top of page

Related Topics of Gifted Children

IDENTIFYING GIFTED STUDENTS

Identifying gifted students and their strengths and talents should be an ongoing process. Assessment procedures usually involve the following.

  • Formal testing and indicators of cognitive (intellectual) ability, achievement, aptitude, and creativity.

  • Teacher observations, including anecdotal records, checklists and inventories.

  • Records of student achievement, including assignments, portfolios, grades, and outstanding talents and accomplishments.

Some factors may make it difficult to identify a student’s giftedness, including:

  • Students’ exceptional talents may not be obvious because of language delays or differences.

  • Formal tests may not reflect cultural factors.

  • Physical disabilities may affect students’ identification as gifted.

  • Children may have learning or sensory disabilities which make it difficult to identify their giftedness testing and identifications may be affected by personality styles.

For all of those reasons, identifying a child as gifted can be very challenging. Therefore, assessments usually require input from teachers, parents, and a person with expertise in special education.

bottom of page