A study involving 46 intellectually talented and 46 typical third graders was undertaken to assess differences in psychosocial maturity across the groups. Focus was on examining psychosocial maturity through assessment of interpersonal reasoning, which is defined as the ways children exhibit sensitivity to the feelings of others and assume…

In 1980, the Lake Washington School District in Kirkland (Washington) undertook a needs assessment of district activities and policies. One component of this assessment was a survey of community, staff, and student opinion concerning cost-saving or controversial actions or programs being considered for implementation in the future. Questionnaires…

The cognitive development of a group of children who, at age six, were more than one standard deviation above the mean on a culture-fair measure is described. The relationship of influences at discrete time points which impinge on measures of mental attainment at elementary school entry is schematized. (DWH)

This book developed as an outgrowth of a two-year study of 300 children discovered during preschool or kindergarten to be advanced in their mathematical thinking. Among other findings, the study revealed that the children tended to remain advanced in math over the two-year period, that their spatial reasoning related more closely to their math…

This paper describes the application of problem-based learning (PBL) design principles and the inclusion of teacher and study scaffolds to the design and implementation of a hypermedia-based learning unit for the upper elementary/middle school grades. The study examined the following research questions: (1) Does hypermedia-based PBL represent an…

This report contains two studies. The first study was conducted in order to obtain a profile of Kansas students in the 1999 class of National Merit Semifinalists (NMSFs). A survey was mailed to 166 students. Data were analyzed in terms of age, gender, race, language, family characteristics, high schools attended, extracurricular activities,…

Since the minimum competency movement of the 1970s, the importance placed on standardized tests has increased significantly. The intent of this study was to investigate the effects of state testing programs on the instructional practices of elementary school teachers and the effects of such practices on their gifted students' attitudes toward…

Reports on a study of 34 high-ability fifth-grade students randomly assigned to individual- or cooperative-learning conditions. Finds that achievement was higher on recall and higher order reasoning measures and that the students demonstrated higher academic self-esteem and greater cohesion in the cooperative condition. (CFR)

A survey of 124 academically gifted secondary students who participated in the 1992-93 Utah Talent Search program focused on student experiences, attitudes toward teachers, self-perceptions, and career plans. Students reported a wide range of program options in elementary school but only honors and/or advanced placement classes at the secondary…

Survey responses of 82 Minnesota parents of rural students with disabilities and rural gifted students show that the main reason they applied for open enrollment is because alternative districts were better able to meet the educational requirements of their children. Transferring students' demographic characteristics and parents' sources of…

First-year data from a longitudinal investigation of over 1,100 children receiving different types of gifted services or regular instruction indicated significant differences in achievement levels, self-concepts, and teacher ratings of students selected for different services, with achievement fostered by special school and class options and…

This study of the college experiences of 1,724 academically talented (upper 2%) high school seniors in Wisconsin did not support suggestions of a "brain drain" out of Wisconsin. The study also found that 82% of males and 72% of females majored in math-science areas and 60% felt ill prepared in foreign languages. (DB)

This study found that accelerated students (n=365) and students (n=334) in gifted classes had better perceptions of their social relationships and emotional development and fewer behavior problems than did regular students (n=323). The accelerated eighth graders who entered school early or skipped elementary grades did not report social isolation,…

Reports on a study of the free response essays in the Advance Placement U.S. history test from 1963-92. Asserts that there were four significant transition years: 1964, 1965, 1973, and 1976 and predicts another in 1994. Presents data indicating trends toward social history, cultural pluralism, and economic/business topics. (CFR)

The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) was administered to 219 Czech adolescents, 132 of whom were mathematically gifted. Two distinct orthogonal constructs of perfectionism were identified, indicating that healthy and unhealthy perfectionism are not opposite poles on a single continuum but are independent constructs. Perfectionism was…