A Case for a Broadened Conception of Giftedness.

Abstract

W ho should be served by special programs for the gifted and talented? Despite a seemingly endless stream of articles, speeches, and bureaucratic guidelines devoted to this question, its answer continues to stir controversy and debate . Scholars and practitioners even a few born-again snake-oil peddlers have unabashedly put forth one panacea after another, each guaranteed to identify infallibly those youngsters who are gifted . Nonetheless, three unfortunate realities continue to characterize the process of identifying gifted youngsters for special services . First, contrary to a large body of research evidence, rigid cut-off scores on I .Q . or achievement tests are still the primary if not the only criterion used to select participants for most gifted and talented programs .' Second, educators and laypeople alike are often dissatisfied with decisions that spring from the selection process. Third, research neither supports nor refutes the various methods that have been suggested for identifying gifted youngsters and the program models these selection methods generate. As a result, uncertainty and confusion prevail among administrators, teachers, program developers, and policy makers. Lack of solid Cesearch on these issues has also prompted some scathing and largely unrefuted -attacks on existing practices by parents of gifted students2 and by writers for education journals and the popular press.3 The development of new approaches for serving gifted students should be encouraged, but research must also validate

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