—Lynne Azpeitia, MA and Mary Rocamora, M.A., Misdiagnosis of the Gifted
There are major challenges when looking for gifted students from special populations. This week we’ll be exploring ways of overcoming the barriers posed by using only standardized testing in the identification of gifted students and discovering other ways to recognize the gifted students in these special populations.
Nationally, school districts continue to struggle with finding effective ways to identify gifted students from the special populations. Gifted girls are still not recognized in math and science fields; young gifted are overlooked for years; gifted students with disabilities, if found, are usually found because of their disability, not their ability; highly gifted are not provided the stimulating educational opportunities needed to make the kind of progress and contributions they could; and underachieving gifted students are often removed from gifted programs for their seeming lack of progress. Low socioeconomic status (SES) and English Language Learners (ELL) do not participate in gifted programs at rates that reflect their presence in the general school population. Yet, a review of the data shows that these gifted students are still underrepresented and underserved nationally in programs designed for gifted students. Why?
Click on the graphic on the left to launch the activity in another window. This activity allows you to review alternative assessments and nontraditional screening and evaluation methods appropriate for use with students from special populations. As you complete the activity, think about when and how you can use these practices to help identify gifted students from special populations in your school. When you finish this activity close the window to continue with the course content.