Several definitions of giftedness have been used to identify culturally different gifted children. Traditional notions of giftedness have focused on high degrees of intellectual ability, special talent, or innate ability in a particular area. A more liberal definition would include any children identified by professionally qualified persons who, by virtue of outstanding abilities, are capable of high performance. Culture-based definitions of giftedness account for a diversity of patterns of intellectual ability and culturally unique learning styles. Likewise, a variety of approaches have been used to identify gifted students. These include group and individually administered intelligence tests, aptitude tests, and achievement tests; culture-based tests of cognitive ability; tests of creativity; various types of nominations and related techniques; checklists and behavioral inventories; interviews, self-reports, and case histories; examination of a student's products; Piagetian tests; and language proficiency tests. These approaches are discussed in terms of their inherent advantages and disadvantages and their utility for identifying minority students. (Author/GK)