PREVALENCE OF GIFTEDNESS Topic 6 Dodi Gaines

HOW DO YOU FIND THEM?

OBJECTIVES Identify the incidence of identified gifted students at the local, state and national levels. Discuss how the prevalence of gifted students varies based on various definitions of giftedness in terms of culture, socio-economic level, location, and other factors.

KEY CONCEPTS Local identification State identification National identification Prevalence of gifted Varying Definitions

How many gifted children are there in the United States? NAGC estimates that there are approximately 3 million academically gifted children in grades K- 12 in the U.S - approximately 6% of the student population. No federal agency or organization collects these student statistics; the number is generated based on an estimate that dates back to the 1972 Marland Report to Congress, which estimated that 5-7% of school children are "capable of high performance" and in need of "services or activities not normally provided by the school.“ Although we are not aware of national studies of the incidence of artistic talent in the student population, the number of gifted and talented students increases, depending on the number of categories of giftedness used in the estimate. (

Incidence of Gifted at the State Level Elementary4%1,200,241 Total students enrolled Middle 6.9%596,480 Total students enrolled

Incidence of Gifted at the District Level Elementary3.3% 28,755 students enrolled Middle5.0% 15,153 students enrolled

Incidence of Gifted in Neighboring Districts Volusia County Seminole County Flagler County Orange County Brevard County Elementary 3.3%3.9%1.5%3.0%4.2% Middle 5.0%9.1%4.9%5.8%8.8% Total Number of students enrolled

REGIONS OF THE U.S.

NORTHEAST REGION

MIDWEST REGION

WESTERN REGION

SOUTHERN REGION

REGIONS OF THE U.S.

PREVALENCE Prevalence refers to the proportion of the PK-12 population identified as exceptional at any given point in time. This section of the profile provides prevalence data by demographic characteristics. STUDENT MEMBERSHIP BY RACIAL/ETHNIC CATEGORY: The two columns on the left show the statewide racial/ethnic distribution for all PK-12 students and all gifted students as reported in October 2003 (survey 2). Statewide, there is a smaller percentage of black students in the gifted population (10 percent vs. 24 percent ). Similar data for the district are reported in the two right-hand columns and displayed in the graphs.

Prevalence of Giftedness State All State GiftedDistrict AllDistrict Gifted White49%63%68%83% Black24%10%15%6% Hispanic23%20%12%5% Asian/ Pacific Islander 2%4%1%3% Am./ Indian <1% Multi-racial3%

DISTRICT ALL

DISTRICT GIFTED

DISTRICT PREVALENCE OF GIFTEDNESS

Free/Reduced Lunch & LEP Populations STATE ALL STATE GIFTED DISTRICT ALL DISTRICT GIFTED Free- Reduced Lunch 46%22%38%17% LEP11%3%5%<1%

FREE/REDUCED LUNCH and LEP

Varying Definitions National 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 State (1) Gifted. One who has superior intellectual development and is capable of high performance. (2) Criteria for eligibility. A student is eligible for special instructional programs for the gifted if the student meets the criteria of this rule. (a) The student demonstrates: 1. Need for a special program. 2. A majority of characteristics of gifted students according to a standard scale or checklist, and 3. Superior intellectual development as measured by an intelligence quotient of two (2) standard deviations or more above the mean on an individually administered standardized test of intelligence. (b) The student is a member of an under-represented group and meets the criteria specified in an approved school district plan for increasing the participation of under-represented groups in programs for gifted students. 1. For the purpose of this rule, under-represented groups are defined as groups: a. Who are limited English proficient, or b. Who are from a low socio-economic status family.

STATE GUIDE FOR CURRENT STRATEGIES OF IDENTIFYING GIFTED STUDENTS FROM SPECIAL POPULATIONS Promising Practices Related to: Underachi evers Culturally Different ESOLRuralEconomic ally Disadvant age DisabledFemalesOther Child FindVA AR, ID, LA ScreeningAL, NC, WIAZ, DE, MS, NC, SD, VA, WA, WI AL, AZ, ID, LA, MS, NC, WI WIAL, DE, ID, MS, NC, OR, PA, FI, VA, WA, WI AL, AZ, ID, NC, OR, PA, VA, WI WIDE, HI, ID, IL, IN, LA, ME, MN, NC, NH, NY,OK, PA, RI, SC, WI, WV Identification /Placement IL, IN, SC, TX GA, IA. IN, NJ CT, IA, IN, NJ INGA, IN, NJGA, IN, NCINCT, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, LA, MA, MD, NJ, OH, OK, TX ProgramsCT, NJ NJAR, IA, ID, IN, MA, ME, MN, NJ, NY, OH, TX Parent Involvement PAID AR, MN, NY, WI

TYPESOF GIFTEDNESS IDENTIFIED BY STATE POLICY

What does this all mean? There is no exact definition for gifted in the United States. This creates a problem in identifying exact numbers of gifted children in the United States. The evidence of this can be seen in the differences on the county, state and national levels. Most states define gifted as having high academic achievement, not including those of diverse backgrounds who may not perform as well on such assessments.

What does this all mean? The varying definitions from state to state create barriers to including special populations. Populations of gifted students vary due to the definition offered by the state. States that identify special populations tend to have higher identified gifted populations.

Test Question #1 Identify three criteria a student must meet to be eligible for gifted services in the state of Florida. 1.Need for a special program 2. A majority of characteristics of gifted students according to a standard scale or checklist 3.Superior intellectual development as measured by an intelligence quotient of two (2) standard deviations or more above the mean on an individually administered standardized test of intelligence

REFERENCES db=ericft&want= cdb/ED htm