a href="https://www.virginiamercury.com/2021/10/29/in-2020-the-legislature-passed-a-transgender-students-rights-law-it-largely-hasnt-been-enforced/">transgender student rights</a>. </p>
<p>Our September 2021 article in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08959048211042567">Educational Policy</a> explains that the short-term conflicts that generate media attention – such as about <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/schools-face-fears-of-critical-race-theory-as-they-scale-up-social-emotional-learning/2021/12">critical race theory</a> across the nation – are part of long-standing ideological debates about education. These conflicts are about issues such as who deserves academic opportunity, what the parameters of public education are and whether schools and universities ought to promote a positive image of the U.S. or explore its shortcomings. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nezgztgAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">researchers</a> who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OomuRokAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">study conflicts in education</a>, we see clashes like these continuing into 2022.</p>
<h2>1. Virtual education</h2>
<p>In 2022, expect conflicts over virtual school offerings to intensify, especially as the omicron variant surges and as some states push toward <a href="https://edsource.org/2021/california-school-vaccine-mandate-coming-soon-but-questions-remain/662985">vaccine mandates</a> for all students. At stake is whether parents should have control over how public funds are spent on educating their children, and the potential effects of diverting those funds away from traditional public schools. </p>
<p>In fall 2021, U.S. school leaders largely <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/most-schools-are-teaching-in-person-this-school-year-latest-fed-data-say/2021/12">shifted their services back to in-person instruction</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-year-off-to-a-rocky-start-4-ways-parents-can-help-kids-get-back-on-track-167609">after shutdowns and remote instruction</a> dominated the initial response to the coronavirus pandemic. </p>
<p>However, demand for home-schooling and virtual schooling <a href="https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai21-463.pdf">has risen</a>, as some parents discover that these forms of education offer greater flexibility in scheduling, control over curriculum and safety from the coronavirus. In Washington state, for example, enrollments in publicly funded virtual schools operated by for-profit companies have increased dramatically, such as Washington Virtual Academies, which <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/washingtons-for-profit-online-schools-attract-nearly-6000-more-students-this-school-year/">expanded enrollments by an estimated 85%</a> between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years. Similar <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/covid-19-fuels-big-enrollment-increases-in-virtual-schools/2020/09">trends happened</a> in school districts across the country.</p>
<p>Enrollment data for the 2021-2022 school year are still emerging, but some school choice <a href="https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/taubman/programs-research/pepg/events/school-choice">experts</a> have argued that parental demand for virtual education is here to stay. However, in another research project, one of us found that students who switch to online schools <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20909814">experience substantial learning losses</a> in reading and math during each of the three years after switching. That evidence has forced policymakers to consider <a href="https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/state-committee-recommends-big-shift-for-virtual-charter-school-rules">greater regulation</a> of online schools, even as more parents consider taking their children out of traditional public schools and putting them in virtual ones.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439217/original/file-20220103-117041-1ln4m7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Students sit at computers, separated by clear plastic barriers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439217/original/file-20220103-117041-1ln4m7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439217/original/file-20220103-117041-1ln4m7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439217/original/file-20220103-117041-1ln4m7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439217/original/file-20220103-117041-1ln4m7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439217/original/file-20220103-117041-1ln4m7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439217/original/file-20220103-117041-1ln4m7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439217/original/file-20220103-117041-1ln4m7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Schools’ decisions to provide in-person or virtual education sparked concern and conflict in 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreak-SchoolDropouts/4fa2bc85087940e9b78914cac886b780/photo">AP Photo/Charlie Riedel</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Affirmative action</h2>
<p>Affirmative action and similar policies in college admissions have always generated controversy, and 2022 will likely be no different. This year, a case that began in 2014 will reach the U.S. Supreme Court. That case, <a href="https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/massachusetts/madce/1:2014cv14176/165519/386">Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard University</a>, alleges that Harvard’s race-conscious admissions policies discriminate against Asian applicants. </p>
<p>The case has worked its way through the court system with a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/19/us/affirmative-action-lawsuits.html">national roster of affluent plaintiffs</a>. This group has filed multiple unsuccessful lawsuits across the U.S., including an October 2021 loss in a similar case over admissions at the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/university-north-carolina-defeats-challenge-race-based-admissions-policies-2021-10-19/">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</a>.</p>
<p>Similar lawsuits have also sprung up in <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/Lowell-High-lottery-admission-likely-to-remain-16705599.php">San Francisco</a> and <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/09/26/metro/secrecy-around-exam-school-admission-data-prompts-lawsuit/">Boston</a> over school districts’ efforts to make access to academically selective public schools more representative of student populations. These suits reflect broader ideological tensions over who deserves a well-funded, elite education and the government’s responsibility to protect that access.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439219/original/file-20220103-25-k4qe4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A student works at a desk while a teacher sits in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439219/original/file-20220103-25-k4qe4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439219/original/file-20220103-25-k4qe4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439219/original/file-20220103-25-k4qe4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439219/original/file-20220103-25-k4qe4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439219/original/file-20220103-25-k4qe4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439219/original/file-20220103-25-k4qe4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439219/original/file-20220103-25-k4qe4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teachers unions wielded significant power over how schools responded to the coronavirus pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/first-grade-student-alexis-tenorio-works-on-an-english-news-photo/1232327829">Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Teachers unions</h2>
<p>In 2022, look to teachers unions to continue to assert themselves in the face of ongoing efforts by <a href="https://californiaglobe.com/articles/ca-parents-seek-to-abolish-the-california-teachers-association/">parent</a> and <a href="https://teacherfreedom.org">advocacy groups</a> to limit their power.</p>
<p>Over the past year teachers unions effectively negotiated the implementation of health safeguards against the spread of COVID-19
in <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/teachers-union-approves-deal-chicago-schools-return-class-n1257247">Chicago</a>, <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/de-blasio-agrees-to-delay-school-reopening-to-avoid-teacher-strike/">New York City</a> and <a href="https://www.dailynews.com/2021/09/22/lausd-strikes-deal-with-teachers-union-to-provide-quarantine-instruction/">Los Angeles</a>. These unions secured protective measures such as virtual instruction, priority vaccine access for teachers, medical and personal leave related to COVID-19, explicit metrics to determine when schools would close, district-provided personal protective equipment for teachers and classroom air filtration systems. </p>
<p>While the pandemic dominates union activity at present, and <a href="https://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai20-304">many unions have not negotiated significant concessions</a>, these wins signal unions’ strategic and legal capacity to negotiate around issues such as compensation and working conditions. Given <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59687947">current shortages of qualified teachers</a>, unions’ negotiation power may intensify. </p>
<h2>4. Gifted programs</h2>
<p>In 2022, gifted education may become a national debate. So far it has been prominent in New York City, but that may spread.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/15/nyregion/eric-adams-gifted-talented-nyc-schools.html">Mayor Eric Adams</a> said he intends to keep gifted programs in place. Gifted programs offer accelerated learning opportunities for students who score at the top of their class on standardized tests. Critics, such as the <a href="https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/1c478c_f14e1d13df45444c883bbf6590129bd7.pdf">School Diversity Advisory Group commissioned by former Mayor Bill de Blasio</a>, argue that gifted programs segregate students by race, since research has shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858415622175">students of color are underrepresented</a> in these programs. </p>
<p>In California, policymakers have <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-05-20/california-controversial-math-overhaul-focuses-on-equity">unveiled a plan</a> to address this issue by grouping students of different mathematical ability in the same classrooms until their junior year. Only then will students be able to select advanced math courses, such as calculus or statistics. </p>
<p>This move may revive the 1980s’ so-called “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/book/the-tracking-wars/">tracking wars</a>,” an intense debate over whether students should be offered different levels of curriculum based on their test scores. As other states and districts <a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-new-york-education-new-york-city-race-and-ethnicity-0f3d92179ff20b45c4747d3c84a026a2">consider overhauling their own gifted programs</a>, these short-term conflicts will likely add energy to the existing national fight concerning what role the education system should play in addressing inequality in the United States. </p>
<p>In all of these conflicts, be prepared in 2022 for policy advocates to use both conventional and unconventional strategies to advance their efforts. Further, expect those advocates to include politically and economically powerful actors as well as those who rarely have a voice in policy conversations. </p>
<p>In our research, which spanned the years 2010 to 2020, we saw conventional conflict actions such as <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/02/19/695856032/w-va-teachers-go-on-strike-over-state-education-bill">teacher strikes</a>, <a href="https://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/02/19/months-after-protests-jeffco-board-scraps-ap-us-history-curriculum-review/">community protests</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/louisiana-gov-bobby-jindal-sues-obama-over-common-core-state-standards/2014/08/27/34d98102-2dfb-11e4-bb9b-997ae96fad33_story.html">lawsuits</a>. However, we also saw the successful use of less common efforts to challenge local, state and federal education policy, such as <a href="https://greensboro.com/news/local_news/deutsche-bank-cancels-job-expansion-in-cary-due-to-hb2/article_fea19dc6-e2c6-575d-adb9-d4a435d2863f.html">canceled business investments</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/11/the-surprising-revolt-at-reed/544682/">classroom sit-ins</a>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jonathan-butler-how-grad-students-hunger-strike-toppled-university-president-n460161">a student hunger strike</a>, <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2015/11/3/21093016/jeffco-school-board-members-who-pushed-controversial-changes-ousted-in-recall">school board recall votes</a>, <a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article163339228.html">teacher panhandling</a>, <a href="https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20180628/OPINION/180629917/stuyvesant-s-valedictorian-find-a-way-to-diversify-my-school">pointed valedictorian speeches</a> and even <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/08/455216375/missouri-football-players-strike-to-demand-ouster-of-university-president">college football players’ threat to walk out on scheduled revenue-generating games</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171457/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph J. Ferrare has received funding from the National Science Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Spencer Foundation, and U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Phillippo has received funding from the Spencer Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.</span></em></p>Short-term disputes are really symptoms of deeper divisions in the US over who deserves academic opportunity, and how to present the nation’s history.Joseph J. Ferrare, Assistant Professor of Education Policy and Data Visualization, University of Washington, BothellKate Phillippo, Professor of Social Work and Education, Loyola University ChicagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1573812021-03-26T12:30:48Z2021-03-26T12:30:48ZEnding testing for New York City’s gifted program may be another blow to Black and Latino students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391284/original/file-20210323-2323-1l3usfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C17%2C5716%2C3811&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New York City public school students attend a meeting with school board officials in January 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/new-york-city-public-school-students-meet-with-board-of-news-photo/1203098814?adppopup=true">Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After years of relying on a single controversial test at age 4 for admission to their gifted programs, New York City schools are about to embark upon a new way to identify gifted students. </p>
<p>The city’s Department of Education announced in February that it would <a href="https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2021/2/17/22288448/nyc-gifted-admissions-2021">stop testing students</a> for its gifted program, which places top students in schools with curriculum designed for high academic achievement. Instead, preschool teachers will refer students for consideration.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/meisha-porter-is-the-first-black-woman-chancellor-of-nyc-schools-here-are-the-challenges-she-will-face-156725">The city’s new schools chancellor, Meisha Porter</a>, who was named to that post March 15, has said that overhauling the gifted and talented system is one of her <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-citys-new-school-leader-says-integrating-gifted-program-a-top-priority-11614610857">top priorities</a>. That means the new system likely won’t be long-term, though there’s still reason to be concerned. <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1177/2332858415622175">Research has shown</a> that teacher referrals tend to lead to fewer Black and Hispanic students’ qualifying for gifted programs, though Black teachers refer Black students more equitably.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://jlakin.people.ua.edu/">education researcher</a> who studies how test data can help teachers tailor their lessons to students’ needs, I believe gifted education is a vital service to help students with exceptional academic ability realize their full potential.</p>
<h2>A fraught program to begin with</h2>
<p>NYC’s old system was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/09/nyregion/nyc-schools-segregation-lawsuit.html">rife with inequities</a> and is due for an overhaul. But I worry the new system will be another blow to children and families of color – a group that has already <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/09/23/914427907/as-pandemic-deaths-add-up-racial-disparities-persist-and-in-some-cases-worsen">suffered disproportionately</a> during the pandemic.</p>
<p>That’s not because the system was an exemplar of best practices, but because the system’s practices were so <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-teaching-the-gifted-after-the-test-20210119-uwhnyjsevbdlfpevyhgfmfzzf4-story.html">consistently criticized</a> by gifted education experts. Its <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/09/nyregion/nyc-schools-segregation-lawsuit.html">visible failures in equity</a> could sway public opinion against gifted programs more broadly.</p>
<p>Here are the key criticisms equity advocates had of New York City’s gifted and talented identification process:</p>
<h2>1. It tested young children for high-stakes decisions</h2>
<p>For years, advocates for students in NYC <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/04/nyregion/nyc-gifted-talented-test.html">have argued</a> that using high-stakes tests on 4-year-olds to determine their school placement for the entire K-12 experience is unfair. It <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0016986220937685">disadvantages students who didn’t attend academic-style pre-K</a> or early enrichment programs.</p>
<p>Researchers have also demonstrated how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986220941587">access to information</a> added to the advantage some parents had in New York City. These parents knew about the testing process, signed up for the testing at higher rates, and could pay for test prep programs to optimize their children’s chances of selection.</p>
<h2>2. It used ‘one and done’ identification</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/national-standards-gifted-and-talented-education/pre-k-grade-12">standards</a> from the National Association for Gifted Children, a leading organization promoting gifted education, emphasize that students should have opportunities throughout their K-12 education to demonstrate the need for advanced or accelerated instruction – usually provided through gifted education services. </p>
<p>Any test administered at age 4 will quickly cease to provide useful information, as <a href="https://www.gwern.net/docs/iq/1988-humphreys.pdf">students develop at different rates</a>. Some accelerate during the elementary or high school years, while others who initially looked precocious settle into average achievement.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZUMhHctbElM0gBI8s8Yr01ciScoBAsaL">2006 study</a> showed that of the students who scored in the top 5% on a test in one year, about half will score in the top 5% the next year. In other words, if they were tested again the following year, up to half of “gifted” students wouldn’t make the cut. </p>
<h2>3. It limited which students fully realize their potential</h2>
<p>Selecting students for a full-time gifted program means that students who excel in one or more academic areas, such as English and verbal expression, but not in others, such as math or science, will be overlooked. </p>
<p>Among highly able students, research suggests <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eIqgrKY5NDDEwBWzJ8cpJbr5DMy7d-BU/view">at least 15%</a> have at least one academic area that is markedly weaker than their others.</p>
<h2>Impact on lower-income families</h2>
<p>As news reports have drawn <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/01/13/nyc-doe-racist-segregation-brooklyn-specialized-high-school-exam-gifted/2763549001/">national attention</a> to New York City’s decisions, <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/03/09/nyc-students-sue-to-end-caste-system-within-gifted-programs/">activists</a> have called for dismantling these types of programs <a href="https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/01/24/42658513/seattle-school-board-takes-steps-to-dismantle-gifted-program">across the country</a>. <a href="https://kappanonline.org/problem-giftedness-roda/">They argue</a> that gifted programs are unnecessary, and that regular classroom teachers can serve all students at once.</p>
<p>But research shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986217701834">many students</a> start the school year performing well above grade level and are left to become bored and <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1177/0014402914527244">not reach their full potential</a>.</p>
<p>And when public schools don’t offer services to high-achieving students, it’s natural that many parents in high-income families will seek out private services and additional opportunities for their children. Kids from low-income families, however, have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/elite-public-schools-ditch-exams/2021/03/05/786a3d7a-7d19-11eb-b3d1-9e5aa3d5220c_story.html">fewer options to supplement</a> their school experience. </p>
<p>By failing students with advanced academic needs who come from underrepresented groups, New York City’s Department of Education risks losing the entire gifted program. I believe new solutions must be systemic and targeted – like those taking place <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/an-illinois-district-proved-gifted-programs-can-be-racially-diverse/">outside Chicago</a> that have expanded the number of students served by these programs and give all students full consideration to identify their academic talents. An overhaul is possible, but it has to start with evidence-based practices, not quick fixes.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157381/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joni Lakin is affiliated with Riverside Insights as the author of the Cognitive Abilities Test (R), Form 8. She receives U.S. federal funding for her academic research.</span></em></p>Teacher referrals will replace standardized testing. That could disadvantage already-underrepresented students.Joni Lakin, Associate Professor of Educational Studies, University of AlabamaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1521392020-12-18T15:10:50Z2020-12-18T15:10:50ZFrom IQ tests and sperm banks to The Queen’s Gambit: a history of gifted children<p>In Netflix hit The Queen’s Gambit, we see young orphan Beth Harmon discover her talent for competitive chess. During a game played in the orphanage basement, Harmon’s chess tutor, the janitor, tells the nine-year-old: “To tell you the truth of it, child, you’re astounding” – contrasting her youth and naivety to her seemingly inherent gift. </p>
<p>The series ends with Harmon as a young woman, competing in chess competitions at the highest level. The executive producer of the series, William Horberg, has said that they’re unlikely to make a second series. “Maybe we can just let the audience imagine what comes next,” he told <a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a34398206/the-queens-gambit-season-2/">Town and Country</a> magazine.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-jennifer-crane">research</a> looks into the question of “what next?” for so-called child genuises like Beth Harmon, and how the “gifted” label affects their lives. </p>
<h2>Growing up gifted</h2>
<p>Interest in measuring the intelligence of children grew during the 20th century. The first IQ tests were developed <a href="https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/WtR31CUAAEhq9ZHV">in the early 1900s</a>, looking to identify children in need of educational support. Later evaluations used IQ testing but also hormonal levels, patterns of sleep, metabolism, blood markers <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ng.3869">or genetics</a> to try to understand and quantify “intelligence”.</p>
<p>All of these tests assume that we should try to assess intelligence at all, and do so in children from as young an age as possible – that we must identify our talented Beth Harmons. But should we really? And what happens to these genius children when they grow up?</p>
<p>Historical archives can help answer this question, because we have been testing gifted children for so long. By the 1990s, in particular, newspapers and voluntary groups were obsessed with tracing and reporting on these children’s lives.</p>
<p>One <a href="https://www.gale.com/intl/c/daily-mail-historical-archive">formerly gifted child told the Daily Mail in 1995</a> about their experience. At primary school, the child would spend mornings “model[ling] Plasticine like everybody else”, he said. But in the afternoons he would receive special tuition from the headmistress in quadratic equations. For children like this, the “gifted” label was useful, enabling special provision, often informally or from voluntary groups, and new peer networks.</p>
<p>While in The Queen’s Gambit, Beth Harmon goes from a chess prodigy to excelling at the highest level as an adult, historically any “typical” path for gifted children is far more mundane.</p>
<p>Testimonies in historical newspapers and the archives of Britain’s National Association for Gifted Children are replete with adults who had this diagnosis as children, used it to access new services, types of education, and leisure activities, and then went on to live ordinary, “normal” lives.</p>
<p>In 1991, one mother wrote to the National Association to emphasise how important this label had been within her family. She was herself a highly intelligent child, “keen to learn but not what they were teaching at school”. She had consequently “slipped through the net” of education. She had failed the 11+ examination, left school with few qualifications, and had a career she found unrewarding. </p>
<p>By contrast, when she noticed that her son was also very able, she had him tested by an educational psychologist. Declared gifted, the family were able to find a public school where he excelled. The child had entered university and was “thoroughly enjoying himself”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Young girl solving maths problem on whiteboard" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375699/original/file-20201217-13-14fcmx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375699/original/file-20201217-13-14fcmx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375699/original/file-20201217-13-14fcmx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375699/original/file-20201217-13-14fcmx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375699/original/file-20201217-13-14fcmx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375699/original/file-20201217-13-14fcmx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375699/original/file-20201217-13-14fcmx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many children labelled as gifted go on to live normal lives.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-african-girl-writing-solution-sums-1078335890">Rido/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Problematic ideas</h2>
<p>Yet at its extreme, the obsession with identifying gifted children has veered into eugenics.</p>
<p>In 1971, <a href="https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/Wug6ByIAAEUwy-1k">Robert Graham</a> founded the <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Genius-Factory-Curious-History-Nobel/dp/0812970527">Repository of Germinal Choice</a>, informally called the “Nobel Prize sperm bank”. Graham was a eugenicist, who sought to “improve” the human population through breeding. His aim was to provide sperm from “the brightest men” to women for free, as he was concerned that developments in medical science were “keeping more of the defective population alive than ever before”.</p>
<p>Doron Blake was the second child of the 240 born from the repository. Blake’s mother spoke to several journalists throughout his childhood, who duly reported on his extraordinary intellect, mathematical ability, and interest in <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-11-01-tm-17535-story.html">building complex toys</a>.</p>
<p>When Blake reached 18 in 2001, he began to feature in <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/spermbank/doron/index_textonly.shtml">profiles and documentaries</a> himself. Rather than trumpet his achievements, Blake used the media attention to critique the very idea of the gifted child, arguing that the label distorted public understanding of which human attributes were valuable. Blake emphasised that his IQ did not make him “good”: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The thing I like best about myself is not that I’m smart but that I care about people and try to make other people’s <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2001/03/the-nobel-sperm-bank-celebrity.html">lives better</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Blake argued that the gifted label was no route to life satisfaction – his IQ did not make him happy. These comments were similar to those from other formerly gifted children: one told the Daily Mail in 1981 that “there is more to life than studying” and “being gifted does not make you a person more <a href="https://www.gale.com/intl/c/daily-mail-historical-archive">likely to succeed</a>”.</p>
<p>The social value placed on intelligence has had dangerous effects. Eugenics had a powerful influence in the early twentieth century in particular. In an American ruling of 1927, the US Supreme Court legislated that citizens with intellectual disabilities could <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-iq-test-wars-why-screening-for-intelligence-is-still-so-controversial-81428">face sterilisation</a>.</p>
<p>These ideas continued into the mid-20th century: <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781137497659">research has demonstrated</a> that ideas of genius and human value underlay the charismatic leadership, oppression, and mass genocide of Nazi Germany. </p>
<p>Even as recently as the late 20th century, IQ tests have continued to lead to deeply discriminatory and damaging effects. In a US case filed in 1971, courts in California conceded that IQ testing had been biased against <a href="https://www.edweek.org/education/court-finds-i-q-tests-racially-biased-for-black-pupils-placement/1984/02">black students</a>, leaving them overly represented in special education classes. This was likewise the case <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520293854/thinking-black">in Britain</a>.</p>
<p>These histories are troublingly recent. We know that for many children historically, the label gifted has helped them to access new services and to live happier lives. Yet we also know that intelligence tests are biased towards groups who are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001698628703100403">already privileged</a>, disproportionately identifying white, middle-class boys as gifted. While all children need specialist support in education, the impulse to glorify the gifted may be best left in the past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152139/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Crane receives funding from the Wellcome Trust, grant number: 212449/Z/18/Z, 'Constructing the 'Gifted Child': Psychology, Family, and Identity in Britain since 1945'.</span></em></p>Is it really necessary to identify gifted children?Jennifer Crane, Research Fellow in the History of Medicine, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1305062020-10-14T12:28:20Z2020-10-14T12:28:20ZSchools often fail to identify gifted and talented students – especially if they are Black, Latino or Native American<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362033/original/file-20201006-24-1skvfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C222%2C5120%2C3188&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Not all students have equal access to gifted and talented services.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mother-and-daughter-examining-molecular-model-royalty-free-image/597315623">JGI/Jamie Grill via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>About a decade ago, I was working with a large, urban school district on creating a <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/blogs/research/post/inequity-persists-in-gifted-programs">gifted and talented program</a> that would include all kids, regardless of their race or income.</p>
<p>In this district, Black children and children from poor families were rarely identified for gifted education services. These services include enrichment, special classes and focused projects intended to help students excel in areas in which they show signs of <a href="https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/frequently-asked-questions-about-gifted-education">exceptional potential and talents</a>. </p>
<p>I visited one school, near a prestigious university in an upscale neighborhood, where 48% of all students received services for gifted and talented students. There, about 50% were white, 22% Black and 12% Asian. Few were being raised in low-income families. At another school I visited a short 10-minute drive away, no students were identified. This school was located in a poor neighborhood. Ninety-eight percent of the students were Black, and all of them qualified for <a href="https://theconversation.com/americas-poorest-children-wont-get-nutritious-meals-with-school-cafeterias-closed-due-to-the-coronavirus-133341">free or reduced-price meals</a>.</p>
<p>Having reviewed national data in detail as <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=l8gCgZ8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">scholars of gifted and talented education</a>, my colleagues and I have found that inequities like this exist across the country and in most school districts. </p>
<h2>State report cards</h2>
<p>First, we examined census data from the Office of Civil Rights for the years 2000, 2012, 2014 and 2016 regarding <a href="https://ocrdata.ed.gov/">gifted students from every U.S. public school</a> to see how many students attend schools that identify youth with gifts and talents. We found that 42% of public schools did not identify a single student.</p>
<p>Then, we looked for patterns regarding race and ethnicity and income levels among the schools that do screen students and designate some of them as gifted and talented.</p>
<p>When we <a href="https://www.education.purdue.edu/geri/new-publications/gifted-education-in-the-united-states/">published our findings</a> in 2019, we issued report cards for every state and for the U.S. overall. We gave 17 states failing grades because fewer than 60% of their public schools identified anyone as gifted and talented. Six more got a D. </p>
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<h2>Racial and ethnic disparities</h2>
<p>Interestingly, we found that Black, Asian, white and Latino children were equally likely to attend schools that identified gifted students, although Native American students were less likely. As a result, we determined that access alone does not explain why Black and Latino students are underrepresented in gifted education.</p>
<p>I consider these racial inequities to be staggering.</p>
<p>About <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_cge.pdf">15% of all students are Black</a>, but only 8.5% of students identified as gifted and talented are Black. Roughly 27% of students are Latino, yet only 18% of the students determined to be gifted and talented are Latino. This pattern also holds for Native American and Native Hawaiian students.</p>
<p>Nearly 59% of gifted and talented students are white even though only 48% of all students are white. Asian students are even more disproportionately represented: They comprise 5% of all students, but nearly 10% of students identified with gifts and talents.</p>
<p>Along with racial and ethnic patterns, we found that poverty played a role. </p>
<p>High-poverty schools are slightly more likely to identify students as gifted than others. Despite that, they identified only about 58% as many gifted students as low-poverty schools – those largely attended by more affluent children.</p>
<p>Nationally, only 8% of the students attending high-poverty schools were identified, versus 13.5% of students of students enrolled at low-poverty schools.</p>
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<h2>‘Missing’ students</h2>
<p>There were <a href="https://www.education.purdue.edu/geri/new-publications/gifted-education-in-the-united-states/">3.3 million U.S. students</a> identified as having gifts and talents in the 2015-2016 school year. Based on our findings, we estimate that even more – another 3.6 million – ought to be designated this way. </p>
<p>These students are missing from the official data because their school does not identify any students as gifted and talented, they attend a high-poverty school or because they are Black, Latino or belong to another underidentified group.</p>
<p>For example, only 276,840 Black students were identified as gifted and talented in 2016. We estimate that as many as 771,728 would be identified this way if systems were working properly.</p>
<h2>Fixing the problem</h2>
<p>Many students benefit when they receive <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2009.10.012">gifted and talented services</a> at school. They become more motivated to learn and more likely to earn good grades, while developing positive social and emotional skills.</p>
<p>In previous research, my colleagues and I found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1932202X17715304">students from underserved groups</a> who receive gifted and talented services at school benefit <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w20453">even more than their affluent classmates</a>. </p>
<p>One way schools can make the process more equitable is by letting students qualify for these programs in multiple ways. This helps because a single test, on which privileged students may outscore others, does not serve as the only or the most important avenue to being identified as a gifted and talented student.</p>
<p>I believe that all schools should examine their current systems for identifying students with gifts and talents with an eye toward equity. If needed, they should step up their efforts to ensure that students from underserved communities get a fair shot, and also develop programs to nurture these students – as the school district I advised a decade ago eventually managed to do.</p>
<p>[<em>Insight, in your inbox each day.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=insight">You can get it with The Conversation’s email newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marcia Gentry receives funding from the Jack Kent Cooke and Purdue Research Foundations. The finding of her research are her own and do not represent the views of either foundation. </span></em></p>Racial, ethnic and class inequities regarding gifted and talented services are found in most school districts.Marcia Gentry, Professor of Educational Studies; Director, Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute, Purdue UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1322352020-07-28T12:14:23Z2020-07-28T12:14:23ZMany students with the potential to excel in STEM fields struggle in school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349005/original/file-20200722-34-1a2ququ.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C3653%2C2598&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What else might she build someday?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/little-girl-with-pig-tails-playing-with-legos-at-royalty-free-image/176829483">Kobyakov/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Students who have the kinds of talent scientists and engineers need to solve problems by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016127">visualizing how objects could be rotated, combined or changed in three dimensions</a> often struggle at school. These students, whose strong spatial talents allow them to imagine new technological innovations, generally fare worse than their <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/29/16720.short">classmates who excel at English and math</a>. In addition, as we observed in an article recently published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12343">British Journal of Educational Psychology</a>, there’s some evidence that spatially gifted and talented people are less likely to go to college. And, if they do enroll, they’re less likely to get their degrees.</p>
<p>After looking at three major databases that are representative of the U.S. population and that span six decades, we estimate that between 2 million and 3 million K-12 U.S. students may have spatial talents and are not be getting the <a href="https://www.prufrock.com/Serving-Visual-Spatial-Learners-P1767.aspx">specialized support they need</a> to flourish between kindergarten and high school. We found that these students were more likely to dislike school and to have trouble paying attention in class. Compared to other gifted and talented students, spatially talented kids tend to be less organized and less likely to turn in their homework on time.</p>
<p>We also found that spatially talented children and teens were more likely to be suspended from school or get in trouble with the law compared to students with math or verbal talents. Our findings suggest that students whose strengths in spatial reasoning could make them especially adept in science, technology, engineering and math as well as many <a href="https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/why-spatial-reasoning-matters-for-education-policy/#:%7E:text=Spatial%20reasoning%20is%20linked%20to,being%20identified%20or%20developed%20effectively.">hands-on vocational fields</a> and the <a href="https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0016127">visual arts</a> are missing out on making the most of their potential.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Spatial thinking is part of everyday life. It’s what you rely on when you pack a suitcase or decide how to cut a tray of brownies into 10 pieces. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it8SCZGdqvc">Video game fans tap these skills</a> whenever they move squares and blocks around while playing Tetris and Minecraft.</p>
<p>Students with exceptional spatial skills should be eligible for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-102846">gifted and talented</a> services and given personalized support. But many never register on their school’s radar. It’s not unusual for them to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2372732215621310">fail to complete high school</a> or, if they do graduate, to not attend college. For years, <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.126.8184">researchers have speculated</a> about this problem, without proving that it exists.</p>
<h2>What other research is being done</h2>
<p>Other researchers are seeking ways to help students <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028446">with less developed spatial thinking skills</a> strengthen them. The goal is seeing if that helps them master <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ889152">science, technology</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028446">engineering and math</a> before college, making it possible for these students to pursue related careers.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>We still want to discover why these students <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00028312035003515">often struggle in school</a>. Is it because they’re bored and act out? Do they tend to have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986210382575">specific learning disabilities</a> that hamper their reading and other skills? Another big question is what K-12 educators can do to help these students become more successful. We’re also developing a new system that schools can use to get better at identifying students with extraordinary spatial skills.</p>
<p>If you wonder if you have these spatial thinking skills, <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/iq/visual-spatial-intelligence-test">try this quiz shared by Psychology Today</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132235/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joni Lakin receives funding from the National Science Foundation and Office for Naval Research. She is affiliated with Riverside Insights as an author of the Cognitive Abilities Test. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Wai received funding from the American Psychological Foundation Esther Katz Rosen Fund Grant to conduct research highlighted in this article.</span></em></p>Students with exceptional spatial skills should be eligible for gifted and talented services and given personalized support. But many schools fail to identify and engage these children.Joni Lakin, Associate Professor of Educational Studies, University of AlabamaJonathan Wai, Assistant Professor of Education Policy and Psychology and Endowed Chair, University of ArkansasLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1077182019-01-21T18:42:21Z2019-01-21T18:42:21ZHow to identify, understand and teach gifted children<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253354/original/file-20190111-43510-1qps0px.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gifted students learn faster than their peers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is a longer read at just under 2,000 words. Enjoy!</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The beginning of the 2019 school year will be a time of planning and crystal-gazing. Teachers will plan their instructional agenda in a general way. Students will think about another year at school. Parents will reflect on how their children might progress this year.</p>
<p>One group of students who will probably attract less attention are the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/gifted-and-talented-students-are-neglected-by-our-schools-20160928-grqd6c.html">gifted learners</a>. These students have a capacity for talent, creativity and innovative ideas. They could be our future Einsteins. </p>
<p>They will do this only if we support them to learn in an appropriate way. And yet, there is less likely to be explicit planning and provision throughout 2019 to support these students. They’re more likely to be overlooked or even ignored. </p>
<h2>Giftedness in the media</h2>
<p>You may have noticed the recent interest in gifted learning and education in the media. <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/program/child-genius">Child Genius on SBS</a> provided a glimpse of what the brains of some young students can do. </p>
<figure>
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</figure>
<p>We can only marvel at their ability to store large amounts of information in memory, spell words correctly they’d probably not heard before and unscramble complex anagrams.</p>
<p>The Insight program on SBS, provided another perspective. </p>
<figure>
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<p>Students identified as gifted explained how they learned and their experiences with formal education. Most accounts pointed to a clear mismatch between how they preferred to learn and how they were taught. </p>
<h2>Twice exceptional</h2>
<p>The students on the Insight program showed the flipsides of the gifted education story. While some gifted students show high academic success – the academically gifted students, others show lower academic success – the “<a href="https://medium.com/@bigmindsunschool/characteristics-of-2e-children-5ad7d3c91c38">twice exceptional</a>” students.</p>
<p>Many of the most creative people this world has known <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Minds-Eye-Thinkers-Difficulties-Creativity/dp/1573921556">are twice exceptional</a>. This includes scientists such as Einstein, artists such as Van Gogh, authors such as Agatha Christie and politicians such as Winston Churchill. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/intellectually-gifted-students-often-have-learning-disabilities-37276">Intellectually gifted students often have learning disabilities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Their achievements are one reason we’re interested in gifted learning. They have the potential to contribute significantly to our world and change how we live. They’re innovators. They give us the big ideas, possibilities and options. We describe their achievements, discoveries and creations as “talent”.</p>
<p>These talented outcomes are not random, lucky or accidental. Instead, they come from particular ways of knowing their world and thinking about it. A talented footballer sees moves and possibilities their opponents don’t see. They think, plan, and act differently. What they do is more than what the coach has trained them to do. </p>
<h2>Understanding gifted learning</h2>
<p>One way of understanding gifted learning is to unpack how people respond to new information. Let me first share two anecdotes. </p>
<p>A year three class was learning about beetles. We turned over a rock and saw slater beetles scurrying away. I asked: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Has anyone thought of something I haven’t mentioned? </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Marcus, a student in the class, asked: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>How many toes does a slater have? </p>
</blockquote>
<p>I asked: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Why do you ask that? </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Marcus replied: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>They are only this long and they’re going very fast. My mini aths coach said that if I wanted to go faster I had to press back with my big toes. They must have pretty big toes to go so quick. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253355/original/file-20190111-43510-1c3u5iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253355/original/file-20190111-43510-1c3u5iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253355/original/file-20190111-43510-1c3u5iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253355/original/file-20190111-43510-1c3u5iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253355/original/file-20190111-43510-1c3u5iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253355/original/file-20190111-43510-1c3u5iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253355/original/file-20190111-43510-1c3u5iz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Slater beetles, also known as wood lice, pill bugs or roley poleys.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>He continued with possibilities about how they might breathe and use energy. Marcus’ teacher reported that he often asked “quirky”, unexpected questions and had a much broader general knowledge than his peers. She had not considered the possibility he might be gifted.</p>
<p>Mike was solving year 12 calculus problems when he was six. He has never attended regular school but was home-schooled by his parents, who were not interested in maths. He learned about quadratic and cubic polynomials from the <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/">Khan Academy</a>. I asked him if it was possible to draw polynomials of x to the power of 7 or 8. He did this without hesitation, noting he had never been taught to do this. </p>
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<h2>Gifted students learn in a more advanced way</h2>
<p>People learn by converting information to knowledge. They may then elaborate, restructure or reorganise it in various ways. Giftedness is the capacity to learn in more advanced ways. </p>
<p>First, these students <a href="https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/education_futures/2016/06/5_ways_gifted_students_learn_differently.html">learn faster</a>. In a given period they learn more than their regular learning peers. They form a more elaborate and differentiated knowledge of a topic. This helps them interpret more information at a time.</p>
<p>Second, these students are more likely to draw conclusions from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements. They stimulate parts of their knowledge that were not mentioned in the information presented to them and add these inferences to their understanding. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-gifted-students-go-to-a-separate-school-71620">Should gifted students go to a separate school?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This is called “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02783190802201796">fluid analogising</a>” or “far transfer”. It involves combining knowledge from the two sources into an interpretation that has the characteristics of an intuitive theory about the information. This is supported by a range of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233627762_Transforming_gifts_into_talents_The_DMGT_as_a_developmental_theory">affective and social factors</a>, including high self-efficacy and intrinsic goal setting, motivation and will-power.</p>
<p>Their theories extend the teaching. They’re intuitive in that they’re personal and include possibilities or options the student has not yet tested. Parts of the theory may be incorrect. When given the opportunity to reflect on or field-test them, the student can validate their new knowledge, modify it or reject it. </p>
<p>Marcus and Mike from the earlier anecdotes engaged in these processes. <a href="http://inthemindseyedyslexicrenaissance.blogspot.com">So did</a> Einstein, Churchill, Van Gogh and Christie. </p>
<h2>Verbally gifted</h2>
<p>A gifted learning profile manifests in multiple ways. Much of the information we’re exposed to is made up of concepts that are linked and sequenced around a topic or theme. It’s formed using agreed conventions. It may be a written narrative, a painting, a conversation or football match. Some students exposed to part of a text infer its topic and subsequent ideas – their intuitive theory about it. </p>
<p>These are the <em>verbally gifted</em> students. In the classroom they infer the direction of the teaching and give the impression of being ahead of it. This is what Mike did when he extended his knowledge beyond what the information taught him. Most of the tasks used in the Child Genius program assessed this. The children used what they knew about spelling patterns to spell unfamiliar words and to unscramble complex anagrams. </p>
<h2>Visual-spatially gifted</h2>
<p>Other students think about the teaching information in time and space. They use imagery and infer intuitive theories that are more lateral or creative. In the classroom their interpretations are often unexpected and may question the teaching. These are the <em>non-verbally gifted</em> or <em>visual-spatially gifted</em> students. </p>
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<p>They frequently do not learn academic or social conventions well and are often twice exceptional. They’re more likely to challenge conventional thinking. Marcus did this when he visualised the slaters with large “beetle toes”. </p>
<h2>What we can learn from gifted students</h2>
<p>Educators and policy makers can learn from the student voice in the recent media programs. Some of the students on Insight told us their classrooms don’t provide the most appropriate opportunities for them to show what they know or to learn. </p>
<p>The twice exceptional students in the Insight program noted teachers had a limited capacity to recognise and identify the multiple ways students can be gifted. They reminded us some gifted profiles, but not the twice-exceptional profile, are prioritised in regular education. </p>
<p>These students thrive and excel when they have the opportunity to show their advanced interpretations initially in formats they can manage, for example, in visual and physical ways. They can then learn to use more conventional ways such as writing. </p>
<p>Multi-modal forms of communication are important for them. Examples include drawing pictures of their interpretations, acting out their understanding and building models to represent their understanding. The use of diagrams by the the famous physicist Richard Feynman is an example of this.</p>
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<p>For students like Mike, adequate formal educational provision simply does not exist. With the development of information communication technology, it would be hoped that in the future adaptive and creative curricula and teaching practices could be developed for those students whose learning trajectories are far from the regular. </p>
<p>As a consequence, we have <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/education/bright-but-bored-schools-need-better-pathways-for-talented-kids-ng-b88914843z">high levels of disengagement</a> from regular education by some gifted students in the middle to senior secondary years. High ability Australian students <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-high-achieving-students-lagging-behind-in-victoria-20181022-p50b8h.html">under-achieve</a> in both NAPLAN and international testing.</p>
<h2>The problem with IQ</h2>
<p>Identification using IQ is problematic for some gifted profiles. Some IQ tests assess a narrow band of culturally valued knowledge. They frequently do not assess general learning capacity. </p>
<p>As well, teachers are usually not qualified to interpret IQ assessments. The parents in the Insight program mentioned both the difficulty in having their children identified as gifted and the high costs IQ tests incurred. In Australia, these assessments can cost up to <a href="https://www.pearsonclinical.com.au/products/view/579">A$475</a>. </p>
<p>An obvious alternative is to equip teachers and schools to identify and assess students’ learning in the classroom for indications of gifted learning and thinking in its multiple forms. To do this, assessment tasks need to assess the quality, maturity and sophistication of the students’ thinking and learning strategies, their capacity to enhance knowledge, and also what students actually know or believe is possible about a topic or an issue. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/show-us-your-smarts-a-very-brief-history-of-intelligence-testing-45444">Show us your smarts: a very brief history of intelligence testing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Classroom assessments usually don’t assess this. They are designed to test how well students have learned the teaching, not what additional knowledge the students have added to it. </p>
<p>Gifted students benefit from open-ended tasks that permit them to show what they know about a topic or issue. Such tasks include complex problem solving activities or challenges and open-ended assignments. We are now <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=433369775938947;res=IELHSS">developing tools</a> to assess the quality and sophistication of gifted students’ knowledge and understanding.</p>
<h2>Tips for teachers and parents</h2>
<p>Over the course of 2019, teachers can look for evidence of gifted learning by encouraging their students to share their intuitive theories about a topic and by completing open-ended tasks in which they extend or apply what they have learned. This can include more complex problem solving. </p>
<p>During reading comprehension, for example, teachers can plan tasks that require higher-level thinking, including analysis, evaluation and synthesis. Teachers need to assess and evaluate students’ learning in terms of the extent to which they elaborate on the teaching information.</p>
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<p>Parents are often the first to notice their child learns more rapidly, remembers more, does things in more advanced ways or learns differently from their peers. Most educators have heard a parent say: “I think my child is gifted.” And sometimes the parent is correct. </p>
<p>Parents can use modern technology to record specific instances of high performance by their children, and share these with their child’s teachers. The mobile phone and iPad provide a good opportunity for video-recording a child’s questions during story time, their interpretations of unfamiliar contexts such as a visit to a museum, drawings or inventions the child produces and how they do this, and ways in which they solve problems in their everyday lives. These records can provide useful evidence later for educators and other professionals. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-differentiation-and-why-is-it-poorly-understood-55757">Explainer: what is differentiation and why is it poorly understood?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Parents also have a key role to play in helping their child understand what it means to learn differently from one’s peers, to value their interpretations and achievements and how they can interact socially with peers who may operate differently.</p>
<p>It is students’ intuitive theories about information that lead to creative, talented outcomes and innovative products. If an education system is to foster creativity and innovation, teachers need to recognise and value these theories and help these students convert them into a talent. Teachers can respond to gifted knowing and learning in its multiple forms if they know what it looks like in the classroom and have appropriate tools to identify it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107718/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Munro has been a chief researcher on ARC funded projects and has completed contracted projects for Australian educational authorities. </span></em></p>Gifted students have the potential to be our future Einsteins. But they will only do this if we support them to learn in an appropriate way.John Munro, Professor, Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/716202017-01-24T19:17:16Z2017-01-24T19:17:16ZShould gifted students go to a separate school?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153793/original/image-20170123-30955-1240ttj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gifted children can benefit from being grouped together in specialist schools or classes.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite two Senate inquiries in 1988 and <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_Employment_and_Workplace_Relations/Completed_inquiries/1999-02/gifted/report/contents">2001</a>, it has taken 15 years and a state parliamentary review for the Victorian government to decide to <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/gifted-academy-to-enable-bright-country-kids-to-learn-at-selective-state-schools-20170116-gtsh0w.html">build a specialist high school</a> for students who are gifted, specifically targeting those from rural and regional Victoria. </p>
<p>Research at both the national and international level has <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0016986207306324">long advocated</a> that students who are gifted have specific learning needs that require:</p>
<ul>
<li>tailored learning strategies</li>
<li>education supported by a challenging curriculum</li>
<li>teachers trained in gifted education</li>
<li>more exposure to students of similar ability</li>
<li>opportunities for acceleration</li>
</ul>
<p>These students are future leaders, problem solvers and innovators. </p>
<p>Failing to provide an appropriate education for students who are gifted increases the risk of mental health issues, boredom, frustration, developing behavioural problems both at school and at home, leading to disengagement and dropping out of school. </p>
<p>This is because these students tend to find the curriculum too easy and often talk “above” their peers. They become frustrated at the lack of understanding of their ability and what they are capable of achieving. </p>
<h2>What does it mean to be gifted?</h2>
<p>Australia has agreed a national understanding of giftedness and talent through the use of the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1359813042000314682">Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent</a>. </p>
<p>This model suggests that children have untrained natural abilities (gifts) in areas including, intellectual, social, creative and physical. </p>
<p>A student who is intellectually gifted may demonstrate some, or many, of the following traits:</p>
<ul>
<li>Early reading and language development</li>
<li>Vivid imagination </li>
<li>Excellent memory</li>
<li>Sense of humour</li>
<li>Exceptional thinking skills and problem-solving abilities</li>
<li>Logical thinking</li>
<li>Advanced and multiple interests</li>
<li>A passion for learning</li>
<li>Curiosity</li>
<li>Moral and ethical concerns</li>
<li>Rapid learning rate </li>
<li>Divergent-thinking/creativity</li>
<li>Preference for independent work</li>
</ul>
<p>The <a href="http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/docview/856363821/fulltextPDF/B9DE3B9B4C0949E2PQ/4?accountid=15112">earlier a child is identified</a>, the better the opportunity to engage the child in appropriate educational challenges when they start school, or even before.</p>
<p><a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/001698620404800102">Research states</a> that these students need the opportunity to be grouped together in specialist schools or classes – and the boarding school being proposed in Victoria provides a solution for geographically isolated students. </p>
<p>Bringing these students together academically and geographically allows them to be challenged and stretched to reach their full potential. </p>
<p>These students need faster-paced learning, independent self-directed learning opportunities, complex and challenging tasks that promote higher order thinking and enhance problem solving skills, and meaningful tasks with real world scenarios.</p>
<p>When these students are academically isolated in a non-selective school, they can “dumb down” and <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0016986209346946">underachieve to improve social acceptance</a> by their peers and minimise the risk of bullying and social isolation. </p>
<p>Grouping these students with like-minded peers of similar abilities and interests can provide <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pits.10144/full">important emotional and social support</a>.</p>
<h2>Few gifted schools across Australia</h2>
<p>New South Wales benefits from a well-established and successful centralised selective schools system. It has selective schools in Sydney and other metropolitan areas, as well as boarding schools in rural and regional areas. It also has “Opportunity Classes” for students in Years 5 and 6. Entrance is gained in a similar way to entry to a selective high school – it is centrally managed and students have to sit an exam. </p>
<p>Other states and territories have limited specialised schools: South Australia has an accelerated program called “Ignite”, Western Australia has one selective high school, and Victoria has four. </p>
<p>State and territory education departments note on their websites that provisions are in place in all schools to meet the needs of students who are gifted. </p>
<p>But planning and establishing specialist schools for gifted students will not become a wider trend <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_Employment_and_Workplace_Relations/Completed_inquiries/1999-02/gifted/report/contents">unless supported</a> at the federal and state levels.</p>
<h2>Teacher training</h2>
<p>Specialist schools or classes will not succeed unless the teachers have <a href="http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/fullText;dn=098757303683336;res=IELHSS">education training</a> specifically geared towards supporting students who are gifted. </p>
<p>These students have unique needs and challenges, and their teachers should not be expected to recognise and handle these without specialised training. </p>
<p>Currently teachers in specialised schools may not have qualifications in gifted education. It is up to individual schools what the requirements are for such a position. </p>
<p>The two senate inquires recommended that <a href="http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/fullText;dn=861945172982288;res=IELHSS">teachers receive training</a> in gifted education. But there are few universities that provide this, and even fewer offer it at undergraduate level.</p>
<p>It is unfair to both teacher and student to simply bring them together and expect achievement to happen.</p>
<h2>Impact on rural schools</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/etc/Past_Inquiries/EGTS_Inquiry/Final_Report/Gifted_and_Talented_Final_Report.pdf">Concerns have been raised</a> about the effect on schools of losing students who are gifted. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf">The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians</a> states that all students are entitled to an education that allows them to develop their gifts and talents, motivating them to reach their full potential. </p>
<p>The focus should be on the students, and therefore the responsibility of the school is to ensure that all students achieve to their potential. </p>
<p>Removing a few students should not affect the programs taught in a school, and may inspire those remaining to compete for academic recognition without being overshadowed by the few. </p>
<p>But what works for some may not work for others. There will be some students who may feel more comfortable and perform better in a non-selective environment. </p>
<p>More information and support can be found at the following websites:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.aaegt.net.au/">Australasian Journal of Gifted Education</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org">Hoagies’ Gifted Education</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nagc.org/">National Association for Gifted Children</a></li>
<li><a href="http://sengifted.org/">SENG</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/">Gifted Development Centre</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/">Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education, and Talent Development</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.echa.info/">European Council for High Ability</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.world-gifted.org/">World Council for Gifted and Talent Children</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.cec.sped.org/">Council for Exceptional Children</a></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71620/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Wormald does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Failing to provide an appropriate education for students who are gifted increases the risk of mental health issues, boredom, frustration, and behavioural problems.Catherine Wormald, Lecturer, School of Education, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/663592016-10-13T01:27:21Z2016-10-13T01:27:21ZShould I grade-skip my gifted child?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141500/original/image-20161012-16242-6lwruw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When should you let your gifted child skip grades?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-141206683/stock-photo-pupils-in-class-using-digital-tablet.html?src=QwXiFSL6QZhsJ1cIS5mL9w-1-13">Children image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The American school system puts students in grades based on age. However, for a large number of students, being with same-age peers in the classroom does not work.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://education.jhu.edu/edpolicy/commentary/PerformAboveGradeLevel">recent report</a> from Johns Hopkins University shows that about two out of every seven children are ready for a higher-grade curriculum. These children are not learning something new each day, and are likely bored in class. </p>
<p>This has serious implications: Research has shown that <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/56143/the-concept-educational-dose.pdf">greater intellectual stimulation</a> is important for helping talented kids achieve their full potential.</p>
<p>One effective way to help talented students remain intellectually challenged and engaged in school is to have them skip a grade. <a href="http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/research/grade_acceleration_wells_lohman_marron.pdf">Research shows</a> that about 1 percent of students grade-skip. Students can skip grades at any level, and they can even skip multiple grades. </p>
<p>Grade-skipping has led to many concerns. In particular, <a href="http://sengifted.org/archives/articles/should-gifted-students-be-grade-advanced">concerns have been raised</a> related to students’ social adjustment and emotional health.</p>
<p>We are scholars of gifted education. Our research – <a href="http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/nation_empowered/">A Nation Empowered</a> – shows many advantages to grade-skipping for talented students. However, students skipping grades need to be socially and emotionally ready for it.</p>
<h2>What studies show</h2>
<p>A <a href="http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/nation_empowered/">synthesis of many studies</a> by a professor of gifted education, <a href="https://www.stthomas.edu/celc/aboutthecollege/facultyandstaff/karen-b-rogers-phd.html">Karen B. Rogers</a>, on the impact of grade-skipping showed uniformly positive effects across a range of academic outcomes.</p>
<p>These outcomes included higher grade point average, school satisfaction, honors received, success on exams, number of university credits awarded, education level attained, income as an adult and innovations made.</p>
<p>When gifted students who grade-skipped were compared to similarly gifted students who did not grade-skip, the grade-skipped students came out ahead in all academic categories.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141495/original/image-20161012-16248-1qojr05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141495/original/image-20161012-16248-1qojr05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141495/original/image-20161012-16248-1qojr05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141495/original/image-20161012-16248-1qojr05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141495/original/image-20161012-16248-1qojr05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141495/original/image-20161012-16248-1qojr05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141495/original/image-20161012-16248-1qojr05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grade-skippers have been found to do well academically.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/90974638@N05/8767899087/in/photolist-emMLVV-QXY1-dGwmqL-dLxmWe-88euwL-dHyKgx-dGwkNC-endnfQ-endofh-pWsidA-dLxmU8-dGwhhf-dArkVy-dGwjaL-6QbvCt-emMKPn-cNV6vm-ea8sX9-dAkUtR-6V8yDw-u8yLeS-che3bY-4ewqCq-dArnnw-jDeQXa-4z6P5D-oGrfMn-dArhnE-6webF-iKtVqz-dAkPiT-9rGyfZ-64WAea-6h7bUM-dAkPha-najQpW-53nouv-chcBLo-dLxmZB-84aCRm-5a1JcK-dLCU7y-chbe6Y-9GCbxv-51Fkxh-2U1QjU-6viwZc-28KrS-chckbN-aNS43g">MJGDSLibrary</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, a <a href="http://gcq.sagepub.com/content/59/1/3.abstract">study</a> by K–12 educational research and policy expert <a href="http://www.questarai.com/about-us/leadership/leadership-katie-mcclarty/">Katie L. McClarty</a> found that grade-skippers were more likely than non-grade-skippers to have more prestigious jobs, higher earnings and job satisfaction. </p>
<p>Another study, by researchers <a href="http://gregorypark.org/">Gregory J. Park</a>, <a href="https://my.vanderbilt.edu/smpy/publications/david-lubinski/">David Lubinski</a> and <a href="https://my.vanderbilt.edu/smpy/publications/camilla-benbow/">Camilla P. Benbow</a>, that followed highly gifted children 40 years into their adulthood and examined the <a href="https://my.vanderbilt.edu/smpy/files/2013/02/Park-Lubinski-Benbow-2013.pdf">long-term impact of grade-skipping</a> related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) came up with similar findings.</p>
<p>Grade-skippers were found to be significantly more likely to achieve Ph.D.’s, publish their first paper at an earlier age and achieve highly cited publications by age 50. Grade-skippers compared to non-grade-skippers were 1.6 times as likely to earn a doctorate of any kind, twice as likely to earn a STEM Ph.D., 1.6 times as likely to earn a STEM publication, and 1.6 times as likely to earn a patent.</p>
<h2>More social skills, better mental health</h2>
<p>However, there have been concerns whether grade-skippers are able to make <a href="http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/nation_empowered/">social and psychological adjustments</a>.</p>
<p>Psychologist <a href="http://www.nie.edu.sg/profile/neihart-maureen-frances">Maureen Neihart</a>, who <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.404.6692&rep=rep1&type=pdf">reviewed many studies</a> on the social and psychological outcomes of grade-skipping, concluded that there was no major positive or negative impact.</p>
<p>However, the <a href="http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/nation_empowered/">meta-analysis</a> by <a href="https://www.stthomas.edu/celc/aboutthecollege/facultyandstaff/karen-b-rogers-phd.html">Karen B. Rogers</a> described earlier showed, in fact, positive effects on a range of social and psychological adjustment outcomes, including greater social skills, maturity, peer acceptance, motivation and persistence. </p>
<p>Additionally, a <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ746290.pdf">20-year longitudinal study</a> by gifted education expert <a href="https://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/about-us/people/miraca-gross/">Miraca Gross</a> also found social and psychological benefits to grade-skipping. </p>
<p>Gross found that students who had skipped two or more grades (37 percent of the sample) in early elementary school had higher social self-esteem in childhood and built better social relationships later in life.</p>
<h2>Should I grade-skip my child?</h2>
<p>Overall, we found that grade-skipping is a highly effective method of challenging talented students and helping them stay engaged in school. We did not find any negative social or psychological impact of grade-skipping. </p>
<p>So how should parents and students decide whether or not to skip a grade?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141498/original/image-20161012-16238-18p1lu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141498/original/image-20161012-16238-18p1lu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141498/original/image-20161012-16238-18p1lu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141498/original/image-20161012-16238-18p1lu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141498/original/image-20161012-16238-18p1lu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141498/original/image-20161012-16238-18p1lu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141498/original/image-20161012-16238-18p1lu4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Should you grade-skip your gifted child?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-264079463/stock-photo-smart-toddler-reading-a-book.html?src=BtJPnsucZU8FE54XJRVRFA-3-51">Girl image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The answer to this question depends largely on the degree to which students are bored in school and whether they are mature enough to be able to interact with older peers. It is not recommended for all gifted students.</p>
<p>Researchers have now developed <a href="https://www.accelerationinstitute.org/Resources/IAS.aspx">a scale</a> that can help a parent make such a decision for their child in kindergarten through eighth grade. The scale helps parents or teachers look at the main factors they need to consider when making such a decision. It also provides guidelines on how to weigh the relative importance of each of these factors. </p>
<p>Generally, decisions on whether to grade-skip center on academic and social readiness. Parents also need to understand that students can grade-skip at any point of their academic trajectory. For example, it could be as early as entrance to kindergarten or much later, such as <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02783193.2014.976324?journalCode=uror20">an early start to college</a>. <a href="http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/nation_empowered/">Research shows</a> the benefits are the same whatever the age.</p>
<h2>Decision carries costs</h2>
<p>Despite the positive evidence on grade-skipping, however, the number of students who are academically ready to grade-skip is much larger than the actual number of students that utilize this opportunity. This has costs for both schools and students. </p>
<p>Teaching millions of students content they already know <a href="https://edexcellence.net/articles/stop-wasting-money-teaching-millions-of-students-content-they-already-know">wastes tens of billions of dollars</a> each year.</p>
<p>For parents concerned about the negative impact on social and psychological adjustment, it may also be important to consider the potential fallout even when a student does not skip a grade.</p>
<p>Unchallenged students can become bored and disengaged from school and lose their joy of learning, and this can lead to underachievement. This can be a loss both for the student and for society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66359/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Wai is affiliated with the Duke University Talent Identification Program which serves talented students with educational programs.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The original acceleration research was funded (2004-2010) by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. That funding made possible the production and dissemination of A Nation Deceived and the establishment of the Acceleration Institute.</span></em></p>About two out of seven children are likely bored in their classrooms, as they aren’t learning much that is new. Should these children skip grades? What’s the evidence on grade-skipping?Jonathan Wai, Research Scientist, Duke UniversityAnn Lupkowski Shoplik, Administrator, Acceleration Institute and Research, University of IowaSusan Assouline, Professor of Education, University of IowaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/582962016-05-02T14:47:57Z2016-05-02T14:47:57ZGifted children in Africa’s urban slums are a precious and untapped resource<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120567/original/image-20160428-28034-19a8jj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gifted children in poor areas of Africa's cities are unlikely to make it to secondary school.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steve Humble</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We all know that it doesn’t matter whether you’re rich or poor. You can still be gifted. Opportunity is the key. Through opportunity you can overcome difficulty and reach your full potential. But is this true in the developing world?</p>
<p>Over a number of years a team at Newcastle University <a href="http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/degrees/international-development-education-ma/#profile">has been searching</a> for the most appropriate ways to identify children in poor areas of sub-Saharan Africa’s cities who, given the “opportunity” and additional support, could become catalysts of social change through influencing their peers and communities. If children from very poor areas are to be given a chance to contribute to their societies, and thus to economic development and growth, then identifying these possible “life changers” could be key. </p>
<p>Economic growth is necessary for development. But growth is very reliant on the cognitive skills of the population. This is why human capital is key to a nation’s success. For Nobel Laureate Gary Becker, the modern era is the <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economic-sciences/laureates/1992/becker-lecture.pdf">“age of human capital”</a>. For <a href="http://hanushek.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Hanushek%2BWoessmann%202012%20JEconGrowth%2017(4).pdf">Eric Hanushek and Ludger Woessman</a>, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>school policy can, if effective in raising cognitive skills, be an important force in economic development. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>For countries to benefit from exceptional human capital the current state of education worldwide needs to be improved. But the focus needs to be on “quality”, not “quantity”. This is because “quality” schooling is what encourages knowledge and cognitive skills that stimulate economic growth.</p>
<h2>Why identifying giftedness is important</h2>
<p>It is generally agreed that the identification of giftedness should be led by multiple methods, informants and criteria. But with different ideas about what the term means and its measurement, how does one go about identifying children in places such as poor areas of Africa’s cities who could contribute to their nation’s development if given the opportunity? </p>
<p>The research from Newcastle University used a combination of ideas from some of the main exponents in gifted education and multiple intelligences. These included Renzulli’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFHNr_T6TSY">“three ring concept”</a>,
Sternberg’s <a href="http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2104/Intelligence-TRIARCHIC-THEORY-INTELLIGENCE.html">“triarchic theory of intelligence”</a> and Gardner’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2QtSbP4FRg">“multiple intelligences”</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03054985.2016.1159955">research project</a> took place in 17 government school in a very poor area of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Teachers and parents were interviewed. More than 1,800 children sat tests (including mathematics, Kiswahili, reading and a non-verbal matrix reasoning test) and children and teachers nominated three gifted children in their class. The teachers provided reasons why they’d made their choices. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119947/original/image-20160425-22390-1k8ms4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119947/original/image-20160425-22390-1k8ms4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119947/original/image-20160425-22390-1k8ms4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119947/original/image-20160425-22390-1k8ms4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119947/original/image-20160425-22390-1k8ms4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119947/original/image-20160425-22390-1k8ms4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119947/original/image-20160425-22390-1k8ms4b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children taking a test in a government secondary school in Dar es Salaam.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steve Humble</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Children identified as gifted – gaining a very high score and nominated by at least one other method – had their creativity, motivation and commitment investigated. The results indicate that some of the cleverest, most creative and committed children you are ever likely to meet live in these slum areas. </p>
<p>It may seem obvious. Yet some believe that children who are first-generation learners with illiterate parents are simply not capable of greatness. This became evident at the beginning of the research. When the team explained what the research was about, teachers as well as district education officers said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Why the slums of Dar es Salaam? You won’t find any gifted children there.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When told his daughter had performed really well in all the tasks one parent shook his head in disbelief and said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>She can’t be gifted. We are poor. Only the rich are gifted. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>An untapped resource</h2>
<p>Too few development experts believe that part of the solution to poverty can come from the poor themselves. Yet in the slums of Dar es Salaam children of high ability wait to be discovered, their contribution to economic growth and development wasted because no-one believes they are there. Children don’t know what they can achieve. </p>
<p>Here lies an untapped resource. Sadly, most of the head teachers reported that the primary school children under their care would not attend government secondary schools. In general, they believed the children would become market sellers and petty traders, just like their parents. </p>
<p>International aid has been flowing into Africa for the past 50 years. Donors from around the world give government schools – including those in Tanzania – desks, chairs, books and other resources. The belief is that all children will benefit. So let that continue.</p>
<p>But how about a small amount of funding heading the way of those children who can be identified as life changers with the tenacity, determination and ability to make a difference for their own countries.</p>
<p><em>An overview of our research can be seen in the TEDx Newcastle video “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7GPggyFEos">Slum Super Stars</a> – African talented children alleviating poverty”. </em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58296/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Humble does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some believe children who are first-generation learners with illiterate parents are not capable of greatness. But some of the cleverest, most committed and most creative children come from slum areas.Steve Humble, Mathematics Education Primary and Secondary PGCE, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.