achievement tests

Tests designed to measure what students have already learned, mostly in specific content areas. An example of an achievement test is the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS).

affective characteristics

Affective characteristics are social and emotional characteristics which can include emotional intensity, a well developed sense of justice and fairness, the ability to empathize with the feelings of others, an unusually mature sense of humor, a preference for the companionship of older children, perfectionist tendencies, and an acute self awareness.

affective needs

Affective needs are the social and emotional considerations of an individual.

alternative assessment

Alternative assessment is any type of assessment in which students create a response to a question or task. (In traditional assessments, students choose a response from a given list, such as multiple-choice, true/false, or matching.)

Alternative assessments can include short-answer questions, essays, performance assessment, oral presentations, demonstrations, exhibitions, and portfolios.

anti-intellectualism

Opposing or hostile to intellectuals or to an intellectual view or approach.

apprenticeship

Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of skilled practitioners. Most training is done on the job while working for an employer or mentor who helps the apprentice learn the trade, sometimes in exchange for their continuing labor for an agreed period after they become skilled.

aptitude test

A test predicting a student's future performance in a particular domain. One such test is the SAT test.

area of giftedness

Area of giftedness is the specific ability in which a student performs or shows potential to perform at a remarkably high level of accomplishment.

artistic

A student can be said to be artistically gifted by possessing outstanding ability in the visual and performing arts.

asynchrony

A term used to describe disparate rates of intellectual, emotional, and physical rates of growth or development often displayed by gifted children.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) and gifted

Children who are hyperactive have a very brief attention span in virtually every situation, except perhaps for television or computer games. The activities of hyperactive children tend to be both continual and random. Children who are gifted can concentrate comfortably for long periods on tasks that interest them and do not require immediate completion of those tasks or immediate consequences. The gifted child's activities are usually episodic and directed to specific goals. There may be some gifted children who are AD/HD, but it is more likely that the giftedness displayed by the child mimics hyperactivity and attention deficit.

Basic Inquiry Model

The Basic Inquiry Model involves seeking information by questioning. This type of learning involves solving problems through a series of steps based on questioning.

Bilingual/ESL and gifted

The Bilingual or ESL gifted student is one who is gifted and speaks a language other than English or the dominant language of the school and community. Cultural factors may influence perceptions of this student's giftedness. The Bilingual or ESL gifted student is one who is gifted and speaks a language other than English or the dominant language of the school and community. Cultural factors may influence perceptions of this student's giftedness.

cognitive characteristics

Cognitive characteristics are those characteristics defined as thinking, problem solving, concept understanding, information processing, and overall intelligence.

compacting

Compacting is a three-step process that (1) assesses what a student knows about the study material and what skills the student needs to master; (2) plans for learning what is not known and excuses the student from repeating what is known; and (3) plans for enriched or accelerated study during free time.

complexity

The dimension of complexity is the extension of content in, between, and across disciplines through the study of themes, problems, and issues; seeing relationships between and among ideas in/within the topic, discipline, and disciplines; examining relationships in, between, and across disciplines over time and from multiple points of view.

content

Content is an area of focus in differentiating instruction/curriculum such as presenting subject matter that is related to broad-based concepts, issues, themes, or problems; integrating multiple disciplines into the area of study; presenting comprehensive, related, and mutually reinforcing learning experiences within an area of study; and/or allowing for in-depth learning of a self-selected topic within the area of study.

creative ability

Creative ability is the process of developing new, uncommon, or unique ideas. The federal definition of giftedness identifies creativity as a specific component of giftedness.

criterion-referenced testing

An assessment that compares a student's test performance to his or her mastery of a body of knowledge or specific skill rather than relating scores to the performance of other students.

curricular services

Curricular services are services that meet the needs of students in order to develop their potential and are qualitatively differentiated from the regular program by being varied in depth, breadth, complexity, and pace.

curriculum compacting

Curriculum compacting is a method for eliminating unnecessary repetition of material already learned. What a student already knows is determined, and then the student is allowed to move on. Students "buy back" school time that teachers plan for all students so they can "spend" this time in other more productive ways.

depth

The dimension of depth involves the exploration of content within a discipline to include analyzing from the concrete to the abstract, familiar to the unfamiliar, known to the unknown; exploring the discipline by going beyond facts and concepts into generalizations, principles, theories, laws; investigating the layers of experience within a discipline through details, patterns, trends, unanswered questions, and/or ethical considerations.

differentiation

Differentiated curriculum involves adapting the curriculum to meet the unique needs of gifted learners by making modifications in complexity, depth, or pacing. It may include selecting rather than covering all elements of a curriculum, depending on the individual needs of students.

dominant culture

The dominant culture determines the prevailing norms and actions of a society that guide the education, economics, religions, and other institutions that influence the actions of a people.

effect size

Effect size is the size of the relationship between two variables (particularly between program variables and outcomes). It shows the extent to which the changes in the dependent variable are caused by changes in the independent variable.

elaboration

Elaboration is the ability to add detail or to embellish thoughts, information, or ideas.

equity versus excellence

Equity versus excellence is the idea that all students should be provided with equal educational programming and holds equal expectations for all students, regardless of their abilities (equity), versus providing enrichment and acceleration experiences for students who need them in order to fulfill their special programming requirements.

flexibility

Flexibility involves the ability to shift point of view or see alternate methods or answers, for example, expressing different categories of ideas and looking at situations in different ways.

flexible skills grouping

Flexible skills grouping is an instructional strategy where students are grouped together to receive appropriately challenging instruction. True flexible grouping permits students to move in and out of various grouping patterns, depending on the course content. Grouping can be determined by ability, size, and/or interest.

fluency

Fluency in thinking is the ability to produce many ideas/responses.

formal assessment

Formal assessment uses measures that are quantifiable or have a research base that can formalize results.

general education

Education for all students is general education. The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills guides general education in Texas.

gifted education

In Texas, gifted education is for students identified by the local district for program services, as appropriate, according to state definition, state law, and State Board of Education rule.

Details on the required and recommended components of gifted education in Texas can be found in the Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students.

gifted in leadership

Leadership is defined as possessing the natural ability to influence others; possessing skills in interpersonal relationships demonstrated, for example, by outstanding ability in such activities as student government.

gifted students from poverty

Gifted students from poverty exhibit many of the characteristics of the gifted associated with any child. However, there are some characteristics that are hidden by the cloak of poverty. Dr. Paul Slocumb notes that this lack of resources frequently manifests itself in students through

• lower scores on standardized tests;

• behavior that is different from their peers from middle class households;

• appearing unmotivated, lacking goals and planning skills;

• lacking social skills necessary to resolve conflicts; and

• lacking many skills that society regards as basic academic skills.

gifted/talented students

1. A gifted/talented student is a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment, and who

• exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or *artistic area;

• possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or

• excels in a specific academic field.

2. The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act defines gifted/talented students as "Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities." [Title IX, Part A, Definition 22. (2002)] Many states and districts follow the federal definition.

giftedness

Giftedness, according to Robert Gagné, is the possession of natural abilities or aptitudes at levels significantly beyond what might be expected for one at a given age, in any domain of human ability.

gifts

The essence of giftedness is advanced development. Students who are gifted have the potential to perform at levels significantly beyond what we might expect for their age. Giftedness in any area implies ability well beyond the average.

high-level questions

High-level questionnaire questions designed to impart critical and creative thinking, invite students to make connections among various forms of knowledge, and help learners interpret data, analyze data, and draw conclusions.

highly gifted

Highly gifted or exceptionally gifted children include

• those who score extremely high on individually administered IQ tests (generally in the 148+ range, Stanford-Binet L-M scores; or in the 140+ range on the WISC-R or Stanford-Binet Fourth Edition;

• child prodigies in areas such as music, mathematics, or chess;

• children with extremely highly developed talents in unusual areas; and

• profoundly intellectually gifted children with IQ scores above 170.

identification

The process of determining students qualified for gifted or advanced programming, identification most commonly occurs through the use of intelligence or other testing. Many researchers place emphasis on using multiple pathways for identification, adding teacher, parent, or peer nominations or authentic assessments such as portfolios of student work to the process.

independent projects

Independent projects provide a process through which student and teacher identify problems or topics of interest to the student; both student and teacher plan a method of investigating the problem and identifying the type of product that will address the problem.

independent study

1. Independent study is a self-directed learning strategy where the teacher acts as guide or facilitator and the student plays a more active role in designing and managing his or her own learning.

2. Independent study is the basis for the Texas Performance Standards Project. Independent study is an individualized, self-designed study that includes goals, learning methods, documentation of the process, and some type of product that reflects the learning.

informal assessment

Informal assessment uses measures that occur throughout the day or use the specified length of the unit of study to inform the student and educator of progress toward the stated goal(s).

instructional delivery services

Instructional delivery services include a variety of instructional strategies to accommodate learning styles of gifted and talented students. Each of these is analyzed for its effect size so that educators can determine the strategies that fit their students' and the school's needs.

instructional management services

Instructional management services includes individualization, grouping variations, and acceleration choices.

intellectually gifted

Intellectually gifted refers to having intellectual abilities and potential for achievement so outstanding that special provisions are required to meet the child's educational needs.

intelligence quotient

A numerical representation of intelligence. IQ is derived from dividing mental age (result from an intelligence test) by the chronological age times 100. Traditionally, an average IQ is considered to be 100.

interest centers/groups

Interest centers and interest groups are used to meet the needs of the gifted who demonstrate knowledge and mastery of required work and to develop interest in student determined areas of inquiry.

learning centers

Learning centers, similar to interest centers, allow gifted/talented students to explore topics of interest or to develop skills with areas of interest; learning centers should focus on higher level thinking skills that are based on interesting and important topics.

learning contracts/management plans

(Learning) contracts are agreements between the teacher and student granting certain freedoms and choices about how a student will complete tasks. The student agrees to use the freedoms appropriately in designing and completing work according to specifications. Management plans involve a number of forms that begin with an agreement between student and teacher. The teacher grants certain freedoms and choices regarding a student's tasks, and the student agrees to use those freedoms appropriately in designing and completing work according to specifications.

learning disabled and gifted

Learning disabled and gifted are students who have above average abilities in academic areas but who also have a neurological disorder or a disability resulting from a difference in the way a person's brain is "wired."

mentorship

Mentorship involves matching a student on a one-to-one basis with an adult member of the community or older student who can provide expertise and/or advise in a field of study or other community endeavor. Mentors may serve as instructors for talented students and are well-trained in the subject matter considerably beyond what they are expected to teach. Typically, mentors work with only one or two students at a time. They present new information to students rather than reviewing already-studied material the way a tutor would. Mentors help their students (sometimes called "mentees") to move through material at a challenging pace. Mentors not only present new information to students, they also clarify and extend the material to be learned. The goal of mentoring is to help students learn self-teaching skills, not to spoon-feed them information.

migrant and gifted

The migrant gifted student is one who is gifted and is identified as a part of the migrant population, i.e., the student's parents or guardians move seasonally to work in agriculture, fishing, or other work. Cultural factors may influence perceptions of the student's giftedness.

multiple intelligences

The concept of multiple intelligences is based on the work of Howard Gardner. Gardner identifies eight types of intelligence that guide an individual's unique thinking and learning strengths.

nature

Nature is the theory that more abstract traits such as intelligence as well as physical traits are encoded in an individual's DNA.

norm-referenced testing

An assessment that compares an individual's results with a large group of individuals who have taken the same assessment (who are referred to as the "norming group"). Examples include the SAT and Iowa Tests of Basic Skills.

nurture

Nurture is the belief that the behavioral aspects of humans, including intelligence, originate only from the environmental factors of upbringing.

ongoing assessment

Ongoing assessment involves continual monitoring and adjustment of curriculum and goals to meet the needs of the students and the district.

originality

Originality is the ability to produce, original (unique) ideas or products.

out-of-level testing

Giving a child a test designed and normed for older children. Commonly used by Talent Search programs.

overexcitabilities

Found to a great extent in creative and gifted individuals, overexcitabilities are inborn intensities indicating a heightened ability to respond to stimuli. They are expressed in increased sensitivity, awareness, and emotional intensity and make a significant difference in the fabric and quality of experience.

personal frame of reference

The student's personal frame of reference relates to experiences and knowledge that govern how a person views the world around him/her.

portfolios

An alternative or supplement to traditional measures of giftedness, portfolios offer a collection of student work over time that can help to determine achievement and progress. Many of the elements found in portfolios cannot be captured by a standardized test.

problem-based learning

Problem-based learning is learner-centered and based on a real-world problem. The teacher's role is one of tutor or coach. This learning employs metacognition and uses alternative assessment. Problem-based learning requires higher order thinking (critical and creative), the creative problem solving process, and/or the scientific method.

process

Process is an area of focus in differentiating instruction/curriculum. Teachers and students develop independent or self-directed study skills; develop productive, complex, abstract, and/or higher level thinking skills; focus on open-ended tasks; develop research skills and methods; and/or integrate basic skills and higher level thinking skills into the curriculum.

product

Product is an area of focus in differentiating instruction/curriculum. Teachers encourage the development of products that challenge existing ideas and produce "new" ideas, use new techniques, materials, and forms.

qualitative measures

Performance indicators that cannot be recorded numerically and that include observations, anecdotal records, checklists, interviews, student products, and performances.

quantitative measures

Performance indicators that can be recorded numerically and that include observations, anecdotal records, checklists, interviews, student products, and performances.

reassessment

Formal reassessment is used to determine the best setting for students' learning. Reassessment of students may result in their exit from program services or in placement in a more appropriate setting for learning (e.g., grade advancement, alternative high school options, or dual enrollment). Reassessment of program services may result in new identification measures, new student assessment measures, and/or new program assessment measures.

screening

The process where an individual is looking for a certain set of identified gifted and talented characteristics through the collection of testing data, observations, or student work.

social and emotional needs

Gifted/talented students may have affective needs that include heightened or unusual sensitivity to self-awareness, emotions, and expectations of themselves or others, and a sense of justice, moral judgment, or altruism. Counselors working in this area may address issues such as perfectionism, depression, underachievement, or career planning.

special education

Special education is education for students with learning disabilities, visual and hearing impairments, and/or other mitigating impairments as defined by federal and state law.

talents

While giftedness equates with high ability, talent equates with high achievement.

tiered assignments

Tiered assignments are used to provide students who have different learning needs a route to reach the essential ideas and key skills while being appropriately challenged.

twice-exceptional

A "twice-exceptional learner" is a child or youth who performs at—or shows the potential for performing at—a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment and who:

1. exhibits high performance capability in an intellectual, creative, or artistic area;

2. possesses an unusual capacity for leadership; or

3. excels in a specific academic field (TEC 29.121).

...and who also gives evidence of one or more disabilities as defined by federal or state eligibility (IDEA, 2004) (300.8) (Section 504) criteria such as:

• learning disabilities;

• speech and language disorders;

• emotional/behavioral disorders;

• physical disabilities;

• traumatic brain injury;

• autism spectrum disorder; or

• other health impairments such as ADHD.

underachievement

One can identify three underlying themes in gifted underachievement:

• Underachievement as a discrepancy between potential achievement and actual achievement

• Underachievement as a discrepancy between predicted achievement and actual achievement

• Underachievement as a failure to develop or use potential

Dr. Sylvia Rimm's definition of gifted underachievement fits this theme: "Underachievement is a discrepancy between a child's school performance and some index of the child's ability. If children are not working to their ability in school, they are underachieving".