Proposed Checklist for Identifying Students for Gifted and Talented Education Programs

  1. What is the goal of the gifted program in your school or district? Is it enrichment or acceleration and on what basis is this decision made?
  2. What academic and other domains (e.g., mathematics, language arts, and science) is the program planning to target?
  3. What domain-specific skills are important to measure alongside measures of general intelligence?
  4. Are the individuals being identified likely to have well-developed skills in the domain or do preskills need to be assessed?
  5. Is the level of exposure to the domain likely to vary widely among individuals being assessed on the basis of background variables such as socioeconomic status or first language? If yes, how are these concerns addressed in your identification protocol?
  6. Are screening and selection data being collected from multiple sources?
  7. Do identification data include information on interests, motivation, self-regulation, and willingness to engage in effortful learning?
  8. Are data from raters (e.g., teachers, parents [not students]) low-inference or behavioral in nature and collected using instruments that are less likely to be susceptible to halo effects?
  9. What is the nature of the reliability and validity evidence in support of scores being used for identification?
  10. Are local norms available for use as part of the identification process?
  11. Who is providing the instruction and are they certified for teaching gifted students?
  12. Is the curriculum in keeping with the curriculum standards proposed by NAGC and CEC?
  13. Will the curriculum allow students from all backgrounds to see the contributions of individuals like themselves?
  14. Will the program be sensitive to perceived belonging on the part of students from traditionally underrepresented groups?
  15. How will the effectiveness of the program be evaluated across all these domains?

Note. CEC = Council for Exceptional Children; NAGC = National Association for Gifted Children

Worrell, F. C. and Erwin, J. O. (2011) Best practices in identifying students for gifted and talented education programs, Journal of Applied School Psychology, 27:4, 319-340, DOI: 10.1080/15377903.2011.615817.

 

Top