EXCEL is an enrichment program for highly able students in grades K-2, designed to provide a nontraditional method of identifying young gifted and talented students, especially economically disadvantaged students, as well as to increase the ability of classroom teachers and parents to develop the potential of these students. EXCEL utilizes a…

This study examined three federally supported programs that utilize Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences in the identification of giftedness in economically disadvantaged and minority group youth. Following an extensive review of the literature, three chapters examine each program in detail. Each chapter first sets the identification…