FAQ Sheet About Students with Gifts and Talents

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Students whose capacities to learn and achieve are significantly greater than those of their peers (and sometimes greater than their teachers and other adults in their lives) require special interventions. Despite the many stereotypes of giftedness, the population of students with gifts and talents is very diverse and their needs complex and varied.

FAQ Sheet: Students With Gifts and Talents

Who are they?

• Children and youth in some states who meet a threshold in IQ or achievement
• Children in some states who far exceed peers in learning pace or attainment
• Children who have demonstrated performance abilities at high levels in visual or performing arts, creativity, or leadership

What are typical characteristics?

• Academic or creative performance that vastly exceeds that of their age mates
• Ability to understand complex and abstract ideas at ages earlier than expected
• Socially well adjusted at early ages but with concerns about later socialization
• High levels of task commitment
• Advanced language skills and development
• Advanced sense of humor
• Advanced vocabulary and sophisticated use of language

What are the demographics?

• Between 5 and 20% of the population
• Roughly equivalent numbers of males and females
• Nonproportional lower representation of African American, Hispanic, and Native American students
• Lower-than-proportional representation of economically disadvantaged students

Where are students educated?

• Most are educated in inclusive settings with smaller numbers educated in resource room pullouts, self-contained classrooms, and special schools for the gifted.

What are the outcomes?

• Most are successful in school, though evidence indicates that many underachieve.
• Identified gifted students graduate from college and achieve advanced degrees in greater percentages than do nongifted peers.