Key Ideas About Identification

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As school districts develop programs for high ability students, several key ideas are important to consider.  First of all, it is important to use multiple instruments in identification and to match the program with the characteristics of the students. Second, the measures must be valid, that is, they must assess what they are designed to assess. Both predictive validity (whether or not the identification measure or process accurately predicts appropriate placement in a program) as well as construct validity (whether the measure or process accurately measures the student’s high ability or giftedness) must be considered when designing and implementing identification procedures. Typical assessments used to identify high ability students measure:

General Cognitive Ability

General cognitive ability involves high levels of abstract thinking, verbal and numerical reasoning, spatial relations, memory, and word fluency. General cognitive ability is usually measured by IQ tests such as the Stanford-Binet, Ravens, Wechsler and etc.

Specific Ability

Ability is the application of various combinations of the same measures in general ability but applied to more specialized areas of knowledge or human performance (arts, leadership, “school” performance in a variety of subjects). Common tests may measure abstract thinking and reasoning and often yield both a verbal and a nonverbal score. Examples of aptitude tests include: Iowa Test of Basic Skills, California Achievement Test, Cognitive Ability Test, Naglieri NonVerbal Ability Test, and etc.

Task Commitment

Task commitment measures the level of commitment to a particular task. It involves high levels of interest, enthusiasm, and fascination with a particular activity. Perseverance, endurance, determination, hard work and dedication to the task are also considered in this type of measurement. Tests such as the Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students and other teacher or parent inventories are used for this purpose.

Creativity

Creativity involves the skills of:

  1. Originality - statistical infrequency of response
  2. Fluency - number of responses
  3. Flexibility - the degree of difference of the responses, in other words do they come from a single domain or multiple domains
  4. Elaboration - the amount of detail of the response fluency, flexibility, and originality of thought.

Creativity tests such as the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, The Creative Behavior Inventory, The Creative Attitude Survey and others are used to measure these four skills.

Identification Steps:

  1. There are four basic steps in the identification process.
  2. Initial referral, screening, or nomination.
  3. Gathering data about the student
  4. Making the decisions about appropriate placement for the student
  5. Providing the determined placement, program or services for the student

Guiding Principles

In addition, the following governing principles (from the Utah Gifted and Talented Online Handbook

http://schools.utah.gov/CURR/gifttalent/District-Coordinators.aspx

  • Seeking variety in identification by having a clear, inclusive definition of gifted and talented (Callahan, Hunsaker, Adams, Moore, & Bland, 1995; Davis & Rimm, 2004; Richert, 2003).
  • Using multiple criteria, not multiple hurdles (Callahan, et al., 1995; Clark, 2008; Davis & Rimm, 2004; U.S. Department of Education, 1993).
  • Using unique, separate instrumentation for different areas of giftedness and talent (Callahan, et al., 1995; Davis & Rimm, 2004).
  • Basing identification and placement on student need, linking identification to the specific services to be offered (Callahan, et al., 1995; Davis & Rimm, 2004).
  • Making identification fluid and ongoing (Davis & Rimm, 2004; U.S. Department of Education, 1983; Shore, Cornell, Robinson, & Ward, 1991).
  • Recognizing that the purpose of identification is to find and develop exceptional potential (Clark, 2008; U.S. Department of Education, 1993; Richert, 200)