Teacher rating scales (TRS) are often used to make service eligibility decisions for exceptional learners. Although TRS are regularly used to identify student exceptionalism either as part of an informal nomination process or through behavioral rating scales, there is little research documenting the between-teacher variance in teacher ratings or…

This study administered a cognitive battery of 9 tasks to 400 regular kindergarten children and 31 children identified as gifted. The upper 2% of the regular sample outperformed 81% of the gifted sample, with minority group students achieving most of the top scores. Results support the use of such batteries in identifying previously unidentified…

Cognitive controls were isolated through factor analysis with 59 intermediate-grade gifted students, and three cognitive styles were defined by cluster analysis. The cognitive style labeled "strict percept-strict concept" was associated with greater facility in divergent thinking. Study findings support explanations of giftedness through…

Giftedness is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, and assessment should be concerned with the kinds of giftedness an individual exhibits. The Structure of Intellect (SOI) tests allow the identification of academic and creative giftedness. The SOI theory can also be used in partnership with brain research to provide a theory-based test of brain…

Highlights dynamic assessment, an approach to assessing cognitive ability in which students are instructed on how to perform on certain tasks and measured on their progress in learning to solve similar problems. It describes how dynamic assessment can be used for identifying disadvantaged students for specialized enrichment programs. (CR)