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The study of the psychological constructs of cognitive ability and intelligence' has its roots in the work of theorists and researchers in the fields of psychometric measurement, intelligence, and developmental psychology. Giftedness as a trait of individuals is an outgrowth of the study of intelligence and cognitive abilities, and the definition of giftedness has changed over time as the study of human abilities has evolved in psychology. The study of giftedness in psychology can be traced back to Francis Galton's (1869) Hereditary Genius. From his observations of families of eminent persons, Galton defined giftedness as either attainment of genius or children showing the potential for genius, emphasizing the influence of heredity. Galton's beliefs about the high hereditability of intelligence and the link between measured intelligence and giftedness had a strong influence on the study of both intelligence and giftedness. This orientation continued with the work of Terman and his longitudinal study of gifted students and the work of Hollingworth (1942) with highly gifted students. Terman defined gifted children as those scoring two standard deviations above the norm on the Stanford-Binet intelligence Scale, an assessment created by Terman. Theories of giftedness that align with the conception of giftedness as advanced cognitive ability have generally focused on performance as measured by the Stanford-Binet, the Wechsler intelligence Scales, or other intelligence tests. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

I have attempted in this chapter to undermine some of the most fundamental articles of faith in the field of gifted education: that enrichment works; that gifted education requires gifted programs; and, finally, that the notion of giftedness among school students makes sense and results in positive outcomes. Many, if not most, people in the field of gifted education, I suspect, would reject my arguments out of hand. That is well and good; intellectual disagreement and debate are healthy signs in any discipline or field of practice. What I would find disturbing would not be disagreement with my conclusions, but dismissal of the value of problematizing our most cherished notions. A decade and a half ago, I wrote an article entitled "Gifted Education and the Threat of Irrelevance" (1996) in which 1 suggested that, as a field, we have a "fear of the big questions". By this I meant that we let others explore questions we find to be too controversial and thereby cede to others important intellectual territory that ought to be ours. We need to reclaim those "big questions" that others, including some not so friendly to our purposes, have laid claim to. Problematizing our most fundamental beliefs would be a good step in that direction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Identification of gifted students remains one of the most controversial aspects of gifted programming. This controversy stems from the lack of a consistent definition of giftedness, which makes identifying giftedness tricky; diversity in the ways in which giftedness is operationalized from school district to school district, sometimes referred to as the "geographic giftedness" phenomenon; and a lack of understanding of the technical aspect of measurement involved in the identification process. While there are myriad ways in which school districts implement the process of gifted identification, one commonly used process includes the use of a gifted identification matrix. Scholars in the field have written extensively about the perils of using matrices in identifying students for gifted services. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a (mostly) non-technical discussion of the uses and misuses of matrices and to offer some guidance on appropriate practices that can be applied in a school setting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

A traditional identification procedure using primarily quantitative assessments is the most widely used approach in the United States. Implementation of this approach, however, is quite diverse and is influenced by federal and state definitions, standards-based practices, state rules and regulations, program characteristics, and implicit or explicit conceptions of giftedness. For the most part, educators who use traditional approaches believe that gifted students exist and form a distinct group, that they can be identified with technically adequate assessments, and that they need to be served to develop their gifts and talents. To implement this approach, all who are involved in the identification process need to receive professional development, including administrators, parents, special educators, and general educators. Without this development, the quality of the overall process is in jeopardy. Moreover, technically adequate assessments need to be selected to ensure adequate ceilings, alignment with-the program, and recognition of all groups, particularly those from special populations. Since traditional assessment approaches do not generally provide sufficient diagnostic information for programming, a diverse group of gifted students is often served within a common program. To meet each student's interests, abilities, and skills more effectively, teachers need to gather more information to tailor the curriculum to each student. Even when well implemented, the traditional approach presents challenges including under-representation of minority students and inability to consider the dynamic nature of giftedness. Therefore, decisions are made on what is assessed, what the student has acquired, rather than what the student might develop. Politically, the process raises important issues; however, even though traditional approaches have serious challenges, they do recognize that gifted and talented students exist. Without the recognition that some students have distinct characteristics, is there a need for professional development, for services, or for resource support? (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Reviews the research on giftedness and talent in the arts. Topics addressed include: the nature and identification of giftedness/talent in the arts; and factors supporting artistic talent development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Definitions of high ability exist in context. When education in the 19th and 20th centuries primarily valued the rapid and accurate learning of a well-defined sequence of knowledge and skills, IQ and achievement tests predicted success. Cognitive qualities of giftedness were readily defined in terms of speed, accuracy, good memory, and even a predilection to work alone. Cognitive qualities of giftedness were closely tied to these views of the nature of education. The new values, especially since the 1980s, focus on inquiry-based learning and teaching and represent a major shift in the underlying assumption about what teaching, learning, and schools should be like, in the goals of education, and in the roles of teachers and learners. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

This summary will explore the coexistence of intellectual giftedness and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), two disparate, complex conditions that present additional complexities when they are present in the same person. Because these complexities manifest themselves uniquely and on an individual basis, and because of the limited research on the combined gifted/ADHD condition, it is necessary to understand each construct singly in order to frame a discussion of the combined condition. Research pertaining to the underlying physiology, diagnostic methods, and intervention strategies that are relevant to the combined condition will be the focus of this discussion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Musical giftedness is a topic characterized by multiple perspectives and definitions. Scholars and researchers in music education have investigated the nature of giftedness from a variety of viewpoints resulting in numerous terms used to identify students who may be considered musically gifted, along with various methods for identifying, teaching, and assessing these students. The following chapter includes an overview of the terms, common theories, and modes of assessment related to musical potential followed by definitions, theories, and assessment tools for musical achievement. Musical potential and achievement are then addressed in relation to models for fostering musical giftedness and implications for educators hoping to work with musically gifted students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

This chapter addresses the major issues facing educators, administrators, and parents in nurturing mathematical talent in students at the elementary level. The focus is on presenting relevant research and guidance on the application of this research so that the reader will be able to make informed decisions that will benefit young mathematically gifted students. Providing appropriate curriculum for mathematically gifted students is complex, in part because the definition of mathematical giftedness is not universal. How one defines mathematical giftedness in turn affects how students are identified for services and how the actual services, including the curriculum, are rendered. Thus, to get a true picture of the research associated with curriculum for elementary mathematics gifted education, several areas need to be addressed. To varying degrees, the research addresses the following questions related to providing appropriate curriculum for mathematically gifted elementary students: (1) How can we identify students who are mathematically gifted? (2) What kinds of programming options for these students have research support? (3) What instructional approaches and grouping models work best for these options? and (4) What research-based curriculum is appropriate for mathematically gifted elementary students? (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

The conception of giftedness proposed is one based on student learning and performance needs, hence the label child-responsive model. The model accepts, while adapting, some basic premises of two existing paradigms of giftedness that have competed for attention in the schools. It is predicated on the belief that the school environment should recognize the behaviors and characteristics of the exceptional learner from these two realms and respond to the concomitant learner needs in each group by creating learning environments that will maximize the opportunities for exceptional learners to extend their achieved and potential expertise in areas of high performance. Within this model, there are two clusters of gifted students. The two clusters of gifted students are designated the academic activists and the problem-solving innovators. The two paths that gifted students may follow in this model are the academic-accelerative path and the creative-productive path. Each path is of equal importance and deserves equal attention in the planning for addressing the needs of gifted students in our schools. Within this model, the authors attend specifically to the groups of students within each of those categories who can be reasonably served by the current school structure. In this chapter, the authors discuss the the two clusters of gifted students, and two paths that gifted students may follow in this model in great detail. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: create)

The recent popularity of Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory corresponds with current efforts to move away from the use of standardized measures of achievement and ability to more authentic assessment techniques, including portfolio and performance-based assessment. Gardner and his colleagues have strongly encouraged the application of MI theory to performance-based assessment. This study investigates the reliability and validity of a battery of instruments based on MI theory, including teacher checklists and performance-based assessment activities. The purpose in developing the instruments was the identification of talent in culturally diverse and/or low income kindergarten and first grade students. Results suggest acceptable evidence of reliability but raise questions about the validity of the assessments. This study has implications for both future research efforts and the application of MI-based, performance measures to the assessment and identification of talent. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

For millennia, scholars and laypersons alike have been fascinated with people of high accomplishment and those who show the potential for great accomplishment. These individuals are typically referred to as "gifted." In trying to answer the question "What behaviors and characteristics make someone gifted?," a variety of theories, or conceptions, of giftedness have been proposed. Until recently, conceptions of giftedness were based on "implicit theories," or the intuitions, impressions, and personal beliefs held by individuals, rather than on "'explicit theories," which are supported by rigorous research investigating the cognitive, ability, and personality variables associated with giftedness. Carefully articulating an evidence-based conception of giftedness carries important implications for educational practice. This is because the way in which a school district conceptualizes giftedness should guide its overall programming for gifted students, including how to identify gifted learners, how to instruct them so that their gifts and academic potential are realized, and how to evaluate whether the identification and instruction were appropriate and relevant to their cognitive characteristics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

The achievement and opportunity gaps between low-income students and their more economically advantaged peers present serious challenges for gifted education. Further, for rural students these excellence gaps may be even more pronounced, and the recognition of giftedness and subsequent program options are thus limited. The need to re-orient educators to think in terms of definition of giftedness, identification based on opportunity to learn, and provision of curricular interventions form the core of this chapter. Drawing on early work on curriculum for gifted students across populations and the lessons learned in working in rural schools (Callahan et al., Am Educ Res J 52:137–167, 2015) and ongoing work in a five-year project focusing on promoting gifted education in rural schools, we present a definition of giftedness based on specific academic ability, an identification process derived from the conception of place in the consideration of talent, steps in identification that incorporate the conception of opportunity to learn, and an outline of curricular interventions that also incorporate place-based pedagogy as a core element in selection of content. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: book)

The neural bases of giftedness will be examined in this chapter by focusing on a construct within giftedness: high levels of intelligence. Intelligence is very difficult to define, and in fact, there is little consensus among scientific researchers as to what is meant by intelligence. A general definition provided by Sternberg and Salter (1982) that we will use is "goal-directed adaptive behavior". Intelligent behavior is adaptive in that it changes to confront and successfully meet challenges. Because it is not enough for intelligent behavior to simply be adaptive, it is also thought to be goal-directed or purposeful. However, it is the adaptive nature of intelligence that will be the primary focus of this chapter. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

In this chapter, we report and synthesize the major findings in the specific domain of mathematics with direct implications for the secondary curriculum. We draw on the relevant literature from international journals in mathematics education, gifted education, and philosophy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Over the past several years, media attention directed toward autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has increased substantially, not only in relation to the rising prevalence rate, but also through the portrayal of individuals with ASD in movies and television shows. Misconceptions abound; for example, many erroneously believe that a large percentage of individuals with ASD are savants, or that everyone diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome is gifted. Neither statement is true. However, research does demonstrate that there are individuals with ASD who are intellectually gifted, although the prevalence rate remains unknown. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; 2012), 1 in every 88 children is currently diagnosed with an ASD. Given this astounding number, educators undoubtedly will work with individuals on the spectrum at some point during their careers. To do so requires a comprehensive understanding of ASD, as well as an awareness of the potential for giftedness. To fully understand this group of twice-exceptional students, clarification of terminology and diagnostic criteria must first be addressed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

A major review of research from 1951 to 1982 on parents and families of students with gifts and talents identified the following themes in the research literature—(a) family characteristics, (b) parental attitudes and values, (c) family problems with gifted children, (d) achievement and underachievement, (e) role of parents in identification, (f) parental encouragement and provision of enrichment activities, and (g) parents and schools. Although the focus of research has narrowed over time, parents' expectations of services and programming and parents' perceptions of their child's giftedness consistently have remained a focus of study. The distinctive challenges that parents of gifted children face should be of interest to researchers as well as to teachers, parents, and the gifted children themselves. Awareness of these challenges can help faculty to design appropriate educational experiences for preservice and in-service teachers who work with students with gifts and talents, can ameliorate some of the isolation felt by parents of gifted learners, and can help gifted individuals to understand and come to terms with their own family environments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Definitions of terms and concepts in any field of study provide the basis for common understanding and shared meaning while also facilitating decision making and resource allocation. They serve an important role in building credibility and consensus among theorists, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. The field of gifted education is no exception, but as the following example demonstrates, there is still much work to be done regarding the clarity and utility of policy-related definitions of giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

The authors trace the historical and cultural factors that have led the education establishment to ignore outstanding potential in the many subcultural groups that make up our society. Much of the blame, these authors assert, must be laid at the door of the testing movement and the narrow definitions of giftedness and talent it engendered. As an alternative to the current system of gifted education, Callahan and Hiatt envision schools of talent development, in which talent identification is based on authentic assessments of performance or production to find those with "expertise;" in which the procedures are inclusive, not exclusive; and in which all subcultural groups are equitably represented. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: introduction)

The use of norm-referenced, standardized tests of intelligence and achievement in the process of identifying gifted students has a long tradition. Indeed, use of these tests continues to dominate the identification of giftedness in most states and school districts. Proponents of the use of intelligence tests contend that they are objective, valid means of assessing intellectual ability and the single most reliable predictors of academic achievement. However, reliance on traditional assessment intelligence and achievement tests—as the sole data sources in identifying gifted students has received scrutiny. Critics question the validity of these tests for measuring giftedness and argue that an emphasis on traditional assessment tools reflects outdated conceptions of giftedness. They further contend that traditional assessments contribute to the under-identification of minority, low socioeconomic status (SES), and twice-exceptional students, as well as students with creative talents. Still others note that relying solely on traditional test scores results in an arbitrary and indefensible use of cut-off scores for inclusion in gifted programs. These criticisms have led to expanded conceptions of giftedness along with new paradigms for identifying more diverse populations for gifted programs and services. New paradigms call for the use of multiple criteria for identification, including a combination of portfolios, authentic and dynamic assessments, performance tasks, teacher rating scales, and other non-traditional assessments in combination with traditional assessments. While moving the role of traditional assessment tools from center stage in the decision- making process has been encouraged, few argue that they have no place in conceptions of intellectual giftedness' or identification of students gifted in specific academic domains, and they remain a prominent data source in identification procedures in most school districts. However, in order to evaluate the advantages, and limitations, of using traditional assessment tools for identifying gifted students, one must understand what these instruments purport to measure and for what purposes they are valid and reliable instruments. This understanding will aid educators in determining how and under what circumstances it is appropriate to use traditional assessment tools to identify gifted students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)