Contains reprints of two articles from the New York Times: (1) Public Schools Are Failing Brightest Students, which discusses the Department of Education's recommendations for the gifted and talented and (2) Dumb About Smarts, which discusses problems of a New York City school for the gifted, Mott Hall School. (MKR)

Discussion of the "gifted" label notes continuing social prejudice against academic talent and the concept of "demonstrability" applied to special talents. It concludes that the problem occurs when the label is not applied as an adjective to describe demonstrated productivity, past or present, but as a noun, as if it is a global static feature of…

Discussion of the label "gifted" notes negative connotations in society in general and among educators, recent definitions of "gifted," and the contrast of these attitudes with the admiration given star athletes or performing artists. It concludes that the field of gifted education needs to provide convincing, research-based information and…

A North Carolina district that launched a differentiation program for gifted students discovered that all students benefit. Interested districts should start by offering staff development to a small, interested group of teachers; build on teachers' existing practices; target resources; and support teacher collaboration. (MLH)

Study uses three measurements in order to determine the psychological makeup of academically gifted students who are admitted to and leave home to attend a residential school. Results indicate six different cluster groups described as: mathematics focus; social focus; nonathletic group; low overall self concept group; verbal group; and…

The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) factor clusters of the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ III COG) were studied with a group of gifted and nongifted individuals. Results found both groups display similar patterns of performance across the CHC factor clusters. Discusses clinical and educational considerations when using the WJ III…

Very young students can begin to use technology to organize and analyze their data in sophisticated ways. The National Center for Education Statistics (2005) reported that 67% of nursery school students and 80% of kindergarten students were using computers in 2003. By the early elementary grades, some of these students are ready to begin using…

Just as it is said that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, so it could be said that the impact of any legislation is in the interpretation of the reader as administrator, teacher, student, or parent. The value of any educational legislation is equivocal and dependent on two basic factors: philosophy and practice. The need to take a stand and…

More than 20 years ago, psychologists first described gifted students with learning disabilities (LD). In the past decade, several sets of identification criteria have been proposed for this population. Many of the suggested assessment practices are unsupported by research in psychoeducational assessment, and some have been directly contradicted…

Nondiscriminatory assessment practices have been proposed as a model of assessment for individuals of diverse cultures who are suspected as having a disability. This paper presents the use of nondiscriminatory assessment practices in evaluating students of diverse cultures who may be identified as gifted. Principles and guidelines for…

Early acceleration of students in mathematics (in the form of early access to formal abstract algebra) has been a controversial educational issue. The current study examined the rate of growth in mathematics achievement of accelerated gifted, honors, and regular students across the entire secondary years (Grades 7-12), in comparison to their…

This article discusses the rationale for, and explicates the process used in, developing differentiated authentic assessments for middle school classrooms (many of which contain gifted students) that are aligned with state academic standards. The assessments were developed based on learner-centered psychological principles and revised based on a…

This investigation reinforces the conceptualization of television viewing as a learned activity by highlighting the interrelatedness of children's linguistic, cognitive, and perceptual skills for accurate comprehension of television's most basic narrative device--temporal sequencing. It also explores the impact of highly divergent skills and…

All respected educators share one ultimate goal: to enhance the lives of students in their care. Few make impacts that get lauded worldwide; instead, most are content to know that, at day?s end, one child is more knowledgeable, more secure, or more fired up to learn thanks to that presence in their lives.

Many factors influence students' growth and development. Nugent (2000) stated that the perfectionist attitude is established in childhood and suggested that identification of perfectionistic traits and recognition of problem areas is a first step to finding an alternative to the all or nothing attitude of many gifted students. Awareness of…