A simulated report of a child referred either for learning disabilities or gifted placement consideration was reviewed by 40 practicing school psychologists. Results indicate that reason for referral resulted in significant levels of bias regarding assessment and recall of the report and classification of the student. (TJH)

The article describes problems and challenges in implementing independent study as a major component of a gifted program for Black, urban elementary students. Program adjustments included guaranteed incremental successes, joint planning with students, a small student-teacher ratio, flexible perceptions of project products, high teacher…

Parents of 53 young children identified for giftedness between the ages of three and five responded to a questionnaire concerning child characteristics, support and availability of specialized services, curricular expectancies, and requested and volunteered services. Among immediate concerns expressed were developing and maintaining the child's…

Effects of such characteristics as sparse population, poverty, and non-urban acculturation experiences are related to the difficulties in providing for the educational needs of rural gifted students. Promising solutions to these problems are suggested, including computer/video linkages between school systems, cooperative personnel development, and…

Examined the career values of 203 college-bound students to ascertain how selected careers, including teaching, were perceived to satisfy needs derived from these values. Also investigated differences among the perceptions of academically talented individuals, average students, and a leadership group. Very few of these students identified teaching…

A part-time pilot program to meet the needs of gifted underachievers successfully demonstrated increased self-esteem, satisfaction in school, and acceptable school behavior among identified students. Gains in reading and language were extraordinary; gains were less remarkable in mathematics. Results were not teacher-specific and were generalized.…

An elementary-school self-contained gifted class was compared to a control group on a general test of cognitive ability. Program participants exhibited significantly higher gains than did controls, and at the end of the program, participants also rated the quality of their school life more highly than did controls. (Author/JDD)

When 247 gifted/talented young women in grades 10-11 completed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire and the Self Directed Search, results indicated that, while gender identity appears to play a central role, adolescents' occupational interests, competencies, and preferences change and undergo refinement as a function of emerging instrumental and…

Describes an ethnographic study of an inservice graduate course designed to help teachers use computers to teach writing and other skills to the academically able. Claims the course significantly reduced teachers' computer anxiety and their writing apprehension. (RS)

This article discusses signs that America has adopted a negative view of gifted children, including the undermining of the Jacob Javits Act, grade inflation, and a shift in funding and legal mandates from the gifted toward students with disabilities or low achievement. Reasons for this trend and suggestions for responsive action are discussed. (PB)

Suggestions are made for a new paradigm for identifying talent potential in underserved populations. Suggestions focus on dynamic assessment of gifted behaviors within students' own sociocultural contexts, more varied and more authentic assessment, and integrating identification processes with learning opportunities. (Author/PB)

Challenges the Social Darwinism behind special programming for gifted and talented students, that is the notion that some are innately smarter and can learn better than others. The author argues that critical thinking can be developed in all children and discusses the importance of teachers, parents, and the learning environment in a child's…

Discusses several research-based premises underlying meaningful instruction for gifted and regular students. Lessons should be relevant and student centered, and students should be actively involved in their own learning and aware of attainable standards that guarantee high-quality work. This article describes an interdisciplinary Iowa summer…

This article presents four case studies of extreme mathematical precocity in two boys and two girls. Problems in providing appropriately challenging instruction for these children are noted. The article concludes with 11 recommendations for programming for exceptionally talented students. (DB)

This article summarizes 2 research studies with approximately 2,000 adolescents and their parents that investigated the influence of parents' gender stereotypes on their perceptions of their own children and on the children's self-perceptions of ability, especially in mathematics. Implications for three areas of gifted education are drawn: (1)…