Assessments of Giftedness Special Interest Group

Purpose

The Assessments of Giftedness Special Interest Group believes that standardized tests play a critical role in gifted education.  First, they strengthen identification of gifted students, especially those children whose needs may not be apparent in the classroom:  the highly, exceptionally, and profoundly gifted; the twice exceptional; underachieving gifted students; and gifted students from diverse backgrounds.  Second, they clarify instructional needs for educational planning.  Third, they enhance diagnosis of learning deficits often concealed by the gifted child's ability to compensate.  Because standardized tests are revised frequently and sometimes substantially, and gifted assessment is not a primary market for test developers, a permanent NAGC committee is needed to monitor assessment options and offer guidance for their use with gifted students. The Assessments of Giftedness SIG seeks to optimize the use and interpretation of current standardized instruments measuring the abilities and achievement of gifted children, support the ongoing development of improved instruments for the gifted, and propose aspirations for yet-to-be-developed instruments intended for use with the gifted.

Organizer

Barbara (Bobbie) Gilman