Identification of Gifted Learners

By: Wendy Behrens

Minnesota Department of Education

Instructional Specialist

Parents play a vital role in supporting the needs of gifted and talented children and youth. They may be the first to recognize and respond to a child's unique needs and be the most able to advocate for them.

How to identify students for gifted programs continues to be one of the most hotly debated topics in the field of gifted education. Minnesota is a local-control state, which allows districts to select the method for identifying students who would qualify for Gifted and Talented services.

Members of the Minnesota Department of Education's (MDE) Gifted and Talented Strategic Planning Committee met, reviewed the literature and consulted numerous stakeholder groups before recommending the definition that follows. The definition was accepted by MDE in 2005 and this excerpt from the Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System (MARSS) Manual (2006) gives guidance to districts in identifying gifted students and addressing their needs.

Gifted and talented children and youth are those students with outstanding abilities identified at preschool, elementary and secondary levels. These students are capable of high performance when compared to others of similar age, experience and environment and represent the diverse populations of our communities. These are students whose potential requires differentiated and challenging educational programs and/or services beyond those provided in the general school program.

Students capable of high performance include those with demonstrated achievement or potential ability in any one or more of the following areas: general intellectual, specific academic subjects, creativity, leadership, and visual and performing arts.

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Related Information

Related Resources

Characteristics of Giftedness by Linda Kreger Silverman. The characteristics associated with giftedness become apparent early in life. view
Giftedness as Asynchronous Development by Stephanie Tolan. It is vital to remember that giftedness (in childhood and beyond) is an internal reality, mental processing that is outside of norms. Achievement, as important as it is, is merely an expression of that mental processing. view
Is It A Cheetah? by Stephanie S. Tolan. Essay on the characteristics of a gifted child in a regular classroom. view
Is your child gifted? Minnesota Council for the Gifted & Talented (MCGT). A quick checklist for kids of various ages, particularly useful with younger children. view
The 10 Most Commonly Asked Questions about Highly Gifted Children by Kathi Kearney. Who are the highly gifted? How many are there? How do I know? view
What Is Gifted? National Association for Gifted Children's Parent Information summary. view
The Identification of Students Who Are Gifted (ERIC digest #644) by Mary Ruth Coleman. Few areas in the education of children with exceptionalities are as controversial and critical as appropriate identification of children who are gifted. view
Young Gifted Children by Gifted Canada. From help needed to identify young gifted children, to different from birth and over-excitable, this is a great summary of our young gifted children! view
Being Smart About Gifted Children: A Guidebook for Parents and Educators by Dona J. Matthews and Joanne F. Foster. view
Parent's Guide to Raising a Gifted Child: Recognizing and Developing Your Child's Potential from Preschool to Adolescence by James Alvino. A practical, informative and authoritative primer for raising and educating gifted children from preschool to adolescence. view

Assessment and Testing

Assessing Gifted Children by Julia B. Osborn. Testing versus assessment. These two activities are frequently discussed together and criticized together, when, in fact, they are quite different. view
An Inventory of Tests collected by Carolyn Kottmeyer. A list of commonly administered intelligence and achievement tests, with links to more information on each. view
Parent's Guide to IQ Testing and Gifted Education by David Palmer. Introduction to IQ testing and gifted children. view
What Do the Tests Tell Us? by Carolyn Kottmeyer. Many parents arrive in the world of gifted education with a report full of test results, supposedly defining their child as "gifted." But more often than not, parents have more questions than answers upon receiving those test results. view


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