This study emerges from the lack of empirical research on gifted students' attributions about academic success and failure in multiple subject areas and school in general. We explored differences in top attributional choices between boys and girls for success and failure in general academics, language arts, science, and mathematics. Gifted…

Beliefs about the extent to which intelligence can be disentangled from achievement pervade both theorizing about the nature of academic giftedness and efforts to identify those children most likely to display it. I review some of the evidence that challenges common assumptions about the independence of these constructs. As in many other domains,…

In 1982, the Duvall County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Florida, launched the Potential National Merit Scholars Program because the superintendent believed that students could qualify by intent, not accident. Several special programs to identify and prepare students, including the superintendent's 100 Super Scholars and summer think camps, are…

Surveyed 100 gifted college students matched on race, age, sex, and education with control subjects. High achievers differed statistically from controls on several subscales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Results suggest that certain personality traits (not necessarily desirable or healthy ones) are associated with high…

Talent search programs for academically gifted students are described. Specific information is provided about four programs, along with discussion of the advantages and drawbacks for students. (MD)

Just as it is said that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, so it could be said that the impact of any legislation is in the interpretation of the reader as administrator, teacher, student, or parent. The value of any educational legislation is equivocal and dependent on two basic factors: philosophy and practice. The need to take a stand and…

This study tracks intellectually precocious youths (top 1%) over 20 years. Phase 1 (N = 1,243 boys, 732 girls) examines the significance of age 13 ability differences within the top 1% for predicting doctorates, income, patents, and tenure at U.S. universities ranked within the top 50. Phase 2 (N = 323 men, 188 women) evaluates the robustness of…

Parents, classroom teachers, and teachers of the gifted cannot be all things to the young people in their charge. The nature and diversity of gifted students' interests demand resources beyond the confines of the school and sometimes beyond the confines of the community. These demands demonstrate the need for mentors and other resources. One of…

The "No Child Left Behind" Legislation has altered the landscape of elementary schools across the nation. This alteration has left many educators and parents wondering whether children are being robbed of their childhood in order to meet the legislation's many mandates. Across the nation, traditional school days, instructional programs,…

This study compares achievement levels for high ability students attending charter schools and students in traditional public schools in Georgia. Researchers examined student achievement (as assessed by the state's Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests) using three comparison groups: students in the closest traditional schools with similar grade…

The purpose of the present study was to create and test a model that (a) illustrated variables influencing the development of perfectionism, and (b) demonstrated how different types of perfectionism may influence the achievement goals of high-ability students. Using a multiple groups path analysis, the researchers found that parenting style was…

The author describes several of the "radical accelerants" who were identified in a study of mathematically precocious youth and who entered Johns Hopkins University in early adolescence. (CL)

Describes the Potential National Merit Scholars program at Jacksonville (Florida) Schools, an effort to identify exceptionally talented students and schedule them into advanced mathematics and language arts clases in the eighth grade. They may also attend special summer sessions and the superintendent's 100 superscholars program. (MLH)

Parents and educators must recognize that culturally diverse students are gifted and culturally diverse. Like gifted students, they need to have their abilities recognized and they need to be challenged. Like diverse students, they need to have their culture (e.g., values, traditions, customs, etc.) acknowledged, respected, and otherwise affirmed.…

Counseling concerns of highly able students may reflect characteristics associated with giftedness. Yet school counselor training programs give scant attention to this phenomenon and to the social and emotional development of these students. School counselors therefore may be unaware of and unequipped to respond to these concerns. Referencing…