Identification
Talent is everywhere. Let's find it.
Shockingly, 42 percent of U.S. schools do not identify a single gifted student. Because of this, and the subjective nature of identification processes in schools that do identify, more than 3.6 million gifted students – most from disadvantaged backgrounds – do not receive access to the advanced academic programming they need to thrive.
Underidentification
US schools fail to identify gifted students from disadvantaged backgrounds at alarming rates. Part of the reason for this is lack of access. More than a third of students nationwide attend a school that doesn’t identify gifted students. The larger reason is the informal, subjective processes that schools use to identify gifted students. These include the use of teacher nominations, which are deeply influenced by implicit biases and parental advocacy, and have been shown to miss almost two-thirds of gifted students.
of schools in the U.S. identified ZERO gifted students
The Missing Gifted
According to a recent Purdue University report, up to 74 percent of gifted black students, up to 66 percent of gifted Latino students, up to 63 percent of gifted American Indian, up to 72 percent of gifted Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and up to 49 percent of gifted students from two or more races, go unidentified for gifted programs or accelerated learning opportunities.
Unidentified Gifted Students by race
Policy Solutions
To ensure that more bright students from disadvantaged backgrounds are able to access gifted programming and accelerated learning opportunities, the Excellence Project supports three policy solutions:
Identification and Service Mandates
Require schools to identify gifted students and provide them with educational programming that meets their needs.
Universal Screening Grants
Provide schools with grants to universally screen all students for high-potential the year prior to entrance into a gifted program or accelerated learning opportunities.
Hire More Diverse Teachers
Research shows that teachers of color or those from low-income backgrounds are more likely to nominate students from those same backgrounds for gifted programming or accelerated learning opportunities. We should do more to break down the barriers and incentivize talented individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to become teachers.
