Analysis of assessment data from an initial pool of second-grade students (n = 4549) in low-income rural communities and a subgroup of students identified from that pool for gifted services (n = 524) provided evidence for the validity of a curricular-aligned process including universal screening and local norms for identifying rural students in…

Although the number of English learners (ELs) in the United States continues to increase, this population remains underserved by gifted and talented (GT) education programs across the nation. This underrepresentation represents a societal and research dilemma for reasons we address in this systematic review of the most effective practices…

The underrepresentation of English learners (ELs) in gifted and talented programs is a societal and research problem that merits investigation. Three state departments of education and their state directors of gifted programs supported our access to 16 schools across nine districts. In these three states with gifted identification and programming…

The enduring misperception that rural places are homogeneously White may contribute to the underrepresentation of Black students in rural gifted education programs. In this study, we sought to understand this relationship by examining the underrepresentation of Black students in rural gifted education programs through a theoretical framework of…

Gifted education policies vary across the United States. Previous studies have demonstrated a disconnect between these policies at state and district levels, but alignment of school-level practices with state and/or district policies is unknown. To further examine these relationships, we examined via qualitative document analysis state and…

English learners (ELs) are the fastest growing population of students in the United States and currently represent nearly 10% of public school enrollment; however, they also constitute less than 3% of gifted program enrollment in these schools. Although an increasing number of studies explore this underrepresentation, research that specifically…

Educators in gifted education struggle to identify effective strategies for identifying gifted students from under-served populations who would benefit from gifted education services. Using data from a longitudinal study and drawing from an initial student sample in 12 low-income rural districts, we examined an alternative identification process…

The importance of alignment between identification processes and program design is widely noted in gifted and talented education literature. We analyzed publicly available district gifted program plans (Grades 3-5) from two states to examine the extent to which district identification practices matched intervention strategies. Our team developed a…

Although the relationships between family income and student identification for gifted programming are well documented, less is known about how school and district wealth are related to student identification. To examine the effects of institutional and individual poverty on student identification, we conducted a series of three-level regression…

Although the relationships between family income and student identification for gifted programming are well documented, less is known about how school and district wealth are related to student identification. To examine the effects of institutional and individual poverty on student identification, we conducted a series of three-level regression…

There are both achievement and opportunity gaps for low-income students when compared to their economically advantaged peers; and, for rural students, these gaps may be even more pronounced. In this manuscript we draw from our ongoing work in a five-year federally-funded, Jacob K. Javits grant focusing on promoting gifted education in rural…

While the number of English Learners (ELs) continues to grow rapidly in the United States, corresponding proportions of ELs are not found in gifted and talented education programs across the nation. The underrepresentation of ELs in gifted programs is both a societal and a research problem. This report presents the results of a systematic review…

Some identification and programing approaches for gifted students are said to shortchange all students and perpetuate a myth of exclusivity. The real issue, the author contends, is not whether the label "gifted" is affixed, but whether all children's needs are met through the regular curriculum or through adaptations. (CL)

The study assessed the structural validity of the Ross Test of Higher Cognitive Processes (a recently developed instrument designed to assess the higher level thinking skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation as outlined in Bloom's Taxonomy) with 154 gifted third through sixth graders. (Author/CL)

Instruments used to measure creativity by 418 school districts as part of their identification procedures for gifted programs were studied. Results indicated that districts often select instruments for assessing creativity without attending to the definition of the construct. Creativity is often assessed in ways that may not be valid or reliable.…