Myths and Truths of Gifted

Education

National Association for

Gifted Children (NAGC)
INSTRUCTORS GOAL:
In short, its up to gifted education
advocates to continue our efforts to
rebut myths, dispel doubts, and
showcase successful models and
practices in order to retain and
expand programs and services for our
gifted and talented youth.

Born Gifted

Yes, gifted children are likely born

with an advanced ability to learn
and apply their learning. 3
BUT giftedness is not static.
Giftedness requires development and

nurturing to reach its potential. Hard work

and occasional failure are necessary.

Parent Identifiers

Parents are excellent identifiers

of giftedness in their children1
Parents viewed the Characteristics of

Giftedness Scale.
84% of kids judged by parents to embody
of characteristics scored in the superior
range when tested
95% of kids judged by parents to embody
of characteristics demonstrate
giftedness in at least one area

Toddler Identification

Parents and pediatricians can

identify gifted toddlers by
observing rapid progression
through developmental milestones
from birth to 3 years old. 1
As with any deviation from the norm,
early intervention is essential to help
the child to achieve his/her maximum
functioning. Development is key.

Behavior Masks

Rita Dickinson (1970) found that

half of the children she tested with
IQs of 132 or above were referred
for behavior problems 1
Unruly behaviors can cause parents to

miss the giftedness of their children.

The same behaviors often lead teachers to
overlook these children, too.

Ideal Age for

Identification

the ideal age for testing is

between 5 and 8 years. 1
Highly gifted kids often encounter the

ceiling effect by age 9.

Social pressures may camouflage the
abilities of gifted girls. Unless they are
certain they are right, gifted girls are often
unwilling to guess, which lowers their IQ
scores.

Genetics

IQ scores are often similar

between relatives. 1
Siblings abilities typically score within 5

-10 points of one another.

Childrens IQ scores are normally within 10
points of their parents and even
grandparents.
148 sets of siblings
1/3 within 5 points
3/5 within 10 points
within 13 points

Birth Order

Second children are less likely to

referred for gifted education than
first born children. 1
EVEN IDENTICAL TWINS!

Gender Bias

Early childhood IQ tests illustrate

that males and females are
equally intelligent. 1
Prior to IQ tests, society viewed males as

intellectually superior.
Actually, 4 of 5 highest recorded IQ scores
at the Silverman Center belong to females.

Growing Bias

Despite the evidence to the

contrary, parents refer sons to be
tested for giftedness more often
than their daughters. 1
1979-1989: 57% referred were male
In 2008: 68% referred were male

Gifted Girls

Gifted girls learn coping

mechanisms that can hide their
giftedness. 1
Elementary school avoid standing out by

developing social connections

Middle school avoid standing out by
valuing physical appearance and social
relationships

Gifted Boys

Gifted boys are less concerned

with blending into the crowd. 1
Elementary: demonstrate immature

behaviors
Middle School: encounter difficulty
connecting with age-group peers who have
differing interests

Asynchronous
Development

Gifted kids rapidly develop

intellectually, but they often
demonstrate immature social
skills. 1
Cognitively aware of injustice and pains of

the world
Emotionally too immature to cope with this
awareness
Intellectually too advanced to develop
friendships with age-group peers

Visual-Spatial Learners

Schools tend to use auditorysequential delivery methods, but

many gifted learners thrive in
visual-spatial environments. 1
The following kids are often visual-spatial:
Creative children
Culturally diverse children
Mathematical children
Kids with ADD
Highly gifted learners
Underachievers

Homogeneous Groups

Group environments require the

use of social skills. Gifted kids
learn best in classes with other
children like themselves. 1
The brighter the child, the lower his or her

self-concept is likely to be in the regular

classroom.
Self-esteem improves in specialized gifted
classrooms.

Personality Traits

Gifted children often demonstrate

perfectionism, sensitivity, and
intensity. 1
Dabrowskis theory of overexcitabilities

suggests that these characteristics may

lead to high moral values as adults.
The brighter the child, the sooner he or
she may develop a concern for moral
issues.

Personality Trait Introversion

Introversion correlates to:

In the general
population, 30%
of people are
introverted. In
the gifted
population, 60%
are introverts.
Nearly of
highly gifted
children are
introverted. 1

Introspection
Reflection
Ability to inhibit

aggression
Deep sensitivity
Moral development
High academic
achievement
Scholarly contributions
Leadership in academic
and aesthetic fields in
adult life
Smoother passage
through mid-life

Diverse Giftedness

All gifted people are not equal in IQ

or intellectual ability. 1
Mildly, moderately, highly, exceptionally, and

profoundly advanced children are as different

from each other as mildly, moderately,
severely, and profoundly delayed children are
from each other, but the differences among
levels of giftedness are rarely recognized.
Mildly = 115-129, Moderately (130-144), Highly
(145-159), Exceptionally (160-179), Profoundly
(180)

More Common

Exceptionally gifted children are

more common than most people
expect. 1
Of the 5,600 kids assessed over 30 years

by Silverman:
988 kids have IQs over 160
281with IQs over 180
87 with IQs over 200

Reggie Jackson

Early Ear Infections

Nine or more ear infections during

the 1st three years of life is linked
to gifted underachievement. 1
Common effects:
Auditory sequential processing deficits
Attentional problems
Difficulty with spelling, arithmetic,
handwriting, rote memorization, and
motivation to do written work

Dual Exceptionalities

Nearly 1 in 6 gifted children has a

learning disability. The disabilities
are often undetected prior to
assessment. 1
Excellent abstract reasoning abilities help

gifted students to compensate for weaknesses.

Giftedness masks disabilities and disabilities
depress IQ scores.
Motivation is often lowered as coping requires
tremendous energy.

Not Elitist

Every culture, socio-economic,

ethnic, national and social group
contains developmentally
advanced children. 1
Upper class and wealthy children are more

commonly identified.
When poor children are overlooked in
identification, they suffer the most. Rich
kids have other options.

Need for Development

Some say, Gifted students dont

need help; theyll do fine on their
own.2
Gifted students need teachers who will

challenge them.
1991 study reported that between 18 and
25% of gifted students drop out of school.

Training Teachers

The National Research Center on

Gifted and Talented found that 61%
of classroom teachers had no training
in teaching highly able students. 2
A more recent national study by the
Fordham Institute found that 58% of
teachers have received no professional
development focused on teaching
academically advanced students in the
past few years.

Classroom Role Models

Gifted students are not classroom

role models or teachers
assistants. 2
Average and struggling students do not

see gifted students as role models.

Relying on someone who is expected to
succeed does not motivate.
Gifted children thrive in homogeneous
learning environments as discussed earlier
in Silvermans research.

Not Everyone is Gifted

Every human has an individual set of

strengths, but the label gifted in a
school setting has a specific
meaning. Not everyone is gifted. 2
Gifted means that the child has an advanced

capacity to learn and apply the learning in

academic or artistic areas.
The advanced capacity requires modifications
to typical learning and application
environments to ensure that child meets his
or her full potential.

Acceleration

Many believe that accelerating

gifted students through content and
placing them with older children is
socially harmful to gifted students. 2
A study by Colangelo (2004) reports that

gifted kids are often much happier in a

learning environment with older kids who
share interests and abilities than with
children their own age. [A Nation Deceived]
Acceleration = early entrance to
kindergarten or grade skipping

Underachievement

When a gifted child performs below his/her

ability level, the term underachievement
is used. 2
Underachievement can be rooted in many causes,

but adult intervention is usually needed to break the

cycle.
Common causes of underachievement:

Boredom with unchallenging curriculum

Frustration with monotonous tasks
Poor study habits
Distrust of schools
Masking intelligence to fit in

Social & Emotional

While many gifted students excel,

some suffer social and emotional
difficulties as a result of their
sensitivities, moral intensity,
perfectionism, or asynchrony with
age-group peers. 2
In a 1996 study, Winner reports that 20 to

25% of gifted students have social and

emotional troubles. This is nearly twice as
many as in the general population.

AP Gifted Program

Many teachers and parents believe that

AP courses in schools provide gifted
programs and service for gifted students.
This is false. 2
AP courses are limited in subject offerings.

The

topics are increasing however.

AP courses often require a one-size-fits-all
approach of reading lists and preparations for a
standardized test.
Unless the teacher is trained to meet the needs of
gifted students, the curriculum itself is limited in its
gifted service.

Resources
1.

2.
3.

Silverman, Linda What We Have

Learned About Gifted Children 30th
Anniversary (2009)
http://www.nagc.org/myths.aspx
Cross, Tracy Competing with myths
about the social and emotional
development of gifted students
(2002)