Are Teachers Really Poor Talent Detectors? Comments On Pegnato and Birch's (1959) Study of the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Various Identification Techniques

Abstract

This article reanalyses Pegnato and Birch's data in their often cited 1959 article, especially their measures of effectiveness and efficiency. The author shows that these two concepts are not independent, as usually assumed in studies examining the criterion-related validity of various identification techniques for the gifted and talented. Rather, both are related to the number of subjects singled out as a result of the cutoff value chosen to implement the method. Consequently, most comparisons made between and within methods become invalid. A simple alternative is presented: compare the correla tion coefficients of the predictors with the criterion. It is concluded that this methodological flaw, as well as some other technical limitations, invalidates the most often cited observation from that study, namely, that teacher nominations should not be relied upon as an identification technique for the gifted and talented.

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