Identification: The Theory and Practice of Identifying Students for Gifted and Talented Education Services

Identifying students for gifted education services is a process filled with controversy, confusion, myths, and misunderstandings. Editor Scott L. Hunsaker’s new volume sheds much needed light on this difficult topic. With contributions from leading scholars, researchers, and practitioners in gifted education, fifteen chapters explore in depth the research and practice of identification of gifted and talented students.  Each of the four sections tackles an important aspect of identification:

1. Theoretical Foundations
    Chapters explore the implications for identification from the perspectives of decision-making theory and conceptions of intelligence and giftedness. 
       
2. Professional Foundations
    Chapters explore implications for practice based on standards established in the fields of measurement, gifted education, and policy, with special attention given to the issue of equity in identification.
       
3.    Identification Practice
    Chapters identify typical stages (both formal and informal), exploring the advantages and disadvantages of prevalent practice (especially the decision-making schemes most often used), and suggesting adaptations to the process to address the need for identifying learners from diverse populations.

4.    Instrumentation
    Chapters evaluate the most popularly used instruments such as intelligence tests (including non-verbal tests), creativity tests, teacher rating scales, and peer nomination forms.

The text presents multiple points of view and does not shy away for some of the particularly thorny issues surrounding identification, specifically
•    the theory-practice gap,
•    under-representation of diverse populations,
•    identification as status bestowal rather than assessment process,
•    rigidity in use of processes and instruments,
•    the search for the magic-bullet test, and
•    validity of non-verbal intelligence tests.

Whether you are an administrator, teacher, gifted education specialist, professor, or parent, Identification offers insights presented nowhere else.   


Table of Contents

Preface        v

Section I. Theoretical Foundations
Chapter 1     Information Theory as a Guide to Decision Making        1
        Scott L. Hunsaker, Utah State University

Chapter 2    Defensible and Doable: A Practical Multiple-criteria Gifted Program
        Identification System        25
        Joseph S. Renzulli, University of Connecticut
        Sally M. Reis, University of Connecticut

Chapter 3    Multicultural Theory and Gifted Education: Implications for the
        Identification of Under-represented Groups        57
        Donna Y. Ford, Vanderbilt University

Chapter 4    Characteristics of Gifted Children as a Guide to Identification        75
        Sally Krisel, The University of Georgia


Section II. Professional Foundations
Chapter 5    Identification of the Gifted: An Overview of Legal Issues        99
        Kristen R. Stephens, Duke University
        John Dudley, The University of Southern Mississippi
        Frances A. Karnes, The University of Southern Mississippi

Chapter 6    Policy Perspectives on Gifted education        119
        Scott L. Hunsaker, Utah State University
        Paul Shepherd, Granite School District

Chapter 7    Professional Measurement Standards and Identification        141
        Carolyn M. Callahan, University of Virginia

Chapter 8    The Impact of Professional Standards in Gifted Education on the
        Identification of Giftedness and Talent        165
        Mary L. Slade, James Madison University


Section III. Identification Practice
Chapter 9    Stages of Gifted Identification        193
        Scott L. Hunsaker, Utah State University
        Rebecca H. Odoardi, Davis School District
        Ellen V. Smith, Provo School District

Chapter 10    Decision Strategies        217
        David Lohman, The University of Iowa
Chapter 11    Experience with Idealized Identification Procedures        249
        Scott L. Hunsaker, Utah State University

Section IV. Instrumentation
Chapter 12    Ability Testing & Talent Identification        283
        David Lohman, The University of Iowa
        Megan Foley Nicpon, The University of Iowa

Chapter 13    The Audacity of Creativity Assessment        335
        Bonnie Cramond, The University of Georgia
        Lu Wang, The University of Georgia

Chapter 14    Using Teacher Rating Scales in the Identification of Students for
        Gifted Services        361
        Karen L. Westberg, University of St. Thomas

Chapter 15    Performance Assessments: The Role in the Identification of Gifted Students    379
        Tonya R. Moon, University of Virginia