This replication study with 96 highly gifted and 192 less gifted control subjects (all 12 years old) found the highly gifted (students with extremely high scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test) were disproportionately male. It did not find that the highly gifted were more likely to be left handed or to have allergies. (Author/DB)

A survey assessing components of attitude thought to be relevant to success in a program for mathematically talented youth was administered to 61 participants on 4 occasions over a 2-year period. Male participants showed a significantly higher level of motivation, confidence, and interest in mathematics than did females. Attitude declines over…

Gifted/talented high school students (n=113) completed the Mathematical Self-Efficacy Scale. Analysis indicated that males had stronger self-efficacy expectations than females on more than one-fourth of the items, whereas females reported stronger self-efficacy expectations on only a few items that involved stereotypical female activities.…

In recent research, female adolescents have been found to prefer history, language, and writing courses, while male adolescents have been found to prefer mathematics and science courses. These gender differences in course selection occurred despite the fact that female and male adolescents performed equally well in these courses. This study…

Analysis of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Revised) profiles of 456 grade 3 students with Intelligence Quotients of 120 and above found subtest scatter, verbal-performance discrepancy, and idiographic variability to be common and normal. Differences were identified in subgroups according to verbal or nonverbal strengths and gender. (DB)

This study used data from the National Education Longitudinal Study to examine gender differences between high-achieving students in math and science with respect to their achievement, self-concept, locus of control, number of math and science courses taken, and the people who influenced their decisions to enroll in advanced courses in high…

Although the sources and effects of sex role stereotyping on personal, vocational, and cultural aspects of society have been documented, little research has focused on strategies for changing stereotypic views. To investigate the effectiveness of a short, intense teaching session on sex role attitudes, 51 gifted ninth and tenth grade students…

Neither parental attitudes nor perception of mathematics as a male domain appear to account for sex differences in mathematics achievement on the SAT for gifted and above-average junior high school students. (MNS)

Mothers (n=547) and fathers (n=547) of academically talented sixth grade students completed a questionnaire assessing parents' definition of academic success. Internal or external conceptions of success were related to parents' education level, gender, and ethnic group. Parents likely to emphasize internal standards were those without a doctorate,…

Ethnically diverse fifth through seventh grade children (N=805) were evaluated for intellectual ability, locus of control, and the presence of vulnerability factors. Overall, higher internal locus of control was associated with female Caucasians not at risk. Results suggest that for intellectually bright non-Caucasians vulnerability is associated…

Reports on a study of the possession and use of toys among 151 gifted and 135 average German elementary students. Finds that only the use of toys typical for boys displayed a mildly significant effect for giftedness. Also finds both groups exhibited gender-specific toy possession and toy use to an equal degree. (CFR)

This study concerns the selection of mathematically talented students at the beginning of secondary school in Australia, using a version of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Age and sex differences were found. Younger and older students responded to SAT items in qualitatively different ways. (MNS)

The career aspirations and the factors influencing career decisions were investigated for a group of extremely precocious females to determine why some enter math/science careers and others do not. Using the multiple-case study approach, 15 mathematically precocious females' career paths were characterized. These females had scored before age 13…

Examines predictor variables involved in the performance of 152 male and 143 female gifted high school juniors on the Scholastic Aptitude Test in mathematics (SAT-M). Concludes that males demonstrate greater visual-spatial ability which plays a dominant role in SAT-M performance. (FMW)

This study reports the characteristics of the 4,751 high school students (out of 374,527) who achieved perfect scores in 1 or more subtests of the 1991 PLAN academic performance test, an academic assessment of 10th graders. Comparisons by gender, ethnicity, and subtest (English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning) and a profile of…