Myth No. 2: Giftedness can easily be measured by intelligence tests and tests of achievement. Giftedness is difficult to measure. This is why schools and school districts try so many different ways to identify gifted students. Tests are often culturally biased and may reflect ethnicity, socioeconomic status, exposure and experiences rather than true giftedness. Other children may be gifted but are not good at taking tests. They may not score well on standardized tests but may be gifted, especially in creative and productive thinking.
While I believe that some children are easy to identify as gifted because they test well, there are those that do not and there are those who are twice exceptional and cannot do well on the most commonly used test, the CogAt. Some of the most difficult areas for me to ascertain if a child is gifted is in the arts, technology and/or leadership. I had a student who missed qualifying for gifted by one point in one area and three points in two areas, yet he was brilliant. This young man had an entrepreneurial spirit and had started his own business making over $30,000 a year profit in 7th grade. He could lead any group of students and had the uncanny ability to organize greatness. He was crushed when he did not qualify for gifted, because all of his peers were identified. As a gifted team, we made the decision to have him submit a portfolio of his leadership and business interests and we created a rubric to determine whether he should be placed in gifted classes. Luckily, all but one of our team mates thought this was a splendid answer for including these oftentimes overlooked areas of giftedness.
However, this one teammate ridiculed the process and believed that we were watering down our program by allowing students alternative pathways to gifted identification. Luckily the student was accepted into the gifted program and shined like we knew he would. He continued his business, and even expanded it during high school. By the time he graduated from high school, he had saved enough money to buy a home for cash and of course had a full ride scholarship to the University of his choice and has soared both academically and socially. For me this is the reason for gifted education: To support students in their academic and professional endeavors based on their ability. This was a win-win for the school and for the student. We did not lower our requirements for admittance, we expanded them with fidelity. Having multiple pathways to identification allows for non-traditional groups to be represented in our gifted education model.
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ReplyDeleteI don't think intelligence tests should be or can be the only measure of a gifted student. The article displays this perfectly, clearly the student being discussed above proves that not all people's giftedness can be proven through tests.
ReplyDeleteThink about those students who are gifted at art or music but struggle with reading comprehension or have a hard time putting their thoughts on paper. A lot people think people that are gifted are gifted in scholastic things but plenty of people display giftedness in other categories.
"Having multiple pathways to identification allows for non-traditional groups to be represented in our gifted education model. " I fully agree with this statement. As we always say here at school, Consider the Possibilities!
This thought is always at the back of my mind when we discuss "students are are gifted." Are not all students (people) gifted in one way or another? Athletically, emotionally, socially, academically? And shouldn't we be trying to challenge their appropriate strengths?
ReplyDeleteAs educators, we are the specialists to assist students who are gifted in their specific areas. Like Marlene mentioned, the entrepreneur leadership skills are not assessed on the standardized tests and are therefore not identified. How we get around this accurately assessed, I do not know.
So where do we begin? Is it with the actual assessment we give students that identifies their specific area(s} of strength? Or do we create a movement away from using labels and titles and establish criteria to challenge all students where they are at?
looking forward to hearing what your thoughts are on this topic!
Hi Lindsey,
DeleteI agree, there are many different types of giftedness. Athletic, Artistic, Musically, Academic, etc… although it is difficult to provide services for all types. This is generally why schools target a specific area. San Tan focused on academically gifted students, while the school down the road focuses on artistically gifted students. This is where the parents come into play… knowing their child’s dreams and passions allow them to select the school that is most appropriate for their child.
At San Tan, we can assist those who are gifted in different areas… Mrs. Ball works with our musicians and we are beginning to provide sports too… While we are unable to meet all children’s needs at this point… I think we are on the right path. : -)
On a side note… we need to be careful labeling children as gifted when they may not be. If we place a sibling in a self-contained gifted class… and the sibling is not gifted, it is actually very painful and hard on that child. We need to do our homework and thoroughly investigate each child.
: -)
Great point, Michelle. Now like you said, it is informing those parents on if their child is gifted in the first place, and then in turn letting them know the resources available to help their child excel. Which I guess brings us back to the initial point of the myth- how can we make a viable test for academic giftedness?
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DeleteMyth No. 2: Giftedness can easily be measured by intelligence tests and tests of achievement.
ReplyDeleteI agree, gifted children often perform well on exams, but there is a distinct percentage of gifted children that do not test well. As the gifted coordinator at my previous school, I fought the administration’s previous policies for qualifying gifted students and thankfully created a few new policies that will serve the school well in the future. : -)
For example, the school was adamant on allowing students with a 97% on the CogAT into the gifted program, it seemed as if it was a prestigious status in society rather than a program to assist our quirky souls. I fought to allow provisional placement in the GATE program for those who came close… initially I was granted students within 2 points, then later I was able to grant access for 5 points. This made a huge difference… by allowing these children into the program they gained the skills they needed to pass the past the following year (at least 90% on average did). Amazingly, most of the skills they learned were about themselves, how to handle anxiety, perfectionism, and of course… lots of fun problem solving through reasoning games.
Another policy I set in place was to allow leniency for siblings of students who qualified as gifted. Giftedness is genetic… although occasionally it skips every now and then… but that’s genetics. : -) Last fall we had a new family join the school, 2 of the 4 children entered with a WISC around 140 or above and we lined up the other 2 for the first round of testing. When testing day came, I watched the 2 boys enter the room… one was in 9th grade, the other was in 11th. The 9th grader walked in with a smile, sat down and arranged his book next to him… ready to read when he finished early... which he didn’t, he used every minute to check and double check every single answer choice… The 11th grader came in very nervous. He was fidgety, sweating, and bluntly nervous to be there. He took a seat… laid out his book next to him then proceeded to line up 7 pencils in order from smallest to largest in a perfect line. He concentrated deeply on the exam and rarely finished a battery within the allotted time limit.
Turns out, the 9th grader scored in the 99% for all batteries and the 11th grader scored around the 87%. I did some further digging, pulled his AIMs scores, his PSATs, talked to his teachers, parents, and the college counselor. I pulled enough data to show beyond a reasonable doubt that this teen should be placed within the gifted program, and he was. He continued to create some of the most amazing engineering products last year… and he learned some tricks to control his testing anxiety. Last I heard, he was applying to MIT with scholarships already lined up (He should graduate this fall…)
Yes… we must always look past the initial scores and look deeply within the child. We may find the child is exceptional, but not gifted… other times we may find a gifted child who desperately needs our help.
I think I figured out early on that tests and gifted students don't mix. And as educators, I do believe we have a duty to teach the whole child. But, I also believe we have to give these kiddos the tools to be successful in the future (which in high school and college, will include tests). I would really like to look at finding ways to help the kids establish successful test taking skills, as well as alleviate some of the test taking jitters they often have.
ReplyDeleteMyth No. 2: Giftedness can easily be measured by intelligence tests and tests of achievement. Giftedness is difficult to measure.
ReplyDeleteIn looking at this myth I think the reason it is so difficult to define whether a child is gifted or not is tied to our lack of ability to set in place an agreed upon criteria. The same myth can be said of students who are learning disabled. A child can score poorly (even at the low end of the cognitive scale) and not be considered disabled, even though that child has to work significantly harder in order to gain academically.
I guess the real question is how do we want to define whether a student is gifted on not? Is using a standardized IQ test the answer? I do not think so. I think it gives us a small amount of information, then we need to look at other pieces of data, like characteristics. I found this great graphic several years ago that has helped me understand how children (or even adults) can be considered gifted.
I personally think that we need to look at the whole child when we consider the learning needs of students. As educators I think it helps when we can recognize the social, emotional, academic, and non-academic characteristics of gifted children (I was not able to attach a copy of this graphic, maybe Marlene can show us). As a new third grade teacher, my goal is to look at what each child knows, what we expect them to know, and how to meet their learning needs within the perimeters of their abilities. This is easier said than done.
I love Marlene’s story and I totally agree with how they handled the student who was exceptional but who had trouble with testing. I think that the criteria for gifted students should include an assortment of assessments. For example, a student could take a qualifying paper/pencil test AND present a portfolio, have teacher recommendations as well as write an essay on a given prompt. In this way, we have a wide variety of ways to measure. If what we are talking about is assessing students to see if they can meet the academic rigor, accelerated pace, creativity, problem solving, independent study, collaborative projects, etc. that are all components of a gifted program, then we should also be willing to assess students in different ways to find the abilities/gifts that we are looking for which might be showing up in ways/areas that we didn’t historically consider like the arts and technology. Gifted testing should never be limited to a coag test.
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