This paper is an overview of some points made at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in April of 1987. Gender effects were computed on 82 nationally standardized tests designed to determine precocity among youth. The effect sizes ranged from a magnitude of 0.50 (favoring females) for spelling in grade 12 on the…

The three phases (finding seventh and eighth grade mathematically talented students, studying them, and helping them educationally) of the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) are detailed, and examples of the superiority of educational acceleration over educational enrichment are pointed out. Results of standardized intelligence tests…

A natural experiment dramatically reveals that scores on a difficult standardized mathematics aptitude test predicts achievement in mathematics over a 2 or 3-year period considerably better than the judgment of the students' present mathematics teacher. (Author/AM)

It is argued that aptitude and achievement tests designed for much older students are invaluable for finding extremely high ability at younger ages, particularly in mathematical and verbal reasoning. Results of the first two years of the Study of Mathematically and Scientifically Precocious Youth (SMSPY) are examined to show that considerable…

This article responds to criticisms made in the Ebmeier and Schmulbach study (EC 221 845) of the Scholastic Aptitude Test as used by talent search programs such as the Center for the Advancement of Academically Talented Youth (CTY). The history of CTY's uses of cutoff scores and alternative interpretations of statistics are discussed. (PB)

A review of the literature indicates that although some authors maintain that scholastic aptitude test scores of disadvantaged students are not clearly associated with college grades (Clark and Plotkin, 1963), most researchers have found the opposite to be true. Some selective institutions emphasize the disadvantaged student's persistence, rather…

The Johns Hopkins University program to identify prodigies in mathematics is reviewed. The Advanced Placement Program of the College Board is seen as a means for intellectually highly able youths to move ahead fast in a greatly enriched fashion and earn college credit. (MLW)

What giftedness really means has been discussed over centuries. This exploration, by a researcher involved in the study of mathematically talented youth, considers that giftedness may take many forms. The construct of general intelligence is probably the most widely studied psychological construct, but it is apparent that the IQ is not an ideal…