The cultural and socioeconomic diversity of the U.S. school population is now and long has been underrepresented in programs for academically advanced students (see, e.g., Donovan & Cross, 2002; Marland, 1972). In the past decade, however, educators have offered several proposals for increasing the diversity of programs for the gifted and talented…

State-mandated student testing in Ohio is a combination of three different initiatives: (1) competency-based education (CBE) assessment; (2) achievement and ability testing; and (3) proficiency testing. This report describes the current testing requirements and some of the characteristics of each of these types of assessment. CBE assessment was…

A longitudinal sample of 242 predominantly white teacher candidates was studied to identify possible relationships between the candidates' academic abilities, the degree of their success in making the transition from student to teacher, and their development of concerns about teaching during teacher preparation as hypothesized by Fuller's model of…

This text prepares students to quantify observations through psychological testing. Measurement is critical in all the subareas of psychology, and the text begins by discussing the applications of testing in the subdisciplines of psychology. The book also discusses the extent to which tests are actually used. Early chapters discuss general…

The promotion of academic success has been linked to children's social and emotional wellness, reduction in risky behaviors, and promotion of social and emotional competence. This chapter briefly summarizes the evidence regarding the link between academic performance and health risk behaviors, including substance abuse, delinquency, teen sexual…

This text is designed to enable parents to become powerful advocates for their gifted children at school and at home. Chapters 1 through 5 focus on becoming an advocate at home. Chapter 1 discusses three broad characteristics of giftedness, the difference between bright and gifted children, and other dimensions of giftedness. Chapter 2 provides a…

These two newsletters from the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) contain the following articles: (1) "NRC/GT: Professional Development--Not an Event" (E. Jean Gubbins), discusses NRC/GT research-based principles related to professional development and the importance of ongoing professional development; (2)…

This paper reviews the literature on under-identification of minority children, especially Hispanic children, for education as gifted and talented students. It begins with definitions of terms such as "gifted and talented" and also such terms as "bias" and "culturally diverse." Some characteristics of gifted Hispanic children are then listed as…

Noting the increasing number of students who cannot read, this book shows parents, educators, caregivers, policymakers, and others how to promote the reading success of young children. It focuses on children from birth through the first 5 years of formal schooling, and includes practical guidelines, program descriptions, advice on resources, and…

This book presents performance-based projects to provide elementary school students both the structure and the freedom to become actively engaged in their own learning. The approach is based on the concept of authentic learning, which advocates a relevant, real world experience to personally engage students in learning. The book is divided into…

Developments in adult education during the past few years have attracted general public interest. Reports, based upon scientific studies, that the ability to learn efficiently continues until late in life, were given widespread dissemination. The significance of this fact for education was readily comprehended not only by schoolmen but by the lay…

Providing Hispanic elementary students with a great variety of books in Spanish and 60 minutes a week of free reading time resulted in significantly higher Spanish reading performance with no loss of English reading proficiency and significant improvement of reading attidues, compared with control groups. (MH)

Describes a competency based curriculum approach for ornamental horticulture. A horticulture cluster core consisting of 18 tasks was developed with competency sheets for each task. The competency sheet contains six columns: skills to be attained, task list, materials required, student activities, evaluation methods, and a recommended time period.…

Discusses the importance to science departments of processes used to track student performance and how assessment data are used. Adding value has two principal aspects. The first is quantitative, where gains in knowledge, skills, and understanding demonstrated by students are measured. The second is a cross-curricular aspect, evaluating the…

This study evaluated the reliability and validity of a battery of instruments based on Multiple Intelligences theory, including teacher checklists and performance-based assessment activities developed for the identification of talent in culturally diverse and/or low-income kindergarten and first-grade students. Acceptable reliability but…