This study compared the motivational orientations and metacognitive abilities of 143 Grade 7 intellectually gifted students in an Australian selective school with 133 average-achieving age peers attending comprehensive schools. Gifted students had greater confidence in their own control over successes or failures in school tasks, demonstrated more…

Students (n=63) who entered college by age 14 supplied data on the number and ages of friends, time spent together, and degree of shared intimacy. By junior year, early entrants appeared to have established relations with older students of breadth and depth equivalent to those already existing with agemates. (Author/JDD)

This report details results of providing gifted and talented middle school and early high school students with computer-based advanced placement courses in mathematics and physics. Three such groups in the Education Program for Gifted Youth at Stanford University (California) were followed. Results support acceleration for such students and the…

This paper summarizes and critiques the empirical research of the 1970s and 1980s on identification processes and descriptions of mathematically gifted students, both precocious students who score well on tests and overlooked students with unique ways of doing mathematics. The paper describes students' family backgrounds, behaviors, cognitive…

The first goal of this article is to discuss the role of nonverbal ability tests in the identification of academically gifted children. I note that most nonverbal tests measure verbally mediated cognitive processes, that they are neither "culture flee" nor "culture fair," and that we have known these facts for a very long time. I show that…

The Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) and the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) were evaluated as possible instruments for identifying academically talented students in minority populations. A significantly higher proportion of minority children scored well on the RPM than on a traditional measure. Issues and concerns about using the…

The Diet Cola Test was designed as a process assessment of science aptitude in intermediate grade students. Investigations of the instrument's reliability and validity indicated that data did not support use of the instrument for identifying individual students' aptitude. However, results suggested the test's appropriateness for evaluating…

This study compared intellectually superior students (ages 8-9) identified as accelerated readers (n=11) or nonreaders (n=8) at the age of 4 and provided similar types of elementary school basal reading instruction. Accelerated readers scored higher than nonreaders on measures of word attack and dictation, with no differences on word recognition…

Two pilot tests with fifth and sixth graders evaluated the Secondary School Admission Test for identifying academically talented students of elementary school age. Testing indicated that mean scores for eighth and ninth grade normative samples are recommended as cutoffs for identifying highly able fifth and sixth grade students. (Author/JDD)

This article discusses the use of performance task assessments by Project STAR for identifying students for academically gifted programs in grades 3-6. A field test of the performance assessment tasks resulted in finding an additional group of students who were 12 percent African American and 14 percent low-income children. (Contains references.)…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a specially designed museum science program on academically gifted elementary students. The program focused on inquiry-based activities that paralleled the work of museum scientists. A pre- and postattitude questionnaire and a parental postquestionnaire were used to investigate changes in…

Qualitative methodology examined behaviors and strategies used by 12 high-potential middle school students when they did not feel challenged in school. Data analysis found students engaged in the following behaviors: selective attention, focused curricular involvement, involvement with others, humor, participation in extracurricular activities,…

This study of 905 academically talented students (ages 12-16) who completed a 1-year course in high school biology, chemistry, or physics in a 3-week summer program found that the fast-paced courses effectively prepared subjects to accelerate in science and that talented students could begin high school sciences earlier than generally allowed.…

In a recent article in this journal, Naglieri and Ford (2003) claimed that Black and Hispanic students are as likely to earn high scores on the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT; Naglieri, 1997a) as White students. However, the sample that Naglieri and Ford used was not representative of the U.S. school population as a whole and was quite…

This study examines the effects of the Community Action service learning project, part of the Learn and Serve America program, on gifted adolescents and their community. Using a case study design, the author investigates this service learning project grounded in creative problem solving. The importance of service learning to the participants is…